Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
A cow with BSE: Infected animals lose the ability to stand.
Classification and external resources

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy and fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that may be passed to humans who have eaten infected flesh. BSE causes a spongiform degeneration of the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, of 2.5 to 5 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to five years. BSE is caused by a misfolded protein—a prion.[1] In the United Kingdom, the country worst affected by an epidemic in 1986–1998, more than 180,000 cattle were infected and 4.4 million slaughtered during the eradication program.[2]

The disease may be most frequently transmitted to humans by eating food contaminated with the brain, spinal cord, or digestive tract of infected carcasses.[3] However, the infectious agent, although most highly concentrated in nervous tissue, can be found in virtually all tissues throughout the body, including blood.[4] When it has been transmitted to humans, it is known as new Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD or nvCJD), and by June 2014 it had killed 177 people in the United Kingdom, and 52 elsewhere, primarily in western Europe in countries supplied with beef or beef products from the UK.[5] Between 460,000 and 482,000 BSE-infected animals had entered the human food chain before controls on high-risk offal were introduced in 1989.[6][7]

A British and Irish inquiry into BSE concluded the epizootic was caused by cattle, which are normally herbivores, being fed the remains of other cattle in the form of meat and bone meal (MBM), a protein supplement in concentrated feeds.[8][9][10] Since dairy calves are generally fed concentrated feed after they are weaned, they usually develop this disease more often than beef cattle.[11]

The cause of BSE may be from the contamination of MBM from sheep with scrapie that were processed in the same slaughterhouse. The epidemic was probably accelerated by the recycling of infected bovine tissues prior to the recognition of BSE.[12] The origin of the disease itself remains unknown. The infectious agent is distinctive for the high temperatures at which it remains viable, over 600 °C (1,112 °F).[13] A contributory factor was the feeding of infected protein supplements to very young calves.[9][14]

Classification

BSE is a transmissible disease that primarily affects the central nervous system; it is a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, like Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and kuru in humans and scrapie in sheep, and chronic wasting disease in cervids.[15][16][17]

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms are not seen immediately in cattle due to the diseases’ extremely long incubation period.[18] Some cattle have been observed to have an abnormal gait, changes in behavior, tremors and hyper-responsiveness to certain stimuli.[19] Hindlimb ataxia affects the animal’s gait and occurs when muscle control is lost. This results in poor balance and coordination.[20] Behavioural changes may include aggression, anxiety relating to certain situations, nervousness, frenzy or an overall change in temperament. Some rare but previously observed symptoms also include persistent pacing, rubbing or licking. Additionally, nonspecific symptoms have also been observed which include weight loss, decreased milk production, lameness, ear infections and teeth grinding due to pain. Some animals may show a combination of these symptoms, while others may only be observed demonstrating one of the many reported. Once clinical symptoms arise, they typically get worse over the upcoming weeks and months, eventually leading to recumbency, coma and death.[19]

Cause

The infectious agent in BSE is a specific type of misfolded protein called a prion.[16]

Prions can be transmitted to humans by eating food contaminated with them.[16]

Prions are not destroyed even if the beef or material containing them is cooked or heat-treated. Prion proteins carry the disease between individuals and cause deterioration of the brain.[21] Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)s like BSE can arise in animals that carry an allele which causes previously normal protein molecules to contort by themselves from an alpha helical arrangement to a beta pleated sheet, which is the disease-causing shape for the particular protein. Transmission can occur when healthy animals come in contact with tainted tissues from others with the disease. In the brain, these proteins cause native cellular prion protein to deform into the infectious state, which then goes on to deform further prion protein in an exponential cascade. This results in protein aggregates, which then form dense plaque fibers leading to the microscopic appearance of "holes" in the brain, degeneration of physical and mental abilities, and ultimately death.

