atrial fibrillation is likely caused or severely worsened by lasalocid in eggs

Atrial Fibrillation is likely caused or severely worsened by Lasalocid in
eggs.

Lasalocid is a veterinary "antibiotic" which is given as a feed
supplement to certain farm animals and poultry including birds destined to
become layers. You can read all about this highly toxic heart poison in
this April 2004 Soil Association report "Too Hard To Crack". Although it
is illegal to feed lasalocid to laying hens the report says, there is
still significant egg production in the United Kingdom which is
extensively contaminated with lasalocid residues. Lasalocid is sold
worldwide by the pharmaceutical company Alpharma as Avatec 15% and the
report calls for "the suspension of marketing authorization for Avatec
15%CC and Avatec 15%CC Game as a matter of urgency". The report shows that
in 2003 "many people will have ingested quantaties of lasalocid which
exceeded, sometimes many times over, the Acceptable Daily Intake" and that
the problem is getting worse. The April 2004 Soil Association report "Too
Hard To Crack" cites crude 1980's experiments performed by Hoffman La
Roche which showed that just under 45% of all lasalocid metabolites in
cattle were bioactive and thus potentially harmful. Knowledge of what
effects farming supplements like Bovatec when fed to cattle may have in
relation to human health is unknown. Lasalocid is not licensed for use in
cattle in the EU but then neither is it licensed for use in laying hens
and yet there is still this huge problem with contaminated eggs. It is
thought that contaminated feed mills and lorries, and wrong feed
deliveries may be the cause. No one has been prosecuted and when the
highest level of lasalocid residue ever recorded was detected in 2003 no
attempts were made to recall the batch or trace its origin says the report
and as you will also see, lasalocid is not the only substance with which
to be concerned. It belongs to a group known as the ionophores all of
which are potent heart poisons many of which are in regular use in animal
feed. It is my contention that the advice given in the report stating that
the consumption of two eggs per person per day is safe is wrong. I was
eating two eggs per day and I was suffering greatly with many severe
attacks of atrial fibrillation. I had suffered with atrial fibrillation of
an unknown cause since 1997 and in October 2002 I quit eating all eggs and
I have not had one single attack of atrial fibrillation since then. I
cannot say what part poultry meat may play in this as I rarely consumed
it. You may also be interested to know that the BBC National Radio News on
17 Feb 2004 reported that there is an atrial fibrillation epidemic which
is estimated to cost the UK 1% of its annual national healthcare budget
and that it has been estimated that 1in 10 over 65's and that 1 in 100
people overall suffer with atrial fibrillation. You may also note that
this report came soon after the lasalocid residues problem reached an all
time recorded peak. BBC Radio Four - Farming Today Programme 15 Dec 2003:
Richard Young of the Soil Association (UK) in conversation with Bob
Stevenson of the British Veterinary Association said that a new government
report due out today would show an alarming increase in levels of
lasalocid residue in eggs. Based on the sample rates he said that last
year 500 million eggs were estimated to be contaminated with lasalocid
residues and that 40 millions were contaminated to a worryingly high
level. Given that 27 million eggs are consumed daily in the UK the figure
of 500 million poisoned eggs per year represents a whopping 20 percent
contamination rate and the 40 million highly contaminated eggs represents
a significant 2 percent of all eggs. Richard Young went on to say that he
thought the drug should be banned and a safer alternative of which there
are a few should be used instead or failing that then vaccination of the
birds should be brought in but he didn't think that was likely because of
the cost differential. Vaccination costs are 7 times the cost of the toxic
drug lasalocid. Bob Stevenson of the British Veterinary Association urged
caution at the idea of replacing lasalocid with another drug because of a
fear of eventual drug resistance and the subsequent depletion in the drug
armoury available for veterinary medicine. FSA response to the April 2004
report. Response from the Food Standards Agency 14.04.04:
www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2004/apr/lasalocidreport The Food
Standards Agency is reiterating its advice about eating eggs in the light
of the Soil Association's report on a particular feed additive residue in
eggs. The report does not raise any immediate health concerns but the
Agency is continuing to press industry to ensure that the additive,
lasalocid, is not found in eggs. Lasalocid is used against internal
parasites in chickens. It is illegal to use it in the European Union for
laying hens. The levels of lasalocid in eggs do not raise any immediate
health concerns for consumers. However, for some time the FSA has been
urging industry to address this problem and is disappointed by the failure
of industry to take effective action against bad practice. The Agency is
considering further measures, such as a survey of eggs with a view to
providing consumers with information, and supporting enforcement action
where necessary. The Agency's advice about eating eggs remains unchanged,
but it will be kept under review in the light of new information. What is
its advice about how many eggs may be eaten? The FSA doesn't recommend a
limit on how many eggs should be eaten:
www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/faq/lascaloidfaq/ (sic) What are the lasalocid
residue levels in eggs like today? According to the Veterinary Residues
Committee (VRC) 2004 report vrcar2004.pdf which is the most recent annual
report at this time on page 37 it shows that (2.83%) or 8 of 283 samples
analysed proved positive above 50 micrograms/Kg (action level) for
lasalocid residues. They were 50, 67, 100, 100, 110, 190, 200 and 300
micrograms/Kg respectively. The situation in domestic quail eggs is worse
with (36.6%) or 11 of 30 egg samples testing positive with values 40, 41,
46, 53, 55, 58, 64, 158, 170, 240 and 2399 micrograms/Kg lasalocid
residues. The action level for domestic quail eggs is 40 micrograms/Kg. It
is worth noting here that the VRC have changed the action level from 2
micrograms/Kg in 2001 to 40 micrograms/Kg in 2002 and again to 50
micrograms/Kg in 2003. The changes mean that many low-level and even some
mid-level findings are no longer being reported as positives. Conclusion.
