Third U.S. mad cow case reported in Virginia, CDC says

[TexasLawyer]

Third U.S. mad cow case reported in Virginia, CDC says
Tue Dec 5, 2006 10:25pm ET140

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Saudi-born man living in Virginia has been identified as the third reported U.S. case of a human form of mad cow disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The man, whose case was reported to the CDC by the Virginia Department of Health, has variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease, or vCJD, the CDC said on its Web site.

This is a carefully diagnosed, brain-destroying illness that scientists believe is caused by eating beef products from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as BSE, or mad cow disease.

"This U.S. case-patient was most likely infected from contaminated cattle products consumed as a child when living in Saudi Arabia," the CDC said in its report, posted on the Internet at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/vcjd/other/vCJD_112906.htm.

<snip>

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=2006-12-06T032521Z_01_N05348574_RTRUKOC_0_US-MADCOW-USA-SAUDI.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

[w4rma]

1. The federal government is still *preventing* beef manufacturers from testing beef.

I haven't had beef in about three or four years now. I don't want to find out 20 years from now that my brain is deteriorating from mad cow.

[Nihil]

5. You can always count on your government to do the best thing ...

... for their own pockets.

The market for US beef would be dead within a week if the same standards
and tests were applied in US slaughterhouses as in European ones.

Even the compliant US media couldn't be relied on to keep the lid on
the truth so the tactic is to avoid this truth from being "noticed".

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. How soon, do yo suppose, can the Dem Congress take action and

allow the private beef ranchers to do their testing?

You'd think there would be more outrage for the Republican's misuse of government in preventing voluntary testing, than for stopping restaurants from using trans fat.

[pitohui]

14. have you noticed all the folks dropping dead from uk?

all britain was predicted to be dead of mad cow disease by now because of the widespread contamination in the 1980s, it proved much ado about nothing although i believe if you have lived in britain any length of time you are not allowed to donate blood in usa because of this issue


there's more to it than prions or that country would be de-populated now, i strongly suspect that only a tiny percent of the population is susceptible, which explains what we have observed (in the area of less than 200 dead worldwide 2 decades after the problem was discovered)

yes, the beef should be tested, but it has become clear that much of the hysteria about mad cow that was raised in the 1980s was huge, huge overstatement

[girl gone mad]

15. Don't bore everyone with facts...

widespread panic is so much more fun!

;)

I have a friend who can't donate blood because he lived in England for a year.

[pitohui]

16. yeah, apparently i was there during the time in question but not for a year

i ate beef in the pubs tho, ground beef like shepherd's pie, i mean who knew?

i may be a little odd but i'm fairly sure i don't have mad cow just yet

it feels like we are just being pumped full of fear about every bad thing that could possibly ever happen to anyone at all ever, you just can't live like that

[FourScore]

21. Actually,

http://healthyamericans.org/topics/index.php?TopicID=24

Mad cow disease has an incubation period from two to eight years in cattle. The incubation period for vCJD in humans is unknown. It is likely that the incubation period ultimately will be measured in terms of many years or decades. The relatively long incubation period of mad cow disease in cattle increases the difficulty of monitoring and preventing transmission to other cows.


AND

http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/mhunt/slow-vir.htm

New variant CJD disease (human BSE); nvCJD, vCJD

A form of CJD has been reported, predominantly in the United Kingdom, in patients who are usually younger (frequently under 40; average age at death: 28 years) than is the case for most CJD patients (average age of death: 68 years) (figure 8A). This disease is also different from the usual CJD in that patients tend to present with psychiatric problems and in that the course of the disease tends to be more protracted. Sufferers may eventually show any or all of the symptoms described above for other human prion diseases. The disease was first seen in 1996 and there is strong evidence to suggest that it is associated with exposure to BSE-contaminated beef. Strong BSE control measures have now been implemented. Autopsy reveals a distinctive neuropathological appearance and more PrP (prion protein) amyloid plaque (figure 7 and 9) type deposits than in typical CJD cases.

As of August 2006, 162 people have been reported with vCJD in the UK (figure 8b), 20 in France, 4 in Ireland, 2 in the United States and 1 each in Canada, Japan, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands (the people from Canada, Japan and the US were probably exposed while living in the UK).

We do not know if we are seeing the beginning of a major outbreak or whether these will be the majority of cases of this disease ever seen. There is also concern because there appears to be more infectious agent in the peripheral tissues, especially the lymphoreticular tissue of patients with vCJD than with normal CJD. This raises questions about sterilization of surgical instruments etc. and the possibility of iatrogenic spread. This is also one of the reasons that the United States is concerned and conservative about protecting the blood supply (by screening out those who have spent considerable time in the UK or Europe). There is a possibility that vCJD agents may have been transmitted by blood transfusion in two cases in two British cases. In both cases the blood had not been leuko-depleted; it is thought leuko-depletion might decrease the chances of transmission by blood transfusion.