Different hypotheses exist for the origin of prion proteins in cattle. Two leading hypotheses suggest it may have jumped species from the disease scrapie in sheep, or that it evolved from a spontaneous form of "mad cow disease" that has been seen occasionally in cattle for many centuries.[22] In the 5th century BC, Hippocrates described a similar illness in cattle and sheep, which he believed also occurred in man.[23] Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus recorded cases of a disease with similar characteristics in the fourth and fifth centuries AD.[24] The British Government enquiry took the view the cause was not scrapie, as had originally been postulated, but was some event in the 1970s that was not possible to identify.[25]

Other theories state that the agent is a virus,[26] virino,[27] Spiroplasma species, or Acinetobacter species.[28]

Pathogenesis

The pathogenesis of BSE is not well understood or documented like other diseases of this nature. Even though BSE is a disease that results in neurological defects, its pathogenesis occurs in areas that reside outside of the nervous system.[29] There was a strong deposition of PrPSc initially located in the Ileal Peyer’s patches of the small intestine.[30] The lymphatic system has been identified in the pathogenesis of scrapies, it has not, however, been determined to be an essential part of the pathogenesis of BSE. The Ileal Peyer’s patches have been the only organ from this system that has been found to play a major role in the pathogenesis.[29] Infectivity of the Ileal Peyer's patches has been observed as early as 4 months after inoculation.[30] PrPSc accumulation was found to occur mostly in tangible body macrophages of the Ileal Peyer’s patches. Tangible body macrophages involved in PrPSc clearance are thought to play a role in PrPSc accumulation in the Peyer’s patches. Accumulation of PrPSc was also found in follicular dendritic cells; however, it was of a lesser degree.[31] Six months after inoculation, there was no infectivity in any tissues, only that of the ileum. This led researchers to believe that the disease agent replicates here. In naturally confirmed cases, there have been no reports of infectivity in the Ileal Peyer’s patches. Generally, in clinical experiments, high doses of the disease are administered. In natural cases, it was hypothesized that low doses of the agent were present, and therefore, infectivity could not be observed.[32]

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of BSE continues to be a practical problem. It has an incubation period of months to years, during which no symptoms are noticed, though the pathway of converting the normal brain prion protein (PrP) into the toxic, disease-related PrPSc form has started. At present, virtually no way is known to detect PrPSc reliably except by examining post mortem brain tissue using neuropathological and immunohistochemical methods. Accumulation of the abnormally folded PrPSc form of PrP is a characteristic of the disease, but it is present at very low levels in easily accessible body fluids such as blood or urine. Researchers have tried to develop methods to measure PrPSc, but no methods for use in materials such as blood have been accepted fully.

The traditional method of diagnosis relies on histopathological examination of the medulla oblongata of the brain, and other tissues, post mortem. Immunohistochemistry can be used to demonstrate prion protein accumulation.[33]

In 2010, a team from New York described detection of PrPSc even when initially present at only one part in a hundred billion (10−11) in brain tissue. The method combines amplification with a novel technology called surround optical fiber immunoassay and some specific antibodies against PrPSc. After amplifying and then concentrating any PrPSc, the samples are labelled with a fluorescent dye using an antibody for specificity and then finally loaded into a microcapillary tube. This tube is placed in a specially constructed apparatus so it is totally surrounded by optical fibres to capture all light emitted once the dye is excited using a laser. The technique allowed detection of PrPSc after many fewer cycles of conversion than others have achieved, substantially reducing the possibility of artifacts, as well as speeding up the assay. The researchers also tested their method on blood samples from apparently healthy sheep that went on to develop scrapie. The animals’ brains were analysed once any symptoms became apparent. The researchers could, therefore, compare results from brain tissue and blood taken once the animals exhibited symptoms of the diseases, with blood obtained earlier in the animals’ lives, and from uninfected animals. The results showed very clearly that PrPSc could be detected in the blood of animals long before the symptoms appeared. After further development and testing, this method could be of great value in surveillance as a blood- or urine-based screening test for BSE.[34][35]

Prevention

A ban on feeding meat and bone meal to cattle has resulted in a strong reduction in cases in countries where the disease was present. In disease-free countries, control relies on import control, feeding regulations, and surveillance measures.[33]

In UK and US slaughterhouses, the brain, spinal cord, trigeminal ganglia, intestines, eyes, and tonsils from cattle are classified as specified risk materials, and must be disposed of appropriately.[33]

An enhanced BSE-related feed ban is in effect in both the United States and Canada to help improve prevention and elimination of BSE.[36]

Treatment

As of 2015 there was no cure for BSE; some of the symptoms like twitching can be managed but otherwise treatment is palliative care.[37]

