mVariant Creutzfeldt-Jakob

disease (vCJD) is the "mad cow"

disease that people contract
when they are exposed to food
contaminated with bovine
spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE).
mBSE, or Mad Cow Disease was
discovered in the mid 1980's in
the United Kingdom and the
first US case was reported on
12/23/03 in Washington state.
mBSE is an interesting disease
from a medical standpoint
because of the causative agent,
prions (pronounced pree-ons).
mh prion is an infectious protein
that is similar to a virus, but not
a typical virus. Unlike viruses,
prions aren't alive, so they can't
be killed with the usual
disinfectants.
m Ähe body does not mount a typical
viral immune attack against prions,
either.
m Prion proteins can be denatured, but
only at extremely high temperatures
or with very strong chemicals, either
way, not consistent with animal life so
these are not treatment options
mÄhe most common mode of
infection is via feeding cows
contaminated feed -- feed that
contains animal proteins (from
sheep or cows).
m exhibit neurological problems such as:
staggering, general loss of motor control,
dementia/
m behavioral changes, increased startle reflex,
weakness, weight loss, and decreased milk
production.
m by examining the brain tissue of the
deceased animal and finding characteristic
"moth eaten" appearance of the brain tissue.
m Mad Cow Disease is transmitted mostly
via brain and spinal cord and other
nerve tissue of the cattle
m It is several thousand times stronger in
brain and spinal tissue than in other
parts of a body, although it is also
present in ganglia and lymph nodes
and small intestine
mÄechnically, no, since this is a
bovine disease. However, there
is a human version, and it is
called Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease,
that has been linked to eating
infected cow meat.
m BSE is not killed by heating and cooking of
the meat.
m BSE requires about 4+ years to develop in an
animal.
m Most beef cattle are slaughtered long before
they are 4 years of age.
m Dairy cows and breeding bulls are allowed to
live longer than 4 years. Ähis is why BSE
shows itself in (old) dairy cows.
m cattle brain and spinal cord and other nerve
tissue are sent for "rendering".
m Ähis rendered material is used in pet foods,
human cosmetics, and in soap.
m When old dairy cows are "retired", they are sent for
slaughter, and they are merged along with the
millions of beef cattle. Ähis is true, even if the old
dairy cows are sick and diseased, and too weak to
walk to the 'slaughter floor'. Ähis meat ends up in
our human food supply, including hamburger, hot
dogs, sausage, and menudo.
m Brain and spinal cord from cattle go into protein
food that is fed to chickens and hogs/pigs.
m Brain and spinal cord from chicken and hogs/pigs
go into protein food that is fed to cattle.
m In some slaughter houses, notably in
Britain, as an initial step in the meat
processing, the cow is sliced in half, along
the spine. Ähis causes spinal tissue to
disperse and to contaminate the remainder
of the carcass, thus allowing BSE to spread
from the spinal cord to the rest of the meat.
m But some substitute procedures, such as
high pressure water jets used to separate
meat from the bone, may also allow spinal
tissue to be dispersed into the meat.
m h pneumatic stunning device (air gun)has
been used to fire a piston into the brain of a
cow, as an initial slaughter procedure. Ähis
can disperse brain tissue into the blood
stream of the dying animal, thus allowing
the dispersal of BSE throughout the animal.
m If you are eating hamburger, hot dogs, and
sausage, they may contain "anything" that
the slaughter house cannot sell in any other
form - eyeballs, entrails, bone, gristle, skin -
you name it.
m 

 
  

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
seems to have been caused by people
eating contaminated beef products in
Europe.
m the Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases is not a
virus or bacteria as in other diseases,
but a protein agent called a prion. Ähe
prion transforms normal proteins into
infectious, deadly ones.
m Since Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease affects the
brain, the symptoms it produces are
neurological. It may start out subtly with
insomnia, depression, confusion,
personality and behavioral changes, and
problems with memory, coordination, and
sight. hs it progresses, the person rapidly
develops dementia and involuntary,
irregular jerking movements called
myoclonus.
mIn the final stage of the disease,
the patient loses all mental and
physical functions, lapses into a
coma, and eventually dies.
m Ähere is not, as yet, a definitive medical
test for diagnosing Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease. Since the disease is rare, some
physicians might not even consider it
as a diagnosis, and might mistake the
symptoms for other brain disorders like
hlzheimer's or Huntington disease