| By
PHILIP BRASHER AP Farm Writer
WASHINGTON
(AP)--Americans are confusing foot-and-mouth disease, which
is harmless to people, with rarer mad cow disease, which
has been linked to a fatal human illness, Agriculture Secretary
Ann Veneman said Tuesday.
However,
she said there is no evidence that the confusion has caused
U.S. consumers to shun meat.
``They're
hearing animal disease and they don't know the difference,''
Veneman said. ``We're trying to make sure that people understand
that there is a difference.
Foot-and-mouth
is primarily an economic issue. An outbreak virtually shuts
down a country's meat exports, and the virus spreads so
quickly that the only sure way to contain it is to destroy
all exposed livestock.
Mad-cow
disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is less well
understood by scientists and is linked to a brain-wasting
illness in humans called variant Creutzfeld Jacob disease.
BSE is believed to be transmitted through feeding animal
parts to cattle. So far, the illness has been limited to
Europe.
Veneman,
speaking to a breakfast gathering of grocers, said Europe's
foot-and-mouth epidemic has raised public awareness about
her department's efforts to control the entry of agricultural
pests and diseases.
Customs
forms that travelers must fill out before arriving at U.S.
airports require passengers to disclose whether they have
been on a farm. Those passengers are then questioned by
USDA inspectors, who are supposed to disinfect any soiled
footwear the travelers have with them.
``Seeing
all these pictures about what is happening in Europe has
given a view of why it is so important that we have these
programs,'' Veneman said.
Veneman
is under pressure from Europe to partially lift a ban on
all imports of livestock and raw meat, and she is expected
to discuss the issue Wednesday with European Union Commissioner
David Byrne.
``We're
continuing to review that,'' she told news reporters. ``I'm
not prepared today to say when we might or might not do
that.''
The
biggest impact of the ban has been on imports of Danish
pork ribs, a popular menu item in many U.S. restaurants.
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