Epidemiology

Country BSE cases vCJD cases
Austria 5 0
Belgium[38] 133 0
Canada[5][39] 17 2
Czech Republic[40] 28 0
Denmark[41] 14 0
Falkland Islands 1 0
Finland 1 0
France[5][42] 900 27
Germany 312 0
Greece[43] 1 0
Hong Kong 2 0
Republic of Ireland[5] 1353 4
Israel[44][45] 1 0
Italy[5][46] 138 2
Japan[5] 26 1
Liechtenstein 2 0
Luxembourg 2 1
Netherlands[5][47] 85 3
Oman 2 0
Poland 21 0
Portugal[5] 875 2
Saudi Arabia[5] 0 1
Slovakia 15 0
Slovenia 7 0
Spain[5] 412 5
Sweden 1 0
Switzerland 453 0
Thailand 2
United Kingdom[5][48] 183841 176
United States[5][39][49] 5 3
Total 188,652 229
Dark green areas are countries with confirmed human cases of vCJD; light green shows countries which have reported cases of only BSE.

The table to the right summarizes reported cases of BSE and of vCJD by country. (The vCJD column is by country of residence of patient at time of diagnosis and not suspected origin of beef.) BSE is the disease in cattle, while vCJD is the disease in people.

The tests used for detecting BSE vary considerably, as do the regulations in various jurisdictions for when, and which cattle, must be tested. For instance in the EU, the cattle tested are older (30 months or older), while many cattle are slaughtered younger than that. At the opposite end of the scale, Japan tests all cattle at the time of slaughter. Tests are also difficult, as the altered prion protein has very low levels in blood or urine, and no other signal has been found. Newer tests are faster, more sensitive, and cheaper, so future figures possibly may be more comprehensive. Even so, currently the only reliable test is examination of tissues during a necropsy.

As for vCJD in humans, autopsy tests are not always done, so those figures, too, are likely to be too low, but probably by a lesser fraction. In the United Kingdom, anyone with possible vCJD symptoms must be reported to the Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit. In the United States, the CDC has refused to impose a national requirement that physicians and hospitals report cases of the disease. Instead, the agency relies on other methods, including death certificates and urging physicians to send suspicious cases to the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, which is funded by the CDC.

To control potential transmission of vCJD within the United States, the American Red Cross has established strict restrictions on individuals' eligibility to donate blood. Individuals who have spent a cumulative time of 3 months or more in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996, or a cumulative time of 5 years or more from 1980 to present in any combination of countries in Europe, are prohibited from donating blood.[50]

North America

The first reported case in North America was in December 1993 from Alberta, Canada.[51][52] Another Canadian case was reported in May 2003. The first known U.S. occurrence came in December of the same year, though it was later confirmed to be a cow of Canadian origin imported to the U.S.[53] Canada announced two additional cases of BSE from Alberta in early 2005.[54] In June 2005, John R. Clifford, chief veterinary officer for the United States Department of Agriculture animal health inspection service, confirmed a fully domestic case of BSE in Texas.[55]

Practices in the United States relating to BSE

Soybean meal is cheap and plentiful in the United States. Cottonseed meal, 1.5 million tons of which are produced in the U.S. every year, none of which is suitable for humans or any other simple-stomach animals, is even cheaper than soybean meal. Historically, meat and bone meal, blood meal, and meat scraps have almost always commanded a higher price as a feed additive than oilseed meals in the U.S., so not much incentive existed to use animal products to feed ruminants. As a result, the use of animal byproduct feeds was never common, as it was in Europe. However, U.S. regulations only partially prohibited the use of animal byproducts in feed. In 1997, regulations prohibited the feeding of mammalian byproducts to ruminants such as cattle and goats. However, the byproducts of ruminants can still be legally fed to pets or other livestock, including pigs and poultry. In addition, it is legal for ruminants to be fed byproducts from some of these animals.[56] Because of this, some authors have suggested that under certain conditions, it is still possible for BSE incidence to increase in U.S. cattle.[57] A proposal to end the use of cattle blood, restaurant scraps, and poultry litter (fecal matter, feathers, bedding material)[58] in January 2004 has yet to be implemented.[59]

