French Families File Suit Over ‘Mad Cow’ Cases

The families of two French victims of a brain-wasting affliction filed a lawsuit Friday accusing French, British and European Union authorities of not acting quickly enough to stamp out “mad cow” disease.

The suit, filed with investigating magistrates in Paris’ county court, alleges that Laurence Duhamel, who died in February at 36 of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and 19-year-old Arnaud Eboli, who is stricken with the deadly disease, were victims of poisoning and involuntary homicide.

“Our son is dying. We hope measures will be taken to prevent this from happening again,” said Dominique Eboli, Arnaud’s mother.

Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has been linked to a variant strand of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Both diseases eat holes in the brains of victims, and no cure has been discovered.

The scandal has tainted the reputation of French beef across Europe. On Friday, Italy became the latest country to ban most imports of French beef. Germany is also reportedly considering a ban, and Spain closed the doors on some French beef imports last week. Agriculture ministers from all 15 European Union countries are to meet Monday to discuss the problem.

The French government has taken drastic measures--such as banning cuts of meat like T-bone steaks--to reassure an increasingly concerned public. Since it was revealed that potentially infected beef made its way onto supermarket shelves last month, beef has been taken off the menu in many school cafeterias and sales have slumped.

Dominique Eboli called for emergency financial aid for families caring for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease sufferers. The families also criticized the government for reaching out to farmers instead of families.

“When an animal gets sick, the state helps the breeders, not the families,” said Duhamel’s brother, Jean, who is president of an association for Creutzfeldt-Jakob sufferers. “Our only way to be heard is to sue. Otherwise, we are left in the dark.”

The case is the first of its kind linked to mad cow disease in France. The court will open a judicial investigation and then an investigating magistrate will be assigned.

One more person besides Laurence Duhamel has died of the disease in France. In Britain, about 80 people have died.

The EU banned all British beef exports in 1996. It lifted the prohibition in August 1999 as a result of new safety measures and evidence that mad cow disease was on its way out in Britain.