Many ISU students and faculty members travel to England and other European countries each year. Experts are taking precautions to prevent them from spreading any foreign diseases when they return to the United States.

Upcoming changes in blood donation regulations in order to prevent the spread of mad cow disease may affect Britain travelers.

Trevor Nelson, assistant director and coordinator of the study abroad program, said he does not foresee these new rules impacting the number of students who travel to Great Britain.

Nelson said he doesn’t think mad cow disease has caused any decrease in travel to Britain, but that foot-and-mouth disease recently caused areas of Britain to be inaccessible to tourists.

This summer the study abroad center provided information about both of these diseases to all students traveling to Europe, he said.

The center’s Web site and handbooks also refer students to the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site to learn more about diseases they may encounter while abroad.

“We’re going to have to inform students who go to the United Kingdom about the willingness of the Red Cross to accept their blood,” Nelson said.

“[The new rules] strike me as a bit extreme, but I certainly understand the need to protect the blood supply,” he said. “I think you have more of a chance of getting in a car accident on the way to the airport than contracting mad cow disease.”

Tom Emmerson, professor of journalism and mass communication, said the stricter rules are a good idea.

Emmerson received his doctorate in London and travels there frequently. He is not eligible to donate blood because of his cumulative time spent in the city.

“It’s probably smart to err on the side of caution. There are a lot of unanswered questions about this problem,” he said.

Ryan Dahlby, junior in mechanical engineering, is disappointed with the new rules.

Dahlby studied abroad at Swansea University in Wales. He said he used to donate blood, but is no longer eligible.

“It’s unfortunate because I don’t see the spread of mad cow as a large threat. I don’t feel prone to giving the disease to someone,” he said. “The consensus [in Wales] was that it was a problem in the past, but they aren’t too worried about it now.”

He said when he flew back to the United States, he was asked in customs if he had any food in his luggage and if he had visited any farms in the United Kingdom.

These questions were asked to prevent him from bringing mad cow or foot-and-mouth disease into the country.

Emmerson observed more precautions against mad cow disease in London than Dahlby saw in Wales.

“I think there’s a lot of public concern in England,” he said.

During his most recent visit in May, he said he was surprised by the number of people not eating beef in London.

He said he also noticed the space in grocery stores for vegetarian products has greatly increased.

Emmerson said mad cow safety concerns did affect the eating habits of him and his wife.

“We probably didn’t eat as much meat as we did before,” he said.

Although some travelers like Emmerson are taking precautions against this disease, Nelson predicted they will continue to travel in Britain.

“Britain has always been our most popular destination,” he said. “There’s no reason to believe it won’t continue to be.”