In February 2001, the US Government Accountability Office reported the FDA, which is responsible for regulating feed, had not adequately enforced the various bans.[60] Compliance with the regulations was shown to be extremely poor before the discovery of a cow in Washington infected with BSE in 2003, but industry representatives report that compliance is now total. Even so, critics call the partial prohibitions insufficient. Indeed, US meat producer Creekstone Farms was forcibly prevented from conducting BSE testing by the USDA, which under an obscure 1913 law had the authority to restrict sales of BSE testing kits, allegedly to protect other producers from being forced to conduct the same tests to stay competitive.[61]

The USDA has issued recalls of beef supplies that involved introduction of downer cows into the food supply. Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company was found to have used electric shocks to prod downer cows into the slaughtering system in 2007.[62] Possibly due to pressure from large agribusiness, the United States has drastically cut back on the number of cows inspected for BSE.[63]

Effect on the US beef industry

Japan was the top importer of US beef, buying 240,000 tons valued at $1.4 billion in 2003. After the discovery of the first case of BSE in the US on 23 December 2003, Japan halted US beef imports. In December 2005, Japan once again allowed imports of US beef, but reinstated its ban in January 2006 after a violation of the US-Japan beef import agreement: a vertebral column, which should have been removed prior to shipment, was included in a shipment of veal.

Tokyo yielded to US pressure to resume imports, ignoring consumer worries about the safety of US beef, said Japanese consumer groups. Michiko Kamiyama from Food Safety Citizen Watch and Yoko Tomiyama from Consumers Union of Japan[64] said about this: "The government has put priority on the political schedule between the two countries, not on food safety or human health."

Sixty-five nations implemented full or partial restrictions on importing US beef products because of concerns that US testing lacked sufficient rigor. As a result, exports of US beef declined from 1,300,000 metric tons in 2003, (before the first mad cow was detected in the US) to 322,000 metric tons in 2004. This has increased since then to 771,000 metric tons in 2007.[65]

On 31 December 2006, Hematech, Inc, a biotechnology company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, announced it had used genetic engineering and cloning technology to produce cattle that lacked a necessary gene for prion production – thus theoretically making them immune to BSE.[66]

In April 2012, some South Korean retailers ceased importing beef from the United States after a case of BSE was reported.[67] Indonesia also suspended imports of beef from the US after a dairy cow with mad cow disease was discovered in California.[68]

Japan

With 36 confirmed cases, Japan experienced one of the largest number of cases of BSE outside Europe.[69] It was the only country outside Europe and the Americas to report non-imported cases.[70] Reformation of food safety in the light of the BSE cases resulted in the establishment of a governmental Food Safety Commission in 2003.[71]

Britain

Cattle are naturally herbivores, eating grasses. In modern industrial cattle-farming, though, various commercial feeds are used, which may contain ingredients including antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, fertilizers, and protein supplements. The use of meat and bone meal, produced from the ground and cooked leftovers of the slaughtering process, as well as from the carcasses of sick and injured animals such as cattle or sheep, as a protein supplement in cattle feed was widespread in Europe prior to about 1987.[3] Worldwide, soybean meal is the primary plant-based protein supplement fed to cattle. However, soybeans do not grow well in Europe, so cattle raisers throughout Europe turned to the cheaper animal byproduct feeds as an alternative. The British Inquiry dismissed suggestions that changes to processing might have increased the infectious agents in cattle feed, saying, "changes in process could not have been solely responsible for the emergence of BSE, and changes in regulation were not a factor at all."[72] (The prion causing BSE is not destroyed by heat treatment.)

Evolution of the Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic in the UK.

The first confirmed instance in which an animal fell ill with the disease occurred in 1986 in the United Kingdom, and lab tests the following year indicated the presence of BSE; by November 1987, the British Ministry of Agriculture accepted it had a new disease on its hands.[73] Subsequently, 177 people (as of June 2014) contracted and died of a disease with similar neurological symptoms subsequently called (new) variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD).[5][74] This is a separate disease from 'classical' Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, which is not related to BSE and has been known about since the early 1900s. Three cases of vCJD occurred in people who had lived in or visited the UK – one each in the Republic of Ireland, Canada, and the United States of America. Also, some concern existed about those who work with (and therefore inhale) cattle meat and bone meal, such as horticulturists, who use it as fertilizer. Up-to-date statistics on all types of CJD are published by the National Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland.

