crohnscanada.myfastforum.org

billyfish · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 51

It looks like the UK strategy against MAP has failed. A study that has being ongoing for years was supposed to be on the agenda at the meeting of the ACMSF on 24 September.

It has been pulled, and its findings appear to have been ignored.

According to the draft minutes of the ACMSF dated 26 March 2009. "The aim was to publish the final report of the MAP prevalence study during the second quarter of the year. This would be accompanied by a joint briefing between DEFRA, FSA and DH and information for farmers would be drafted to give them feedback from the report"

Alternative sources show that Johnes incidents have increased from about 700 in 1998 to 3500 in 2008, over the same period crohns hospital admissions have increased from 15569 in 1998 20 42,775 in 2008.

I am have been invited and will attend the ACMSF meeting in London at the FSA on 24 September and it would be appreciated if any organisations or campaigners could support a campaign to get the UK MAP Prevalence survey published and made available without further delay?

billyfish · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 51

Scotland is doing very well in the latest MAP questions,

Northern Isles have introduced a test and cull policy. Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) have introduced a system where individual farms can be certified herd free of johnes.

They have publised a list of farmers online that give herd johnes,lepto,bvd and ibr status.

The main purpose of this appears for sale of breeding stock, but there is the prospect here that people in the uk living near these establishments might be able to buy MAP free milk,

Also, if there is enough interest, maybe this scheme could be reproduced elsewhere and the commercial prospect of products from johnes free animals is realised, maybe crohns can be defeated?

david.crichton · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 83

Would you be able to get a copy of the report through some sort of Access to Information statute?

Not surprised at the rise; while attention has been shifting at the higher levels, and while education at the lower farm levels has occurred, it seems there still remains a lot of work to be done at the farm level, where it matters.

I'd be happy to support in anyway that I can. Being Canadian, however, I believe that i am unable to sign any petitions destined for the UK Parliament. But if there is a petition, i will surely get some friends in the UK to sign it and pass it along.

Good luck at the meeting on Thursday. Hopefully you get a chance to ask some questions/make a statement and/or request during the question and answer period:
"12. Any other business

13. Public Questions and Answers
Members of the public present will be invited to ask any questions they may have about the Committee and/or to make any statements."

March meeting:
http://acmsf.food.gov.uk/acmsfmee...sf2009/acmsf260309/acmsfmin260309
16. Any other business

16.1. At the Chair’s invitation Mr Wyllie updated Members on the Defra Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) Prevalence Survey. The draft report was with the Veterinary Laboratories Agency which was carrying out a review of the comments of the independent peer review and would be liaising with Defra and industry colleagues. He said the aim was to publish the final report on the Defra website during the second quarter of the year. This would be accompanied by a joint briefing between Defra, FSA and DH and information for farmers would be drafted to give them feedback from the report.

billyfish · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 51

I went to the ACMSF meeting in London last Thursday, I asked when the Johnes study would be published, I was informed by a DEFRA representative that it would be published in the next two months.

My elected representative Greg Mulholland MP is trying to get a copy of the report through government channels.

The ACMSF are meeting again on December 3 in London, and I have tonight arranged to travel to it to ask further questions, regarding the incidence of johnes, the report and maybe the latest 2008/2009 crohns hospital figures will be out by then.

Details of my questions to the ACMSF should be in the minutes of the 24/9 meeting, that should go online at the end of November.

There is a further set of figures available, called johnes incidents, that show an alarming increase and I hope to publish these soon, meanwhile I have discovered that my old colleague from Ireland, who was part of Para, has a website on chron.ie maybe david could look up why Para is hiding?

david.crichton · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 83

Good news. Please let us know if you get a copy of the report before it is released. Also would be interested in the CD figures.

What is the website your friend started? I am unable to find it.

Para (www.crohns.org), as far as I know (which isn't much), was run by a mother or two mothers. She/they got burnt out after years of tremendous work and effort, so they have been idle in the advocacy area -- at least with regard to their website. Like i said though, i really do not know much about what para is doing now.

billyfish · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 51

A Powerpoint presentation about the study has been on the internet for some time, main concern is that only 136 out of 353 herds contacted agreed to participate.

http://www.sac.ac.uk/mainrep/pdfs/sahw2008paratuberculosis.pdf

Just need the figures now, also there is another powerpoint presentation from SAC that details the sudden increase in johnes incidents from 2002. This coincides with herd re-stocking following the UK Foot & Mouth epidemic!

http://www.sac.ac.uk/mainrep/powerpoints/johnesdisease.ppt

The Crohn.ie is in fact Alan Kennedy who is the Irish campaigner who joined with Para, when they folded he set up a sort of blog and I have only recently found it, unless it has been censored? It is on

http://crohn.ie/about-the-crohnie/

It would be good if Diane could put a link in to the crohnie, maybe she has, it is hard to find and a very good source of information.

I once met Alan K in London but I think he is in Ireland now, .ie is the web thing for there.

I have the crohns incidence figures for 2008, they were about 3500, I will look up the source for you. I have been in touch with George Caldow, the SAC have a premium cow credit scheme, so if you really want a johnes free cow in the UK for breeding, you can buy one!

billyfish · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 51

Sorry about information overload, unfortunately the UK is having a General Election Soon, and because of this I think its very unlikely that the Paratuberculosis Report will be published for political reasons.

The estimated number of Johnes incidents for 2008 is 3576. According to the UK Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA). "Almost a a third of bovine diagnostic submissions received by VLA are tested for Johnes Disease and of these a quarter provide a positive diagnosis."

Almost all RLs report that Johnes diseae is the most frequently diagnosed cause of diarrhoea in adult cattle"

Source, GB surveillance- Cattle Diseases Quarterly Reports, published by VLA and SAC, second and third quarters 2008. The 2009 reports will be here soon, the UK hospital crohns admissions expected December, but last year they were months late,

Also it will be possible to access Crohns death figures soon, as they are being stored under the ICD10 system?

SAC is the Scottish Agricultural College.