Consider the following table from the Soil Association 2004 report "Too
Hard To Crack" and notice how residue levels have been climbing year on
year leaving so called "action levels" far behind:

http://www.freewebs.com/lasalocid/eggs.png

As you can see, most of the positive reports in the years 1998 to 2001
inclusive would now fall below the VRC/VMD radar and yet I was still
suffering from atrial fibrillation attacks when lasalocid residues in
eggs were that low. I also find it interesting that the period 2002 when
lasalocid residues in eggs began to skyrocket was the same period when my
atrial fibrillation attacks became the most severe. Just as the residues
problem in eggs was increasing so was my experience of atrial
fibrillation in severity and frequency.
Though the 2004 figures are just under one quarter the 2003 figures in
terms of positive samples above the action level I personally still
wouldn't touch eggs or poultry with a barge pole. It is quite possible
that many of those abitrarily "magicked away" sub 50 microgram/Kg results
will continue to be a significant health hazard even when all samples are
showing sub action level lasalocid residues. I grievously sympathise with
all those that are similarly affected as I was and who undoubtedly cannot
ever know if eggs are safe to eat at least in respect of the lasalocid
residue problem because the action level is set too high. The reports that
caused me to quit eating eggs and poultry. Soil Association (UK) press
release 16 Jan 2002: Up to three-quarters of a million eggs eaten every
day contain residues of a toxic drug that is widely used by intensive
poultry farmers, according to a new report published today (16 January) by
the Soil Association. The UK's leading organic organisation is calling for
an immediate ban on lasalocid (pronounced la-sal-o-sid) which is found in
2.6 per cent of chicken eggs and also in chicken meat. Lasalocid was
present in 60 percent of the quails eggs tested by the Government's
Veterinary Medicines Directorate. The report will be discussed at a
meeting with the Food Standards Agency today, which will be attended by
nearly 100 organisations and called as a result of a previous Soil
Association publication "Too hard to swallow" the truth about drugs and
poultry. Lasalocid is too toxic to ever be used in medicine and has been
shown to have potent effects on animals at low levels: rabbit hearts
contract when exposed to the drug a discovery which prompted an experiment
in 1974 using human heart muscle. Rapid contractions were observed and
were still evident an hour after the drug had been given. Alison Craig,
the reports author says, "Even low levels of lasalocid are dangerous to
mammals and this raises concerns about how toxic the drug is to humans. We
know that this drug hangs around in the body, so we could be accumulating
it every time we eat eggs or chicken. The Government's testing programme
for such residues is wholly inadequate, only one out of every 18 million
eggs is analysed." Consumers are theoretically protected from veterinary
drugs residues by maximum residue limits set by the European Commission.
However, as lasalocid is classified as a feed additive, no limit has been
set. Daily doses of lasalocid are routinely given to chickens and turkeys
in their feed as a preventative treatment against coccidiosis - an
infectious disease caused by a parasite which damages the birds intestines
and causes illness and sometimes death. When large numbers of animals are
crowded together (up to 100,000 birds may be kept in one unit) in warm and
moist conditions, outbreaks of coccidiosis are likely to occur. Lasalocid
is not prescribed by vets but sold as a feed additive directly to
producers by pharmaceutical companies and feed merchants. Consumers who
want to avoid poultry that may contain residues of this drug should look
for Soil Association certified organic meat and eggs as lasalocid is not
used by the organisation's licensed farmers. Lasalocid is not the only
highly toxic drug fed to poultry which was finding it's way onto the
kitchen table. A June 2001 Soil Association report details the following:
Nicarbazin has never been carefully evaluated for safety in humans.