For many of the vCJD patients, direct evidence exists that they had consumed tainted beef, and this is assumed to be the mechanism by which all affected individuals contracted it. Disease incidence also appears to correlate with slaughtering practices that led to the mixture of nervous system tissue with ground meat (mince) and other beef. An estimated 400,000 cattle infected with BSE entered the human food chain in the 1980s. Although the BSE epizootic was eventually brought under control by culling all suspect cattle populations, people are still being diagnosed with vCJD each year (though the number of new cases currently has dropped to fewer than five per year). This is attributed to the long incubation period for prion diseases, which is typically measured in years or decades. As a result, the full extent of the human vCJD outbreak is still not known.

The scientific consensus is that infectious BSE prion material is not destroyed through cooking procedures, meaning that even contaminated beef foodstuffs prepared "well done" may remain infectious.[75][76] In fact the infectious agent remains viable over 600 °C (1,112 °F).

Alan Colchester, a professor of neurology at the University of Kent, and Nancy Colchester, writing in the 3 September 2005 issue of the medical journal The Lancet, proposed a theory that the most likely initial origin of BSE in the United Kingdom was the importation from the Indian Subcontinent of bone meal which contained CJD-infected human remains.[77] The government of India vehemently responded to the research, calling it "misleading, highly mischievous; a figment of imagination; absurd," further adding that India maintained constant surveillance and had not had a single case of either BSE or vCJD.[78][79] The authors responded in the 22 January 2006 issue of The Lancet that their theory is unprovable only in the same sense as all other BSE origin theories are and that the theory warrants further investigation.[80]

During the course of the investigation into the BSE epizootic, an enquiry was also made into the activities of the Department of Health Medicines Control Agency (MCA). On 7 May 1999, David Osborne Hagger, a retired civil servant who worked in the Medicines Division of the Department of Health between 1984 and 1994, produced a written statement to the BSE Inquiry in which he gave an account of his professional experience of BSE.[81]

In February 1989, the MCA had been asked to "identify relevant manufacturers and obtain information about the bovine material contained in children’s vaccines, the stocks of these vaccines and how long it would take to switch to other products." In July, "[the] use of bovine insulin in a small group of mainly elderly patients was noted and it was recognised that alternative products for this group were not considered satisfactory." In September, the BSE Working Party of the Committee on the Safety of Medicines (CSM) recommended that "no licensing action is required at present in regard to products produced from bovine material or using prepared bovine brain in nutrient media and sourced from outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Isles and the Republic of Ireland provided that the country of origin is known to be free of BSE, has competent veterinary advisers and is known to practise good animal husbandry."

In 1990, the British Diabetic Association became concerned regarding the safety of bovine insulin. The CSM assured them "[that] there was no insulin sourced from cattle in the UK or Ireland and that the situation in other countries was being monitored."

In 1991, the European Commission "[expressed] concerns about the possible transmission of the BSE/scrapie agent to man through use of certain cosmetic treatments."

In 1992, sources in France reported to the MCA "that BSE had now been reported in France and there were some licensed surgical sutures derived from French bovine material." Concerns were also raised at a CSM meeting "regarding a possible risk of transmission of the BSE agent in gelatin products."[81]

The ban on British beef

The BSE crisis led to the European Union banning exports of British beef with effect from March 1996; the ban lasted for 10 years before it was finally lifted on 1 May 2006[82] despite attempts in May 1996 by British prime minister John Major to get the ban lifted. The ban resulted in trade controversies between the UK and other EU states, dubbed "beef war" by media.[83] Restrictions remained for beef containing "vertebral material" and for beef sold on the bone.[84]

Russia was proceeding to lift the ban sometime after November 2012 after 16 years; the announcement was made during a visit by the UK's chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens.[85]

It was successfully negotiated that beef from Wales was allowed to be exported to the Dutch market, which had formerly been an important market for Northern Irish beef. Of two approved export establishments in the United Kingdom in 1999, one was in Scotland – an establishment to which live beef was supplied from Northern Ireland. As the incidence of BSE was very low in Northern Ireland – only six cases of BSE by 1999 – partly due to the early adoption of an advanced herd tagging and computerization system in the region, calls were made to remove the EU ban on exports with regard to Northern Irish beef.[86]

