Re: BSE

["Patricia Milligan" <PXM@NRC.GOV>]

if we eliminated our fascination with meat as a part of our diets (i.e. go vegetarian), then not only would we eliminate such diseases as BSE in the human population (and no doubt the animal population), we would also be a lot healthier.....lower levels of cholesterol, etc.   Additionally, a vast majority of the farming in America goes to the production of animal fodder... and maybe we could feed more people, if we weren't so busy fattening up those steaks on the hoof!  If you are what you eat....then its pretty scary to contemplate the scenario below...

these thoughts are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employing agency...



Patricia A. Milligan, CHP

USNRC

301-415-2223



>>> Erik Nielsen <enielsen@antechltd.net> 03/29/01 02:34PM >>>



>Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 17:01:29 -0800

>From: "MacLellan, Jay A" <jay.a.maclellan@PNL.GOV>

>Subject: FW: " animal burial "

>

>

>Re:     Mad cow disease (BSE) is not caused by a virus, but is a not well

>understood

>         disease which involves wrongly folded prions (proteins).  Franz

>

>

>My wife was talking with a man, who happens to be a butcher, who believes mad

>cow disease is a result of the practice of feeding recycled processing 

>waste to

>animals (cannibalism).  Does anyone know if this is an accepted possibility?

>Jay MacLellan

>jay.a.maclellan@pnl.gov 





The primary pathway of BSE to humans is through the consumption of meat 

from contaminated animals. This is also how the cows get it.....beef blood 

and bone meal are/were common feed additives.  The prions from BSE are 

found in the brain and nerves of infected cattle.  It is suspected that 

ground meat/hotdogs have a higher percentage of this type of tissue than 

regular cuts....The British first banned  bone-in cuts of meat.



BSE transmitted to humans is technically referred to as CJDv which stands 

for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease variant.  CJD is a genetic disease in humans 

this causes the unique folding of proteins (prions). They can tell the 

difference from someone that has CJD and someone that is affected by the 

prions from BSE infected cattle. BSE probably started from cattle eating 

feed supplemented with sheep remains.  Sheep have their own form of the 

disease called Scrappie.



The final kicker is that BSE is similar to Kuru, a degenerative nerve 

disease found in the people of Papua New

Guinea.  There the women and children eat the brains of their dead. The 

disease is passed this way.  Since the practice was stopped so did new 

cases of Kuru.



So with all this you can see that there is a large body of direct and 

circumstantial evidence documenting the transmission mode.  Animal remains 

have been banned has a cattle food supplement in the US since 1997 but 

there are questions about feed segregation at the mills since blood and 

bone are still allowed in a most other feeds (swine, horse, dog, cat, etc.)



Erik C. Nielsen

Senior Radiochemist



Antech Ltd Waltz Mill Laboratory

P.O. Box 158, Bldg G, M/S 62

Madison, PA 15663



mailto:enielsen@antechltd.net 



(V) 724-722-5214

(F) 724-722-5208







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