Bovine spongiform encephalopathy: taking stock of the issues
Article Abstract:
Rarely is a veterinary disease simultaneously fascinating to scientists, of tremendous economic importance, and of interest to the public. However, such is the case with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The disease, called 'mad cow disease' by some, was first identified in Britain in November 1986. Since that time, the problem has been the subject of intense public interest; some local authorities have taken beef off school menus; and France, Germany, and Italy have banned the importation of British beef. No one knows what the real hazards to humans might be. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which gets it name from fluid-filled vacuoles in the brain, giving the brain a 'spongy' appearance, is similar to other diseases such as scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in man. The causative agents of these degenerative brain diseases are probably not conventional bacteria or virus, and it is not known how readily these diseases are transmitted across species. The outbreak of BSE among British cattle has been attributed to scrapie-infected lamb finding its way into high-protein feedstocks, but the true source of the infection may never be known. The course that the epidemic may take among cattle is uncertain. Scrapie is endemic among sheep in some countries, including Britain. Among humans, CJD tends to be sporadic, and is transmitted only by accidental contamination with blood or infected tissue. Another related spongiform encephalopathy, transmissible mink encephalopathy, has no means of transmission from mink to mink (save cannibalism), and seems to come only from infected feedstock. All known infections of this type can be experimentally transmitted to laboratory animals including CJD. However, it is uncertain if humans are at risk for progressive, degenerative, fatal brain infections through the consumption of contaminated beef. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1990
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Mad cows cast long shadow
Article Abstract:
Lessons from mad cow disease in Britain include the dangers that can arise from not speaking out, as is shown by a public inquiry into the issue.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2000
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Were some CJD victims infected by vaccines?
Article Abstract:
There is speculation that victims of the human form of mad cow disease could have been infected from bovine materials used to make vaccines.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2000
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