See also

References

  1. "A Focus on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy". Pathogens and Contaminants. Food Safety Research Information Office. November 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  2. Brown, David (19 June 2001). "The 'recipe for disaster' that killed 80 and left a £5bn bill". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Commonly Asked Questions About BSE in Products Regulated by FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)". Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration. 14 September 2005. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  4. I Ramasamy; M Law; S Collins; F Brook (April 2003). "Organ distribution of prion proteins in variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease". The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 3 (4): 214–222. PMID 12679264. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(03)00578-4.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Variant Creutzfeld–Jakob Disease, Current Data (October 2009)". The National Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit (NCJDSU), University of Edinburgh. October 2009. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2009.;
  6. Valleron AJ, Boelle PY, Will R, Cesbron JY (November 2001). "Estimation of epidemic size and incubation time based on age characteristics of vCJD in the United Kingdom". Science. 294 (5547): 1726–8. PMID 11721058. doi:10.1126/science.1066838. Lay summary BBC News (23 November 2001).
  7. "VARIANT CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE CURRENT DATA (JUNE 2014)" (PDF).
  8. Kimberlin, Richard H.; Wilesmith, John W. (1994-05-01). "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 724 (1): 210–220. ISSN 1749-6632. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1994.tb38911.x.
  9. 1 2 "BSE: Disease control & eradication – Causes of BSE". Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs. March 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23.
  10. "The BSE Inquiry Website at The UK National Archives". Archived from the original on 2009-05-05.
  11. Nathanson, Neal; Wilesmith, John; Griot, Christian (1997). "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE): Causes and Consequences of a Common Source Epidemic" (PDF). American Journal of Epidemiology. 145: 959–969. PMID 9169904. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009064.
  12. Nathanson N, Wilesmith J, Griot C (1997). "Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): causes and consequences of a common source epidemic". Am. J. Epidemiol. 145 (11): 959–69. PMID 9169904. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009064.
  13. Brown, P; Rau, EH; Johnson, BK; Bacote, AE; Gibbs Jr., CJ; Gajdusek, DC (28 March 2000). "New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication.". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 97 (7): 3418–21. PMC 16254Freely accessible. PMID 10716712. doi:10.1073/pnas.050566797.
  14. Harden, Blaine (28 December 2003). "Supplements used in factory farming can spread disease". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  15. Eraña, H; Venegas, V; Moreno, J; Castilla, J (19 February 2017). "Prion-like disorders and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies: An overview of the mechanistic features that are shared by the various disease-related misfolded proteins.". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 483 (4): 1125–1136. PMID 27590581. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.08.166.
  16. 1 2 3 Budka, H; Will, RG (12 November 2015). "The end of the BSE saga: do we still need surveillance for human prion diseases?". Swiss medical weekly. 145: w1421 2. PMID 26715203. doi:10.4414/smw.2015.14212.
  17. Waddell, L; Greig, J; Mascarenhas, M; Otten, A; Corrin, T; Hierlihy, K (30 January 2017). "Current evidence on the transmissibility of chronic wasting disease prions to humans-A systematic review.". Transboundary and emerging diseases. PMID 28139079. doi:10.1111/tbed.12612.
  18. Thomson, Gavin. "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)" (PDF). Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  19. 1 2 "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy" (PDF). The Center for Food Security & Public Health. The Center for Food Security & Public Health. August 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  20. "Ataxias and Cerebellar or Spinocerebellar Degeneration Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)". www.ninds.nih.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  21. "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopaphy: An Overview" (PDF). Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture. December 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  22. MacKenzie, Debora (17 March 2007). "New twist in tale of BSE's beginnings". New Scientist. 193 (2595): 11. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(07)60642-3. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  23. McAlister, Vf (June 2005). "Sacred disease of our times: failure of the infectious disease model of spongiform encephalopathy.". Clin Invest Med. 28 (3): 101–4. PMID 16021982. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  24. Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus
