According to the latest announcement by the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, according to the list released by the World Organization for Animal Health, the import of Chinese medicinal materials such as deer antler (horn), deer whip and antler glue from 6 countries where the epidemic has occurred, including the United States and Canada, is prohibited.

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[Central News Agency] There is no cure for mad deer disease. In order to prevent possible human infection, the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued the latest announcement based on the list published by the World Organization for Animal Health, banning deer antlers (horns), deer whips and antlers in six countries including the United States and Canada where the epidemic has occurred Glue and other Chinese herbal medicines are imported into Taiwan.

Chronic wasting disease, commonly known as mad deer disease, is a spongiform disease similar to mad cow disease that attacks the brain and nervous system of deer.

Mad deer disease outbreaks have been reported in the United States and Canada one after another. After the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Ministry of Health and Welfare banned the import of deer antler, deer penis, and antler glue from the affected areas since 2010, the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare has also included deer products since New Year’s Day in 2019. Systematic checks.

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At this stage, the countries or regions where deer chronic wasting disease occurs are announced, including South Korea, Canada, the United States, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Xie Caibei, chief of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said in an interview with the media today that because imports have been banned since 2018, there are no deer Chinese medicinal materials from the above-mentioned countries in China. There are domestic farms operating deer antler, and most of the antler glue is imported from China Mainland etc.

Xie Caibei emphasized that the importation of traditional Chinese medicinal materials such as deer antler (horn), deer penis and deer horn glue from countries where the epidemic has been reported has been banned in China even as early as 108 years ago. This notice is only a basis for amending the regulations.

The reason for the revision is that in the past, the prohibited import list was based on the announcement of the Council of Agriculture. After the revision, the banned import list was changed to be based on the announcement of the World Organization of Animals. The new system will be launched in the first half of this year at the earliest.

Wang Peining, an attending physician at the Department of General Neurology at the Neuromedicine Center of Taipei Veterans General Hospital, told the Central News Agency that neither mad deer disease nor mad cow disease has any drug cure at this stage, and the course of the disease deteriorates very quickly, about 1 to 2 years after the onset of the disease. Even in just a few months, it will be towards death.

Wang Peining explained that mad deer disease is related to abnormal protein, which is caused by abnormal accumulation of denatured protein prion, which is similar to mad cow disease.

Most of the symptoms of infected animals are walking unsteadily, falling easily, or changing temperament. Originally docile animals will become extremely irritable.

No human cases of mad deer disease have been found in the world so far. However, based on the analysis of the symptoms of a few human cases of mad cow disease, the symptoms of human cases are related to which part of the brain is affected by abnormal proteins. Individuals may also experience changes in mental behavior and temperament, such as losing their temper easily or becoming abnormally quiet, and even hallucinations or visual distortions.

Wang Peining said that whether it is mad cow disease or mad deer disease, the probability of infecting humans through animals is not very high, nor does it mean that eating infected animals will definitely cause infection.

If you eat the internal organs, bones, and nervous system of deer infected with mad deer disease, such as the brain or spinal cord, it is possible for abnormal proteins to enter the human body.

In addition, blood is also one of the sources of infection, but since most venison dishes are cooked, unlike beef that is cooked half-cooked, the possibility of infection is not so high.

Wang Peining said that people can safely eat cooked venison when traveling or on business trips to countries with wild deer disease. As long as they remember not to eat high-risk parts of the food, they can effectively reduce the risk of infection.