'Mad cow' deaths on the rise, study says The Associated Press LONDON (August 3, 2000 7:38 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Deaths from the human form of "mad cow" disease have increased by about 33 percent each year in Britain since 1994, new research has found. According to the study, published this week in The Lancet medical journal, the incidence of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD, has risen by an average of 23 percent every year. Scientists believe people contract CJD by eating beef infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, but the fatal brain-wasting disease can be confirmed only by examining the brain after the victim has died. As of June 30, a total of 75 confirmed or suspected cases have been documented. Sixty-nine of those people have died. The research, conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the National CJD Surveillance Unit, said 14 people already have died from the disease in the first six months of this year, compared with 18 deaths for the whole of 1998. "Although absolute numbers remain low, there appears to be a real increase in the incidence ... in the U.K., which is a cause for concern," said Dr. Hester Ward of the surveillance unit, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. "Until it is known whether this increasing trend is maintained over time, it is difficult to predict future numbers of cases," she said. The incubation period is unknown, but one victim became a vegetarian 20 years before dying of the disease, which means the infection could lie dormant for decades, scientists say. The uncertainty has made it difficult for scientists to assess the scale of the problem and when it might peak. The disease first surfaced in the mid-1990s, a decade after a vet discovered Britain's first BSE-infected cattle herd. Since the British outbreak, which affected some 180,000 cattle, about 200 cases have been found in Portugal and smaller numbers in Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Switzerland. A European Union report concluded Tuesday that cases of "mad cow" disease are unlikely to occur in the United States and Canada, but cannot be ruled out. Last month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman ordered the slaughter of 376 sheep originating from Belgium on suspicion they may have a "mad cow"-type disease. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Wingate Anomalous Images and UFO Files http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