  25. "Vol.1 - Executive Summary of the Report of the Inquiry". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
  26. Miyazawa K, Kipkorir T, Tittman S, Manuelidis L (2012). "Continuous production of prions after infectious particles are eliminated: implications for Alzheimer's disease". PLOS ONE. 7 (4): e35471. PMC 3324552Freely accessible. PMID 22509412. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035471.
  27. Dickinson AG, Outram GW (1988). "Genetic aspects of unconventional virus infections: the basis of the virino hypothesis.". Ciba Found Symp. 135: 63–83. PMID 3044709.
  28. Tiwana H, Wilson C, Pirt J, Cartmell W, Ebringer A (1999). "Autoantibodies to brain components and antibodies to Acinetobacter calcoaceticus are present in bovine spongiform encephalopathy". Infect. Immun. 67 (12): 6591–5. PMC 97071Freely accessible. PMID 10569779.
  29. 1 2 Espinosa, Juan Carlos; Morales, Mónica; Castilla, Joaquín; Rogers, Mark; Torres, Juan María (2007-01-01). "Progression of prion infectivity in asymptomatic cattle after oral bovine spongiform encephalopathy challenge". Journal of General Virology. 88 (4): 1379–1383. doi:10.1099/vir.0.82647-0.
  30. 1 2 Balkema-Buschmann, A.; Fast, C.; Kaatz, M.; Eiden, M.; Ziegler, U.; McIntyre, L.; Keller, M.; Hills, B.; Groschup, M. H. (2011-11-01). "Pathogenesis of classical and atypical BSE in cattle". Preventive Veterinary Medicine. Special Issue: Animal Health in the 21st Century - A Global ChallengeAnimal Health in the 21st Century. 102 (2): 112–117. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2011.04.006.
  31. Hoffmann, Christine; Ziegler, Ute; Buschmann, Anne; Weber, Artur; Kupfer, Leila; Oelschlegel, Anja; Hammerschmidt, Baerbel; Groschup, Martin H. (2007-01-01). "Prions spread via the autonomic nervous system from the gut to the central nervous system in cattle incubating bovine spongiform encephalopathy". Journal of General Virology. 88 (3): 1048–1055. doi:10.1099/vir.0.82186-0.
  32. Wells, G; Hawkins, S; Green, R; Austin, A; Dexter, I; Spencer, Y; Chaplin, M; Stack, M; Dawson, M (1998). "Preliminary observations on the pathogenesis of experimental bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): an update" (PDF). The Veterinary Record. 142: 103–106. doi:10.1136/vr.142.5.103.
  33. 1 2 3 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy reviewed and published by WikiVet. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  34. "Detecting Prions in Blood" (PDF). Microbiology Today.: 195. August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  35. "SOFIA: An Assay Platform for Ultrasensitive Detection of PrPSc in Brain and Blood" (PDF). SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  36. "Feed Bans BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) | Prion Diseases | CDC". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  37. Manix, M; Kalakoti, P; Henry, M; Thakur, J; Menger, R; Guthikonda, B; Nanda, A (November 2015). "Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: updated diagnostic criteria, treatment algorithm, and the utility of brain biopsy.". Neurosurgical focus. 39 (5): E2. PMID 26646926. doi:10.3171/2015.8.FOCUS15328.
  38. "BSE in Belgium". 12 November 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  39. 1 2 "BSE Cases in North America, by Year and Country of Death, 1993–2008". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services. 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  40. "BSE Positive Findings in the Czech Republic" (pdf). State Veterinary Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Czech Republic. 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  41. "The Current Status of BSE and scrapie in Denmark" (PDF). Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. May 2007. Archived from the original (pdf) on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  42. France reports more than 900 BSE cases
  43. "BSE in Greece". Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  44. "Israel: BSE testing according to source of cattle and age groups, 2002–2008". 5 March 2008.
  45. "vCJD Cases Worldwide 2011". 2 July 2011.
  46. "BSE cases – Italy 2001 – 2006". 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  47. "Overzicht BSE-gevallen" (in Dutch). Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit. 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  48. http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/documents/figs.pdf; April 2013
  49. Dan, Flynn (19 July 2017). "USDA says mad cow case in Alabama is ‘atypical’ and not risky". Food Safety News. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  50. Eligibility Criteria for Blood Donation, American Red Cross
