Before the rumors and myths get out of hand here about BSE (Mad Cow
Disease), please read the following excerpt:
First understand that BSE is one of a class of diseases known as "Prionic
Diseases" - http://www.prionics.ch/prions.html or
http://www-micro.msb.le.ac.uk/335/Prions.html
Now the facts...
Reality: No cattle in the United States have tested positive for BSE, and
nothing indicates that infected cattle have entered the United States from
countries where BSE has been found.
Why is America safe when outbreaks have occurred in other countries? U.S.
public health officials and regulators began monitoring the food industry
when BSE appeared in the United Kingdom 15 years ago, and steps taken since
then have further reduced the likelihood of disease here.
When BSE first appeared in the mid-1980s, British health authorities traced
the outbreak to meat-and-bone meal, a type of feed made from remnants of
slaughtered animals. BSE may be a mutation of scrapie, a disease of sheep.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in 1997, established a rule
prohibiting the use of most animal-derived protein in feed given to
ruminants — animals having multiple stomachs — such as cows and sheep.
In the same year, the FDA banned the use of feed made from meat-and-bone
meal to protect the U.S. food supply from contamination by imported feeds.
The use of tainted feed from the United Kingdom is thought to have brought
mad cow disease to other European countries, such as France and Germany.
In January 2001, the FDA quarantined 1,222 cattle in Texas that were thought
to have eaten a small amount of meat-and-bone meal. The agency tested the
cattle for BSE, and none tested positive. Purina Mills, the company that
supplied the feed, purchased the cattle and processed them into feed for
nonruminant species that can't get BSE, such as chickens.
A 1999 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association assessed
the risk of BSE in the United States by analyzing medical literature
published from 1975 through 1997. The American Medical Association's Council
on Scientific Affairs reviewed articles about BSE, prions and prion
diseases, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The committee concluded that there
is little risk of BSE transmission in the United States because:
1. BSE has not been shown to exist in the United States.
2. Adequate regulations exist to prevent entry of foreign sources of BSE
into the country.
3. Adequate regulations exist to prevent undetected cases of BSE from
uncontrolled amplification within the U.S. cattle population.
4. Adequate preventive guidelines exist to prevent high-risk bovine
materials from contaminating products intended for human consumption.
Reality: nvCJD can't be caught simply by your visiting a country with
BSE-positive cattle or people who have nvCJD.
nvCJD transmission occurs when brain or nervous tissue from an animal
infected with BSE is eaten. Humans can't pick up the prion that causes BSE
and nvCJD by touching an infected animal, coming in contact with the manure
of an infected animal or breathing air in a facility where sick animals are
housed. Those traveling to countries where BSE has been reported need only
avoid beef products containing brain and nervous tissue.
The exact risk of eating tainted meat can't be calculated. However, the
national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates the risk
in the United Kingdom to be one case of nvCJD for every 10 billion servings
of beef and beef products. The risk is unlikely to be any higher in other
European countries except possibly Portugal, where the number of cases
through mid-2000 was about half that reported in the United Kingdom.
To reduce the possible risk of acquiring nvCJD through food, the CDC
suggests that travelers either (1) avoid beef and beef products entirely or
(2) select beef products that are unlikely to contain brain or nervous
tissue, such as pieces of solid meat. CDC has no recommendation for milk and
milk products, but they are not thought to pose a risk of nvCJD.
nvCJD can't be acquired by casual contact with people with nvCJD or those
who have the disease but are not yet showing signs or symptoms, according to
the NINDS. There is no reason to cancel vacations or business travel because
of BSE.
The full text can be found at:
http://www.mayohealth.org/home?id=NE00246
Other reputable references:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/bse/
http://www.bse.org.uk/report/volume1/toc.htm
http://w3.aces.uiuc.edu/AnSci/BSE/
http://www.cyber-dyne.com/~tom/bloodtr.html
Hopefully the above link can clarify the confusion and allow us all to enjoy
our next burger or steak!
Jim Nitterauer
http://www.creativedata.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Edward Chanter [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 9:14 AM
To: CF-Community
Subject: RE: food and such
nope, the theory is that BSE comes from infected brain material (brain,
spinal chord etc...)
It's actually really hard to get even though everyone here keeps bangin on
about it.....
best wishes,
-= Ed
Problems cannot be solved at the same
level of awareness which created them.
- Albert Einstein
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