Infinite Unknown

- Mad Cow Disease May Infect Through Milk Despite USDA Claims (Natural Society, April 27, 2012):

Following the latest confirmed case of mad cow disease in California, the USDA and the dairy industry alike are struggling to assure consumers that drinking affected milk poses no serious risk to your health. Despite these warnings, some scientists have found research that points to the contrary. In fact, two large studies found that prions — pathogenic agents associated with mad cow disease and other life-threatening conditions — can actually transfer from animal to animal via milk consumption.

One such study, performed by a conglomerate of French, Norwegian, and British researchers, actually observed the presence of prions in sheep milk – the very prions that the USDA says cannot inhabit US dairy. Shockingly, this peer-reviewed study was published back in 2008 in the journal PLoS Pathogens. Why has the USDA not spoken of this study, or even the second study that reached similar conclusions? In case you’re unsure, let’s examine an excerpt from the study authors:

This finding indicates that milk from small ruminants could contribute to the transmission of prion disease between animals. It also raises some concern with regard to the risk to humans associated with milk products from ovine and other dairy species.

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Tags: BSE, Food, Global News, Government, Health, Meat, Milk, Politics, U.S., USDA

A case of mad cow disease has been found in a dairy cow in Alberta, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed to CBC News on Friday.

The agency said the case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a fatal brain disease, was found on Feb. 18 in a six-year-old dairy cow. The CFIA didn’t plan on making the case public until March 10, even though information about the infected cow was common knowledge in the industry for two weeks, according to The Canadian Press.

The cow has been destroyed, and no part of its carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems.

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Tags: Alberta, BSE, Canada, CFIA, Food, Health

Risky business: People who work in abattoirs, slaughterhouses and laboratories could face a higher risk of catching BSE

Mad cow disease can be spread by airborne particles, researchers warn.

And they fear that those who work in abattoirs, slaughterhouses and laboratories could be at risk.

Their study shows prions, the infectious agents which cause BSE and its human form, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, can be dangerous if carried through the air.

In tests, mice who breathed them in developed the brain disease with ‘frightening’ speed and died.

The discovery could also explain why some of the victims in the 1990s were vegetarians.

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Tags: BSE, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, Disease, Health, Science