  51. "Mad Cow in Canada: The science and the story". CBC News. 24 August 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  52. "Mad Cow in Canada – 1993". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  53. "Investigators Trace Diseased Cow to Canada".
  54. Becker, Geoffrey S. (11 March 2005). "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Canadian Beef Imports" (PDF). CRS Report for Congress. RL32627.
  55. reported "Case of Mad Cow in Texas Is First to Originate in U.S.", New York Times
  56. Rampton, Sheldon; Stauber, John (2004). Mad Cow USA (1st ed.). Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press. ISBN 978-1-56751-110-9.
  57. Barnes, Richard; Lehman, Clarence (June 2013). "Modeling of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a two-species feedback loop". Epidemics. Elsevier. 5 (2): 85–91. doi:10.1016/j.epidem.2013.04.001.
  58. The term "chicken litter" also includes spilled chicken feed, as well as fecal matter and feathers. It is still legal in the United States to use ruminant protein to feed chickens. Thus, ruminant protein can get into the food chain of cattle in this roundabout way.
  59. Peck, Clint (5 November 2004). "Reader Questions Poultry Litter And "Downer" Bans". Organic Consumers Association. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  60. Phillips, Kyra; Meserve, Jeanne (26 February 2001). "FDA Not Doing Enough to Prevent Mad Cow Disease?". Organic Consumers Association. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  61. "Creekstone Farms response to USDA appeal of summary judgement" (Press release). 3buddies. 30 May 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  62. Seltzer, Molly (12 July 2008). "Meat Recalls to Name Retailers". The Washington Post. Bloomberg News. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  63. "Mad cow watch goes blind". USA Today. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  64. "Food Safety Citizens'Watch English Newsletter". www.fswatch.org.
  65. "Statistics". Trade Library. U.S. Meat Export Federation. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  66. Weiss, Rick (1 January 2007). "Scientists Announce Mad Cow Breakthrough". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
  67. "UPDATE 1-S.Korea retailers halt US beef sales, govt may act". Reuters. 25 April 2012.
  68. citation outdated
  69. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: BSE Cases in Japan (accessed 7 May 2013)
  70. World Organisation for Animal Health: BSE situation in the world and annual incidence rate (accessed 7 May 2013)
  71. Kamisato Tatsuhiro (2005). "BSE crisis in Japan: A chronological overview". Environ Health Prev Med. 10: 295–302. PMC 2723414Freely accessible. PMID 21432134. doi:10.1007/BF02897705.
  72. "The BSE Inquiry:Home". Open.gov.uk. October 2000. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  73. "Brain disease drives cows wild".
  74. "VARIANT CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASECURRENT DATA (JUNE 2014)" (PDF).
  75. "Mad cow disease: Still a concern". MayoClinic.com. CNN. 10 February 2006. Archived from the original on 25 April 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  76. "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy – "Mad Cow Disease"". Fact Sheets. Food Safety and Inspection Service. March 2005. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  77. Colchester AC, Colchester NT (2005). "The origin of bovine spongiform encephalopathy: the human prion disease hypothesis". Lancet. 366 (9488): 856–61. PMID 16139661. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67218-2.
  78. Mago, Chandrika; Sinha, Kounteya (2 September 2005). "India dismisses Lancet's mad cow". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  79. Thompson, Geoff (5 September 2005). "New theory traces mad cow disease to animal feed exported from India". The World Today. ABC. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  80. Colchester, A; Colchester, N (28 January 2006). "Origin of bovine spongiform encephalopathy – Authors' reply". The Lancet. Elsevier. 367 (9507): 298–299. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68062-8.
  81. 1 2 "BSE Inquiry, Statement No. 476" (PDF). BSE Inquiry. 7 May 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008. Statement of David Osborne Hagger, Head of Abridged Licensing and Coordinator of the Executive support business of the Medicines Division of the Department of Health at Market Towers in London.
  82. "End to 10-year British beef ban". BBC News. 3 May 2006.
  83. "Beef war turns bloody - Oct. 22, 1999". money.cnn.com.
  84. "BBC NEWS - UK - End to 10-year British beef ban". news.bbc.co.uk.
  85. "Russia to lift 16-year ban on British beef and lamb". bbc.co.uk. 22 November 2012.
  86. UK Parliament website Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Second Report

Further reading

Look up Bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikinews has news related to:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.