Studies have shown it can cause both birth defects and hormonal problems
in animals. In 1999, the last year for which full figures are available,
17.8 per cent of chicken livers tested has residues of nicarbazin in
excess of the Maximum Residue Limit of 200 micrograms per kg., the highest
being 10,500 micrograms per kg., over fifty times the legally permitted
level. Since then 127 out of 700 (18 per cent) of chicken livers tested
have contained residues of nicarbazin. It is also been found in
approximately 2 per cent of eggs. Where nicarbazin is present in liver it
will also be present in flesh at lower levels. Dimetridazole (DMZ) has
never been properly evaluated for as a contaminant of human food.
Scientific committees disagree about its safety, but it is suspected of
being able to induce both cancer and birth defects. It is licensed for
turkeys and pheasants rather than chicken or laying hens yet in 1998 2 per
cent, and in 1999, 0.5 per cent of eggs contained residues of DMZ.
Lasalocid is not licensed for laying hens. It is a member of the potent
cardio-toxic ionophores which have never been properly evaluated as
residues in food. No Maximum Residue Limit has been set. Yet in 1999, one
in every dozen eggs (8.5 per cent) tested contained residues of lasalocid
above the informal action level of 100 micrograms per kg. The highest of
these was 5,400 micrograms per kg. 12 per cent of chicken muscle also
tested positive. In addition the drug is found in quail muscle and chicken
liver. The Soil Association said it believes government regulators have
seriously misled the public about the high incidence of dangerous drug
residues found in chicken and eggs. Richard Young, coordinator of the Soil
Association's campaign against the overuse of antibiotics in intensive
farming says, 'Despite repeated assertions by regulators that nearly all
poultry products are free from detectable residues, figures show clearly
that about 20 per cent of chicken meat and 10 per cent of the eggs tested
contain residues of drugs deemed too dangerous for use in human medicine.'
Richard Young and Alison Craig, authors of the Soil Association report
'Too Hard to Swallow, the truth about drugs and poultry' challenge
statements from senior officials in the Veterinary Medicines Directorate
(VMD, the executive agency of Maff responsible for residue surveillance),
who assert that approximately '99 per cent of poultry meat and 97 per cent
of eggs are free of detectable residues.' The report exposes that this
distortion is achieved by a statistical trick. The results of positive
tests for individual drugs are expressed as a percentage of all tests
undertaken for all substance (most of which are never found). Of most
concern are the drugs used to control tiny intestinal parasites in poultry
and game birds that can cause severe losses in intensive production
systems. These include nicarbazin, lascalocid and dimetridazole, all of
which pose potential risks to animal or human health. Mr. Young continued,
'These antimicrobial drugs have never been properly evaluated for safety,
but there is evidence that they have the ability to cause cancer, birth
defects and heart attacks. Some residue samples are more than 50 times
over the legal limit, yet the VMD has brought no prosecutions. We want to
see their use stopped as quickly as possible.' The Soil Association says
that more chickens should be reared organically where the routine use of
drugs is not permitted. Intensive poultry producers could use vaccines
instead of adding antimicrobials to feed, which would effectively reduce
the risk of residues. However, vaccines cost almost 7p per bird, which for
some producers is their entire profit margin per chicken. The Soil
Association believes that consumers would willingly pay a little extra for
chickens produced without these drugs. The Guardian (UK) June 4, 2001
Special report - what's wrong with our food? titled "Drug traces in
chickens 'pose health risk'" by James Meikle, health correspondent: About
one in five chickens slaughtered for the dinner table contains traces of
potentially dangerous drugs, according to a report which is to be studied
by the government's food standards agency. Consumers might be at extra
risk of cancer, heart attacks or producing defects in foetuses, because
millions of birds and eggs eaten each year have residues from veterinary
medicines used to treat poultry diseases, said the report, published last
night by the Soil Association, the campaign group for organic farming. Its
authors called for the use of such drugs to be banned while checks were
made into their safety. They also accused veterinary watchdogs of
misleading the public over the levels of residues. Richard Young, the
association's policy adviser, said: "Despite repeated assertions by
regulators that nearly all poultry products are free from detectable
residues, figures show clearly that about 20% of chicken meat and 10% of
the eggs tested contain residues of drugs deemed too dangerous for use in
human medicine." The food agency said that the report was a welcome
contribution to a debate in an important area. He added that it would
invite the veterinary medicines directorate (VMD) - the agency responsible
for monitoring residues - the authors, and other specialists to discuss
the concerns. A spokesman said: "This is a complex area with differing
expert views. The agency is keen to ensure that consumers are protected
from any potentially harmful residues that occur in food and favour their
use being kept to a minimum." The report alleged that the VMD pulled a
"statistical trick" by asserting 99% of poultry meat and 97% of eggs were
free of detectable residues. This expressed the proportion of negative
samples as a percentage of all tests undertaken for all substances. But
closer scrutiny of data revealed a more alarming picture, said the report.
