Posted on 06/01/2006 3:00:29 AM PDT by Lurker
May 31, Rapid City Journal (SD) — Atypical strain of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
found in U.S. cattle. The two cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) found in U.S. cattle over the past year came from a rare strain of BSE found largely in Europe that scientists are only beginning to identify, according to research by a French scientist.
Researchers in France and Italy who presented their work at an international conference in England reported two rare strains of BSE that are harder to detect and affect mainly older cattle.
Thierry Baron of the French Food Safety Agency presented research indicating that a 12 year old Texas cow testing positive for BSE last June, and the 10 year old Alabama cow that tested positive in March, showed identical testing patterns to a small number of BSE cases in France, Sweden and Poland.
Animal scientists are calling such strains "atypical" BSE, which is different from the "typical" BSE caused by cattle eating feed with ruminant offal contaminated with a BSE protein.
They don't know whether the atypical strains are caused by something else or simply appear spontaneously in older, susceptible cattle.
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I should read more slowly. No offal involved. My bad.
Not avian flu, but y'all might be interested in this, too.
I don't know what it is, and I don't want to know.
Why can't they just feed them corn? I live in the Midwest and there are parts of IL and IA where you literally can't see anything but cornfields from horizon to horizon.
I'm not real big on passing laws, but in this case I think a "You Can't Feed Animals Bred For Human Consumption Other Animals Fecal Matter" Law might not be such a bad idea.
L
Funny thing is that in the US, it has been illegal to feed offal for some time now. That is what is driving some of the cattle farmers nuts. Of the US cases of BSE, most have come from cattle that were born outside the US, but a few are hard to figure out. It has let some to theorize that some BSE is "natural" and not related to any outside thing, or that eating offal isn't the only way it is spread.
OR
BSE reported in Alabama cow An Alabama cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), according to the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Two tests were used to confirm the diagnosis: western blot and the immunohistochemistry. At press time, APHIS was conducting an epidemiological investigation to trace the animal’s origin. It had been on the Alabama farm less than a year. One of the first steps will be the recovery and examination of the carcass.
The cow, initially reported to be a Santa Gertrudis, is now believed to be a red crossbred (possibly crossed with a Santa Gertrudis or similar breed). This animal was nonambulatory on the farm and examined by a local veterinarian. The veterinarian returned to the farm the following day, euthanized the animal and collected a sample, which was submitted for testing. The animal was buried on the farm at that time.
This animal did not enter the animal or human food chain. Human and animal health in the United States is protected by a system of interlocking safeguards, which ensure the safety of U.S. beef. The most important of these safeguards is the ban on specified risk materials from the food supply and the FDA’s ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban.
As part of USDA’s BSE enhanced surveillance program, more than 650,000 samples have been tested since June 2004. To date, only two of these highest risk animals have tested positive for the disease as part of the surveillance program, for a total of three cases of BSE in the United States.
They will probably pass a law saying that no animal past 7 or so, that might curtail it.
Thanks. I just bought a case of 24 frozen rib-eye steaks yesterday.
The offal that is fed is unwanted internal organs, brains, spinal cord, and bone all cooked down and ground up. They feed this because it contains lots of protein and calcium. However, it can also include these prions.
It seems like a commonsense thing not to feed animals that are going to be eaten the remains of other animals. BSE is spread this way and so is trichinosis in pigs. Theoretically this could aid in the transmission of new diseases from one species into another, with unfortunate results!
We picked the T-Bones right off the top-they never even made it into the deep freeze.
We buy it in bulk becuase the quality is excellent and the price is right. 75 lbs. fills the chest freezer up quite well with space for Lurker Jrs. supply of Freez-E-Pops fitting nicely on top for him and his friends.
That makes our front yard a rather popular spot for the local urchins to congregate. Some parents don't like a bunch of kids hanging about, but it lets us keep an eye on them.
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>>>>>The two cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) found in U.S. cattle over the past year came from a rare strain of BSE found largely in Europe that scientists are only beginning to identify, according to research by a French scientist.
I would like to know if these bovine were on feed containing soy.
I did the same thing when my son was still in HS (he's Dr blam now), I remember buying 20 cases of soft drinks a $.88 a six pack and kept them in two old (working) refigerators in the garage. I informed all the neighborhood boys to have at it and they did. I always knew where my son was.
I'll take Alzheimers Disease for 100 exTex
( See: http://www.mercola.com/2000/sep/17/soy_brain.htm )
An estimated 87 percent of soy is exported to the European Union in the form of soy cakes, used for cattle, poultry, or pig feed.
bump
Another theory is by Mark Purdey who seems to think there is a link between metal contaminants and BSE.
We have a tendency to like nice, quick, pat answers, and this group of diseases (Spongiform Encephalopathies) aren't yielding those yet.
You should send them to me for 'disposal' immediately! (8^D)
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