Mike Johanns Quotes

I think that's unjustified criticism. We have had a number of measures in place in this country for several years to mitigate the possibility of mad cow spreading in this country. We have found a single case.

When one cow was found with BSE in 2003, many of our trading partners closed their borders to our beef.

The world has been very careful to pick very few diseases for eradication, because it is very tough.

In the ongoing effort to combat Ebola, more needs to be done to rewrite the public-health narrative. It must move from one that has been infused with fear to one that recognizes the hope for survival that supportive care can offer infected people.

The first case of mad cow disease since 2006 was discovered right here in the United States. The good news, since the cow is in California, instead of putting the cow down, they are going to enroll him in anger management classes.

Science is the international language, so when we are able to convince countries that good decision-making for human health and animal health is based upon science, that's a real success story for us.

We had a single find of BSE in this country. And we believe that what we're doing is appropriate action taken in an abundance of caution under the circumstances. And I believe it's the right thing to do.

I think it's important that, as a matter of course, the brain and spinal column were removed from this cow, and that would be the material that would cause concern in terms of human health. And therefore we're confident in the safety of the food supply.

The best proof of the high quality of American beef is the continued negative BSE findings supported by the highest surveillance possible. The administration should be working to increase our surveillance of BSE, not scaling it back.

A more effective international disease surveillance system is essential for global security both against a bioterrorist attack or a naturally occurring disease.

New and emerging infections keep coming back and the world needs a collective defense system, and that requires international cooperation and collaboration, in the name of global solidarity.

It is now widely recognized that any attempt at malaria eradication must be a long-term commitment that involves multiple interventions, disciplines, strategies and organizations.

The cows have ID numbers. And we should be able, throughout the investigation, which is ongoing as we speak, to be able to track that cow back to where it came from initially.

My legacy is that Merck continues to do what Merck has always done, which is to make singular impact on human health and animal health around the world. It's that simple.

I've had to confront a lot of pandemics and infectious diseases around the globe.

We don't have mad cow disease. We probably never will have mad cow disease, and therefore, it's a non-problem in the United States.

Check disease in its approach.

If other cows with mad cow disease were slaughtered, we wouldn't know where to begin looking for people who might have been affected, .. With a comprehensive tracking system, we would.

I contracted malaria in rural Mozambique. I was a youth ambassador for Australia. For a year after high school, you give positive speeches about Australia and as part of it I traveled to lots of different countries.

In today's world, it is shortsighted to think that infectious diseases cannot cross borders. By allowing developing countries access to generic drugs, we not only help improve health in those nations, we also help ourselves control these debilitating and often deadly diseases.

Unequal development in different countries in the promotion of health and control of disease, especially communicable disease, is a common danger.

We feel that we can do a great deal of good. We want to eliminate malaria in this generation.

We can't predict when infectios diseases will break out, but their breakout is inevitable. That is why we must be prepared.

A vaccine that prevented tuberculosis would merit a Nobel Prize, but it's just very difficult to develop.

The first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States has caused some to call on the United States to ban travel for anyone from the countries in West Africa facing the worst of the Ebola epidemic. That response is understandable. It's only human to want to protect ourselves and our families.