The drugs of most concern were those used to control internal para sites
in poultry and game birds. In 1999, nicarbazin was found in 18% of chicken
livers tested and in about 2% of eggs. Studies had shown it could cause
birth defects and hormonal problems in animals. Lasalocid, which may
damage the heart, was not even licensed for laying hens but had been found
in one in every dozen eggs. It had also been detected in 12% of chicken
muscle. Dimetridazole, suspected of being able to induce cancer and birth
defects, was licensed for use in turkeys and pheasants, but had been found
in one in 200 chicken eggs in 1999. Mr Young said: "These antimicrobial
drugs have never been properly evaluated for safety, but there is evidence
that they have the ability to cause cancer, birth defects and heart
attacks. Some residue samples are more than 50 times over the legal limit,
yet the VMD has brought no prosecutions. We want to see their use stopped
as quickly as possible." Britons eat more than 750m chickens a year,
accounting for nearly 40% of all meat sold, as well as nearly 10bn eggs.
Low prices have helped create the surge in demand but the association
argues consumers would be prepared to pay the little extra that would
result from intensive producers vaccinating their birds rather than using
drugs. The VMD denied statistical trickery. A spokesman said: "These are
active ingredients which do have recommended levels and are safe from a
veterinary point of view in the right dosage. We investigate where
residues seem to be high." Roger Cook, from the National Office for Animal
Health, representing the drug industry, said the anti-parasite treatments
had made modern production possible. "There are vaccines but they are not
as widely appropriate as the Soil Association is implying." The British
Egg Industry Council accused the Soil Association of using "outdated"
figures from 1999, but even then levels of nicarbazin were minute. No
residues from nicabarzin had been found in eggs in 2000 and other residues
in eggs were minimal. Problems had been caused by accidental contamination
in feed mills or on farms. Other information
www.foodwatch.ca/know/eggs.htm: There are no studies evaluating the
toxicity of ionophore to humans. Laboratory tests have, however, shown
that the ionophore lasalocid has a strong effect on the human heart muscle
at low levels and monensin, another routinely used ionophore, has been
found to have a similar cardio-vascular effect in dogs at levels as low as
one millionth of a gram per kilogram. Many of the animals that have died
from ionophore poisoning have died from heart failure. Ionophores could be
a particular danger to children and older people as they eat more eggs
than any other group. Also, ionophore drugs can react negatively with some
prescription medicines, yet doctors have not been notified of the possible
presence of dietary ionophore residues in eggs.
.

Relevant Pages

  • lone atrial fibrillation exacerbated/caused by contaminated eggs/poultry etc
    ... Is Atrial Fibrillation caused or severely worsened by Lasalocid in eggs? ... April 2004 Soil Association report "Too Hard To Crack". ... contaminated with lasalocid residues. ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)
  • Atrial Fibrillation severely worsened by drug residues in food
    ... LASALOCID (a veterinary residue in eggs and poultry) is extremely ... Lasalocid an "antibiotic" given to many food production farm animals is ... costs are 7 times the cost of the toxic drug lasalocid. ... eggs eaten every day contain residues of a toxic drug that is widely used ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)
  • Toxic Eggs & Poultry (UK)
    ... LASALOCID (a veterinary residue in eggs and poultry) is extremely ... Richard Young went on to say that he thought the drug should be ... residues of a toxic drug that is widely used by intensive poultry ...
    (sci.med.nutrition)
  • make that 24 MONTHS FREE from attacks since dumping eggs from diet.
    ... Twenty percent of all eggs are estimated to ... contaminated with high levels of the heart poison lasalocid. ... estimated to be contaminated with lasalocid residues and that 40 millions ... costs are 7 times the cost of the toxic drug lasalocid. ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)
  • Warning: Toxic Residue in EGGS causes/severly worsens Atrial Fibrillation
    ... Twenty percent of all eggs are estimated to ... contaminated with high levels of the heart poison lasalocid. ... estimated to be contaminated with lasalocid residues and that 40 millions ... costs are 7 times the cost of the toxic drug lasalocid. ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)