BSE / Mad Cow.

Martha H Adams said:

I've just checked my sci.med newsgroup and I find no postings re the BSE / Mad Cow news that began
coming out last night.

Why should there be? It's news for veterinarians and economists, not doctors of (human) medicine.

Nobody has ever _proved_ a link between BSE and any human illness, anyway, although there is some
fairly persuasive circumstantial evidence.

Quoted message said:

I'm surprised, for there seems to be a control spin on the news.

A control spin? I see the usual sensationalism and hysteria-mongering.

Quoted message said:

Public risk is "minimal" or zero. No infected product is in the market.

That is probably actually true, although it surprises me that the media would mention the truth when
it isn't frightening.

Quoted message said:

(Another source): The animal was so sick it couldn't walk so it was disposed of -- into the
food supply.

Yeah, I found that odd.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

"Martha H Adams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've just checked my sci.med newsgroup and I find no postings re the BSE / Mad Cow news that began
coming out last night. I'm surprised, for there seems to be a control spin on the news. For
example:

Public risk is "minimal" or zero. No infected product is in the market.

(Another source): The animal was so sick it couldn't walk so it was disposed of -- into the food
supply. The processing plant has stopped delivery of about 5 tons of their product.

Our Christmas family gathering tomorrow will include prime rib for dinner.

HMc

On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 14:09:24 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden] (Martha H

Adams) said:

I've just checked my sci.med newsgroup and I find no postings re the BSE / Mad Cow news that
began coming out last night. I'm surprised, for there seems to be a control spin on the news.
For example:

Public risk is "minimal" or zero.

Sounds about right.

Simply that a govt official says so is not convincing. But the medical experts agree, and groups
critical of some of the BSE controls agree that any risk from this cow is minimal. (What concerns
them is that they think further steps could be taken to make the risk even lower.)

Have a good holiday -- everyone.

bob

Quoted message said:

No infected product is in the market.

(Another source): The animal was so sick it couldn't walk so it was disposed of -- into the food
supply. The processing plant has stopped delivery of about 5 tons of their product.

Interesting! Cheers -- Martha Adams

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

(Martha H Adams) said:

I've just checked my sci.med newsgroup and I find no postings re the BSE / Mad Cow news that
began coming out last night. I'm surprised, for there seems to be a control spin on the news. For
example:

Public risk is "minimal" or zero.

Sounds about right.

Simply that a govt official says so is not convincing. But the medical experts agree, and groups
critical of some of the BSE controls agree that any risk from this cow is minimal. (What concerns
them is that they think further steps could be taken to make the risk even lower.)

Have a good holiday -- everyone.

bob

Quoted message said:

No infected product is in the market.

(Another source): The animal was so sick it couldn't walk so it was disposed of -- into the food
supply. The processing plant has stopped delivery of about 5 tons of their product.

Interesting! Cheers -- Martha Adams

I think the primary concern is with other cows that may have gotten BSE from the same source but
have not been identified. Also, the brain and spine from this cow went to "rendering" where it is
made into products for consumption by other animals - I think not including cows - and I have heard
no discussion on the risks down the road from that.

Bill

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I think the primary concern is with other cows that may have gotten BSE from the same source but
have not been identified.

yes.

The interesting news today is that this cow was born (a few months) before the current ban on
feeding cattle other cattle. So, if it did get infected via feed, it may not have been due to
leakage in the new rule, but simply events prior to the rule. That should be somewhat reassuring re
future cattle coming to market, though of course leaving open some questions.

Quoted message said:

Also, the brain and spine from this cow went to "rendering" where it is made into products for
consumption by other animals - I think not including cows - and I have heard no discussion on the
risks down the road from that.

It is generally thought that the barrier to transmission across species is fairly high, and I think
the idea is to feed the stuff to animals that are not known to get prion diseases at all. I suppose
there is some discomfort about that policy -- due to uncertainties. It will be interesting to see
how it works out.

bob

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I think the primary concern is with other cows that may have gotten BSE

from

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the same source but have not been identified.

yes.

The interesting news today is that this cow was born (a few months) before the current ban on
feeding cattle other cattle. So, if it did get infected via feed, it may not have been due to
leakage in the new rule, but simply events prior to the rule. That should be somewhat reassuring
re future cattle coming to market, though of course leaving open some questions.

Quoted message said:

Also, the brain and spine from this cow went to "rendering" where it is made into products for

consumption by

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

other animals - I think not including cows - and I have heard no

discussion on

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the risks down the road from that.

It is generally thought that the barrier to transmission across species is fairly high, and I
think the idea is to feed the stuff to animals that are not known to get prion diseases at all. I
suppose there is some discomfort about that policy -- due to uncertainties. It will be interesting
to see how it works out.

bob

It has been illegal to use spinal cord or other neural tissue from cattle for any reason since about
1998. This particular cow was born (and fed) some months before that ban went into effect.

Even though it's illegal, it is anticipated that some packing plants ignore the ban and grind 'em up
anyway. Naturally, the USDA is an extraordinalily efficient organization in managing the meat
packing industry and I have no doubt they will catch such offenders and punish them severely.

Right.

HMc