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WEEKLY NEWS 1: Mad Cow Strikes United States

On Wednesday, December 24, 2003, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) commented on the occurrence of mad cow disease in the United States. The disease, known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was reportedly discovered in Washington State.

Mad cow disease is a fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle. Although humans do not actually get BSE, they do get a similar disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or vCJD. Cases of vCJD have been reported in the United Kingdom. Many people believe that eating beef contaminated with BSE leads to the development of vCJD in human beings, and scientific research supports this.

The disease is spread when cows are fed contaminated meat. Cattle and sheep are sometimes ground into meal for other animals. When cows are fed this meal-and the meal is contaminated with BSE-the cow will develop the disease.

BSE was first reported in the United Kingdom in 1986. In 1993, almost 1,000 new cases of BSE in cows were reported weekly. In May 2003, 139 cases of vCJD in humans had been reported worldwide.

The FDA claims that it has restricted the use of mammals in the food products given to cows. But since this is the way mad cow disease is transferred from one animal to another, how is it that the disease was discovered in the United States? No one has answered that question yet.

The PCRM is a non-profit organization that promotes good nutrition. They are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to take stronger steps to protect the American public from mad cow disease and vCJD.

--Written by Carla Shives

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