[pitohui]

25. the problem is that this is just not quite correct, nice spin tho (i realize it's not your spin)

looking over the records, i now see where this misconception arises that mad cow didn't enter britain until 1996, it's because that's the first year a british court ruled that a man had died of mad cow disease contracted from eating beef

friends, that's like saying no one ever died of lung cancer caused by smoking until 1964, when the u.s.a surgeon general ruled that smoking caused cancer

mad cow disease appeared in britain in the 1980s not in 1996, it is unfortunate that the disease appeared prior to al gore's invention of the fabulous internets, but you can go back and read the written literature of the day at a library, it wouldn't need to be a scientific library, the popular science magazines of the day made much of it, i'm thinking discover in particular had a huge feature on it

the disease was noticed in cows in the mid 1980s and followed up quickly with the very dramatic deaths of two teen-age boys who ate a lot of hamburgers (what teen boys don't) and the subsequent hysteria was nothing short of astonishing, with claims being thrown about that the incubation of the disease might be 10-20 years -- even though the teen boys in question quite obviously had not lived 20 years

be that as it may, it has now been a full 20 years since 1986

where are the millions of deaths we are supposed to have seen by now?

it is inarguable that the claims that millions of deaths of people who had incubated the disease for 10 years has not come to pass, now they are trying to move the goal posts, and say, well, maybe they'll die in 20-40 years

well, again, it has been 20 years since 1986 (the date that center for food safety gives as the first recognition of BSE in england)

the predictions were just plain exaggerated, hysterical, and wrong -- less than 200 cases worldwide in 20 years, there is just no way that the disease is affecting everyone who ate beef in great britain from 1980 onward

test the beef, obviously there are people who have a genetic vulnerability to this terrible disease and they don't need to be sacrificed needlessly (often in their teens, because the incubation story ain't quite true either and often teens are taken) -- but we can do the right thing without trying to pretend that everyone is at risk, all exaggerated claims do is breed skepticism, reefer madness anyone?

an interesting bit of trivia is that peter cook, the young man first recognized by the british coroner of having died of mad cow disease, was a 20 year old vegetarian, make of that fact what you will, apparently they concluded he must have eaten beef in his childhood

[FourScore]

30. I understand where you are coming from,

and I sincerely hope you are right. But I honestly don't agree with you that this info is some sort of spin.

I know all about when mad cow began. I lived in Europe for 12 years (from 83-95) and was there throughout the mad cow madness, albeit in Berlin. Still, it got enormous coverage throughout Germany. There were many documentaries done on the subject, as well as cover stories in "Der Spiegel" magazine and countless newspaper articles. I can remember back then the epidemiologists suggesting that the incubation time would realistically be anywhere from 12-35 years. Slow viruses (it is believed Alzheimer could also be a slow virus, which is why it usually occurs in the elderly) can take DECADES to incubate.

Also, pertaining to Peter Cook -- one of the interesting facts that came out during the mad cow scare in Europe was how useless vegetarian or vegan diets could be. Animal carcass waste (including the carcass waste from cattle) is used in so many products in the household or general environment that it is astounding. Medications, lotions, cosmetics are only the ones that are well known. There are many, many others. The frightening part is that the mad cow prion could not be killed when heated at 130 degrees CELCIUS for THREE hours! It must be heated at that temperature for a total of SIX hours to ensure it's destruction. Virtually nothing is processed for that long at that temperature. (Those would be some well done burgers!)

I don't mean to sound off alarm bells, and I totally agree that we are currently experiencing a kind of fear plague that is gripping our society. But still, one must remain informed of all the facts when dealing with dangerous unknowns, whether it be global warming, mad cow, or George Bush.

I'm sure your health is fine. I was a vegan at the time, but I am no longer a vegetarian. I still do not understand why eating the muscle tissue was deemed safe by almost all experts. I would like to understand that better. Still the way meat is processed is so messy. Butchers begin to cut meat by slicing through the spine with an electric saw, spraying bone marrow all over the surrounding meat. It's disgusting, quite frankly. I saw a show about it once. You don't even want to know the details.

[w4rma]

23. Outlawing voluntary testing is effectively an admission that there is a serious problem. (nt)

[Eurobabe]

24. I disagree, politely, here's why

I think the US govt. has been covering up the number of deaths from vCJD to avoid shining the spotlight on the practices in the beef industry. Pols in too deep with National Cattlemen's Assoc.?? Lobbying, etc.??

It's the same as every other corporate + govt. cover-up. They routinely grease each other's palms, which is why the US so desperately needs agencies with independent research and oversight. I have little faith that THAT will ever happen. Not under the current two party structure. I am getting so cynical as I age that I wonder if ANY govt. is capable of sponsoring honest and fair research within their agencies.

Look at the EPA and 9/11 site. Did they tell the truth about what was in the air after the towers came down? No.

Look at the FDA and big pharma. Do they give the public the real truth about drug trials and disasterous outcomes? No.

Look at FEMA, look at the USDA, look at blah-blah, yada-yada.

