The Psychosocial and Socioeconomic Consequences of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE): A Community Impact Study

Abstract

The detection of the first indigenous case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada on May 20, 2003, had significant consequences for the livestock industry. As a result, borders were closed by several trade partners, particularly the United States. The outbreak led to direct and indirect economic impacts to the “cattle” industry exceeding $6 billion. As a consequence of a number of risk management interventions implemented by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and provincial agencies, the BSE outbreak appears to have been largely contained. The initial results from our study of the socioeconomic and psychosocial impact of BSE on the health and well-being of rural and farm families living in Canada, a topic that remains largely unexamined are presented. Our analysis of the outbreak raises a number of questions concerning the resulting consequences for farmers, their families, and their communities, including considerations from a social determinants' of health perspective. In particular, our preliminary findings reveal that 5 years following the detection of the first indigenous case of BSE in Canada, ongoing uncertainty and stress resulting from unrecoverable financial losses continue to weigh heavily on the health and well-being of farmers, their families, and survival and sustainability of agricultural communities.

Acknowledgements

We thank the Women's Health Research Unit, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, for administrative and coordination support. We are grateful to Chris Paci, PhD, for his useful comments and careful reading of later versions of this article. We thank the many agricultural organizations, farmer representatives, and farm stress lines for their ongoing support and assistance in our recruitment campaign. Finally, we are especially grateful to all the participants who took part in the research. The ethics protocols of the Research Grants and Ethics Board (REB) of the University of Ottawa were followed and the consent was obtained prior to conducting the research with all the human subjects. The funding of PrioNet Canada, a National Centre of Excellence, is gratefully acknowledged. The views contained in this article are those of the authors and do not represent the views of PrioNet Canada. D. Krewski is the NSERC Chair in Risk Science at the University of Ottawa. The authors gratefully acknowledge the continued support provided by PrioNet Canada, the Alberta Prion Research Institute and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Dr. Daniel Krewski is the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Chair in Risk Science at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Neil Cashman is the Canada Research Chair in Neurodegeneration and Protein Misfolding Diseases.