Brazilian authorities are investigating two possible cases of human mad cow disease in Rio de Janeiro State, and a municipal health bureau chief said in a statement on Thursday that this has issued a warning to meat processors that have stopped exporting beef to China.
On September 4, Brazil confirmed two cases of its so-called “atypical” mad cow disease in animals, which led to the suspension of beef exports to China under a long-term bilateral agreement.
At that time, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that the two cases found in meat factories in Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais were spontaneous and have nothing to do with contaminated feed like the typical mad cow disease.
On Thursday, the municipal health authority of Rio City stated that the Federal Institute of Biomedical Research Fiocruz has found two cases of “prion diseases”, which may occur spontaneously in elderly patients or in young people due to the consumption of contaminated beef. .
Read | Two cases of atypical mad cow disease found in Brazil
The municipal health authority stated that the two cases found among residents in the Rio suburbs had been forwarded to the state health authority, but did not provide the patient’s age.
The new case may further delay China’s decision to lift the Brazilian beef ban, which has stranded dozens of shipments, changed the route of many other shipments, and affected beef exports from the largest country in Latin America.
The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Brazil’s major beef exporters JBS SA, Minerva SA and Marfrig Global Foods SA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
