BSE may have spread worldwide

The World Health Organisation has expressed its fears that BSE, or mad cow disease, may have spread well beyond Europe, where most cases have so far been reported.

At a news conference at the WHO's headquarters in Geneva, officials said they suspected that BSE-infected meat in animal feed may have been sold around the world because of the delay by European governments in imposing bans on the export of meat and bonemeal.

The officials warned that if BSE or its likely human equivalent CJD were discovered in developing countries, the economic consequences would be even more disastrous than those seen in Europe.

They expressed fears that poorer nations didn't have the technical means to detect the disease.

The WHO says it's reviewing the scientific evidence in preparation for a major international conference next year. Meanwhile, international pressure is growing on Germany to stop exporting meat suspected of harbouring BSE, following last month's discovery of the infection in German cattle.

The European Union has told the government in Berlin to withdraw from export sausage-meat made of beef from the backbone and warned that it might otherwise force it to do so.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service