BSE Risk Management Training in Costa Rica
March 7, 2007

Prion diseases such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), more commonly known as mad cow disease, can have negative effects on the health of both humans and animals and can also cause irreparable damage to a country’s economy. A fundamental problem of past attempts to address BSE in various countries as a human health, animal health, economic and social risk issue has been a lack of traceability and surveillance stemming from an incomplete approach to risk management of the disease. Important additions to past practices in managing prion disease risks are needed.

The goal of this five day course offered in Costa Rica by TDV Global Inc. in partnership with the McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment of the University of Ottawa was to share Canadian expertise in risk management of BSE and other prion diseases with a broad context for food safety, surveillance and public health. The goal was to afford the appropriate Costa Rican governmental agencies the ability to apply the risk management techniques presented to their livestock herds prospectively, averting costly financial and social issues.

Training was held at the Bougainvillea Hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica for 22 participants.  Several professors from the University of Ottawa and experts in the public health field presented on various aspects of risk management (measurement, prediction and communication), an overview of BSE and its etiology, animal and human health aspects of the disease, social impacts, operational issues, and governance.

By the end of the course, awareness of food safety and risk assessment methods had increased significantly among participants.  It has been clearly shown that in particular circumstances such as BSE, early investments in risk reduction strategies can have very large payoffs in terms of averted costs. 

Bougainvillea Hotel, San Jose, Costa Rica, March 7, 2007
Left to Right: Michael Ennis (TDV Global Inc.), Daniel Krewski (University of Ottawa), Eleanor Toews (TDV Global Inc.), Oscar Arias Sanchez (President of Costa Rica), Noel Murray (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) and Carol Amaratunga (University of Ottawa).

Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture (SENASA) and other workshop participants at the Bougainvillea Hotel grounds, San Jose, Costa Rica. March 9, 2007. PrioNet researchers:  Dr. Daniel Krewski (far left), Dr. Neil Cashman (front, middle), Dr. Carol Amaratunga (front, second from right) and Dr. Michael Tyshenko (front, far right).