Beef from the eastern US will not be banned but incidents of mad cow disease will continue to be monitored, Minister of Health Patrice Minors announced yesterday.

Mrs. Minors said Health officers had not recommended banning beef from the eastern seaboard ? where the majority of beef coming into Bermuda originates ? as the area is not thought to have been affected by the recent outbreak of the disease in the US.

Eight US states and Guam have reported that mad cow disease had infected meat or animals in their regions in recent weeks leading to fears that the spread of the highly contagious disease, which has been linked to human deaths, was increasing.

?Health Inspectors from the Department of Health have today visited the various supermarkets and wholesalers who import meat,? the Minister said.

?So far they have identified that all fresh and frozen beef entering Bermuda from America during the recent time frame has been imported from the New Jersey area on the eastern seaboard.

?This area has not been listed by the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) as one where concerns have been expressed.

The first incident of mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was reported in the US earlier this month in Washington State and a diagnosis by the world reference laboratory in England confirmed the presence of the disease.

The likelihood of any other meat containing the infectious disease was considered low at the time.

Mrs. Minors said that the USDA is currently tracing infected animals that may have been imported from Washington.

?The Department of Health has not, therefore, recommended any ban on the import of beef from the eastern parts of the US at this time, and there are no other precautions or recommendations on the consumption or preparation of meat.

?The situation will continue to be monitored by the Department of Health and further information will be forthcoming as soon as it is released by the USDA,? she added.