NR AIEV
AU McKee,M.; Roberts,J.A.; Lang,T.
TI Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Government policy has failed.
QU British Medical Journal 1996 Apr 20; 312(7037): 1038
KZ BMJ. 1996 Feb 24;312(7029):455-6. PMID: 8597663
PT comment; letter
VT
EDITOR - Several weeks ago two of us expressed concern about the credibility of government advice on public health.[i] The issue of bovine spongiform encephalopathy has confirmed the disbelief with which some government pronouncements on public health are regarded in Britain and worldwide. If this situation is not to be repeated lessons must be learnt from three failures of policy.
The deregulatory culture in Britain contributed to the failure to regulate recycling of sheep remains until 1989, although the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution had expressed concern about this in 1979,[ii] Ministers have taken minimal action, which has consistently been based on the most optimistic scenarios.[iii] Deregulation is justified largely on financial grounds. Comparison of the total costs that will be incurred in Britain with those of more regulatory policies elsewhere shows that this is not tenable. Amazingly, the government confirmed its intention to relax further regulations on food hygiene immediately after a worldwide ban on the export of British beef was proposed.[iv] But food safety is not the only aspect of public health affected by deregulation: there are concerns about the effect of deregulation in, for example, the water, nuclear, and transport industries.
The second failure of policy was the way in which the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee worked, and this was compounded by the absence from the committee, until recently, of specialist public health scientists. In the face of uncertainty, traditional methods of assessing evidence should be supplemented with techniques such as modelling of the consequences of best and worst case scenarios. Had the committee done this it might have placed less faith in the species barrier, given that many human infections originated in animals. It might also have questioned the official confidence in the implementation of precautions, given extensive evidence that they are not being taken. It also failed to appreciate how risk is perceived, which led to a patronising impression, characterised by the secretary of state's statement that "it is the public who are mad rather than the cows."
The third failure arises from the relation between the government and business in Britain. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food continues to resist proposals for an independent food standards agency,[v] giving the impression that commercial interests come before those of the public. A national food policy council is also needed to coordinate the many interests involved. There are many other issues, such as the presence of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables, on which consumer opinion will demand a source of authoritative, independent advice. The public is concerned that intensive farming has cut corners in cutting costs. On grounds of public health and confidence in governance this cannot continue,
References
i. McKee M, Lane T. Secret government: the Scott report. BMJ 1996;312:455-6. (24 February)
ii. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. Agriculture and pollution. Seventh report: London HMSO, 1979:16. (Cmnd 7644.)
iii. Pearce F, Ministers hostile to advice on BSE New Scientist 1996 Mar 30:4-5.
iv. Shrimsley R. Ministers seek to cut red tape on food hygiene. Daily Telegraph 1996 Mar 26:4.
v. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. BSE: question and answer brief London: MAFF. 1996.
ZR 5
MH Animal; Cattle; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome/*transmission; Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform/*transmission; Government; Great Britain; Human; *Public Policy; Sheep
AD MARTIN McKEE Reader in public health medicine, JENNIFER A ROBERTS Senior lecturer in health economics Health Services Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HAT, TIM LANG Professor of food policy, Centre for Food Policy, Wolfson School of Health Sciences, Thames Valley University, London W5 5RF
SP englisch
PO England
OR Prion-Krankheiten M