Same shit, different piles. And it all stinks. :mad: :mad:

[pitohui]

27. maybe but i don't see a cover-up possible for this disease

it has very striking and obvious symptoms, we'd be hearing from the families by now

i too would point at the epa/twin towers debacle, sure, they lie like a dog on the rug, but the families of the victims are speaking out, the firefights and other workers at the site are drawing disability claims and insurance claims in record numbers, you just can't hide this sort of thing

you are talking about a conspiracy that would have to go back to 1980, the year that usa gov't fixes on as the probable first time BSE was entered into the food supply in england -- if you lived in britain in 1980 for six months or more, you cannot donate blood in the usa, not now, not ever, you are banned for life

this gov't can't keep a secret, it can keep the details hazy (think jfk assassination) but it can't keep a lid on the fact there's a serious problem

we just don't see it, what we see is once every two years or so, a couple of hunters die from eating a bad elk brain or a bad squirrel's brain or a family who it turns out lived in england for a time reports a teen with BSE

we are just plain not seeing the numbers

[Eurobabe]

31. Somewhere just recently I saw something about

possible jump in the numbers of people with Alzheimer's and this "maybe" tied to TSEs. Other things I've read have indicated that there are more cases of vCJD in the US than are being recorded, because they aren't investigate.

???

<shrugs>

[warrens]

29. Genetic predisposition

One major genotype is susceptable; the other (I forget the technical names) has never had a case.

The reason the explosion never happened is that you have to eat a certain amount of infected matter, usually brains. Few people eat cow brains. Even in England.

[porkrind]

22. They can't find what they don't look for

I've been beef-free for years for this very reason. I don't trust corporations to do the right thing. Their outlawing of voluntary testing is effectively an admission of their guilt. They want business-as-usual and profits-as-usual rather than find out about an epidemic they don't want to know about.

[MountainLaurel]

26. That's been the fed approach in other arenas as well

Such as environmental causes of cancer, particularly when corporate malfeasance is involved.

[SmellsLikeDeanSpirit]

2. Hasn't there been a ban since 1997 on feed containing livestock

and besides they don't use the spine or brain which are the dangerous part of a mad cow for beef people eat.

[Hekate]

3. Modern processing machinery inevitably takes some of the spinal cord while...

...stripping the meat from the spine.

Worst of all -- an old friend of mine who worked for the Department of Ag in Washington DC gave up eating beef a number of years ago. I asked her if Bush had FEMA-fied the Ag Dept -- she said yes.

You take it from there.

Hekate

[depakid]

4. Wishful thinking

Especially with ground beef. The beef supply has been contaminated for at least 15 years- and matters haven't gotten much better, if t all.

It'll be interesting to watch how the epi curve plays out with BSE. My suspicion is that a LOT of people will be dying in the next 10-20 years. How many? Who can say.

[Brazenly Liberal]

7. About that ban

It's pretty much a toothless tiger.

For one, the prions that cause mad cow have been found in organs and muscle. The USDA, which has a de facto employee exchange program with the beef industry, takes the fact that most prions are in the brain and spinal cord and runs with it as THE source of disease.

For another, it's actually still legal to feed cows to cows - you just have to run them through a chicken first. Prions in infected cow parts survive the trip through the chicken quite nicely.

[LeftyMom]

18. Yes, but it's an ineffective ban

It's common practice to feed feed pellets with rendered cow in them to chickens, then feed the chicken litter to cows. It's also not uncommon for cattle to get the banned feed, from what I've heard.

As for the spine and brain issue:

1. Google "Advanced Meat Recovery System."

2. Consider how much illness is caused by fecal contamination in meat. Then figure out how much harder it is to get meat with no bone and nerve tissue than it is to get meat with no shit in it.

[Stockholm]

6. Shit in shit out

Thats what you get when you feed cow to cows.

http://www.goveg.com/f-madcowprimer.asp

[raccoon]

8. K&R. THis needs to be on Greatest. nt

[Eurobabe]

9. It's all bull-shit (literally) in the USA

I've been following this story since the late 90s, and nothing has changed. Feedlot owners routinely receive warning letters from USDA re: feed mix ups. They don't test enough cattle, and not much is done to stop the offenders.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.cfm

http://www.madcowboy.com/01_FactsMC.000.html

[TexasLawyer]

11. I read "Mad Cowboy," Howard Lyman's book

about the beef industry, a few years back. Very fascinating and disturbing. Buy a copy for the vegetarian on your Holiday List.

Or actually, for anyone on your list-- and he or she will soon become a vegetarian.

[jilln]

12. Have you seen his new film?

I haven't seen it yet. I hear it's good.

[LeftyMom]

19. He has a new one out called No More Bull.

It's got information about the meat industry in the front and vegan recipes in the back. I got mine signed a couple months ago when I met him. Nice guy.

[TexasLawyer]

20. oooh I'll have to look for that one

thanks

[rustydog]

13. What??? Barbara Bush is visiting Virginia?

:evilgrin:

[MetaTrope]

17. McDonald's is your kind of place

:+

[confludemocrat]

28. Who's buying that he contracted mad cow in S. Arabia as a child? BS!

'nother case of a government scientific report being altered to tailor it to some big Repub contributor interest group like the cattlemans beef association, at our expense!

[Theres-a]

32. Who knows.

He probably got it right here,I mean,how can they be so sure he didn't?