CBE Control Program to be Developed

Cavroadian Health authorities have announced that a crack team of specialist public health officers will be called on to develop a management program for the current outbreak of Corvid Bacterial Encephalopathy (CBE, or "Mad Crow Disease").

Speaking at a press conference last night, Cavroadian Health Minister William Ness said that now all the information about the disease has been gathered, all that remains to be done is for Cavroadia's finest minds to come up with a program to stop the spread of the disease.

The disease first appeared in Cavroadian crows several months ago, and progressed from causing unusual behaviour to complete and often incapacitation of the birds. The worst fears of health authorities were realised some weeks ago, when the first human cases were diagnosed. Thankfully, the disease does not appear to be as severe in humans as in birds.

Minister Ness released a summary of what we know about the disease so far :

It is caused by a bacterium
It appears to be spread by body fluids - either faeces, saliva or blood. Most cases of trasnmission have been linked to close contact with infected birds
In birds, the bacterium infects the tissues of the brain, causing large plaques and resulting in a progressive loss of coordination
It is so far unknown where the disease agent came from, or whether it infects other animals

"I am confident that our scientific community will come through for us in this time of crisis," he said. "After all, it was they who saved our multimillion dollar mango industry from the Splotchy Droop Virus several years ago."

Minister Ness stressed that while the spread of the disease appeared to have levelled off, Cavroadians should remain vigilant.

"We must stay ever alert and ensure that our health is never threatened in this way again," he concluded.

Tenders have now been called for scientific teams to develop disease management programs.