Subject: something to chew on

From: [email-masked] ("Tommasso Picardo")
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 01:43:36 GMT

something to chew on, consider this as a "THOUGHT EXPERIMENT";  The BSE 
infection would have started as soon as the rendering plants changed 
their practices of treating animal feed with solvents being either sheep 
or cattle. Note Figure 7. page 18. (Bonvine Spongiform Encephalopathy in 
Great Britain, A Progress Report November 1995),obtained from MAFF, shows 
that the first cases confirmed was between 1986 and 1987.  However 
Scientist and MAFF have said that the incubation period is 5 years and 
longer, so!  Well the first cow infected minus 5 from 1986.  Sorry, maths 
is not my strong point however I will have a go, I think the infection 
started back in 1980's onward.  Therefore for approximately ten years the 
population has been eating infected beef.  Remember the government harks 
on about the banning of feeding ruminant feed to the cattle at about 1989 
but, when did the actually ban take affect?  Hark I hear the cries but 
there is not evidence that the BSE agent can jump species.  Consider that 
it is OK to accept the infection of scrapie to cattle by oral route, 
remember this is the line the British government has taken but, humans 
cannot get it by eating infected meat by the oral route.  (Professor 
Lacey's book DEAD-END HOST  1995), 'Scrapie does not occur in Australia 
or New Zealand but CJD does and yet UK Ministry of Agriculture says 
scrapie causes BSE but BSE does not cause CJD.'  There is no evidence 
that a Spongiform Encephalopathy of infection can be passed throughout 
different species but up to date the list of species that have got the 
infection are Cattle, sheep, mink, goats, mice, cats, antelope, ostrich 
and lastly humans been infected with one form or another.  Note up to now 
dogs have not appeared in this category.  Where did scrapie come from, 
good question, we now it has been about for at least 200 years.  Up to 
date no one has been infected by scrapie so why should BSE be infectious, 
microbiologist will quickly point out that what is harmless to one 
species is dangerous to another.  So what, since 1990 the ban has been in 
place and therefore no more problems, that's what you think?  When cows 
have been diagnosed as have BSE the calve has still been born etc.  
Question does the prion agent pass through the umbilical cord?  Well to 
get into the brain through the oral route it must move in the blood and 
that is how it presumably gets into the calf.  
Of at a slight tangent here, Kuru:  (The Lancet, November 24, 1990, 
Volume 336, page 1301).   'Kuru is an Encephalopathy that affected a 
tribe in the highlands of New Guinea where it is said that cannibalism 
was practised until 1957.'  'That women were predominantly affected was 
attributed to the reported custom that they ate the brains and other 
offal while the men ate the muscle.'  '(Taylor, refer to Lancet page 
1303), has interpreted these reports more cautiously and calls attention 
to the possibility that kuru may not have been transmitted by the oral 
route.'  'There is also a possibility that kuru and CJD are the same 
disease and that kuru was introduced into the tribe when a CJD-infected 
person was the subject of the mourning ritual.'  The juicy bits, the 
women of the tribe would wait till someone died and then make a brain 
based stew, yum yum.  Note, in the reference the word "cautiously", you 
bet, the problem was that some children of this tribe died at early ages 
with symptoms similar to CJD/kuru.  Consequently I am of the opinion that 
Encephalopathy can be passed from mother to child.  Further evidence is,  
(Professor Lacey's DEAD-END HOST  1995)  'Work in Japan has shown direct 
evidence of infectivity associated with pregnancy.'  'This was published 
by Tamai and colleagues in the prestigious American journal, the New 
England Journal of Medicine.'  'In this study, a 39 year old first showed 
symptoms of CJD when pregnant.'  'When she was 30 weeks pregnant (at this 
age the baby should survive premature birth), an apparently healthy baby 
was delivered by Caesarean section.'  'The authors found, using mice, 
that infectivity was present in the placenta, in colostrum (the clearish 
breast fluid before the milk flow) and in cells within the umbilical 
cord.'  
Back to cows, why does not more cattle show symptoms, well the most 
frequent age of death of cows from BSE is between 4-5 year but beef 
"male" animals are slaughter at about three years of age so the infection 
would not show, but the animal will still be a source of the prions 
infection!  The female cow is slaughter at about 6-7 when she has shirred 
a number of calves and the milk product is falling off.  Consequently the 
female might show the infection and she has certainly passed it onto her 
calves.  I have heard of a good idea, lets slaughter the entire beef 
cattle herds in Britain!  Well not a good idea it does not solve the 
problem.  (Professor Lacey's DEAD-END HOST  1995),  another tangent, 'in 
Iceland the sheep population had scrapie so they slaughtered the lot in 
the 1950's.'  'Sheep not infected with scrapie was imported to the 
island.'  'Within a few years the sheep were infected with scrapie again, 
the agent must have been in the grazing land.'  Therefore if the beef 
herds were killed and fresh herds imported how long before the herds were 
infected again.  (Professor Lacey's DEAD-END HOST  1995)  'June 17 1991 
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is to ban the use of 
protein material derived from specified offal as a fertiliser.'  So from 
the 80's infected blood and guts had been used as fertilisers and could 
there be fields that are infected.  There is not that much grazing land 
in the UK and surly if fresh herds were imported then once they start 
grazing the BSE cycle starts again.
Who checks the beef we eat anyway?  The Meat Hygiene Services are the 
people who have responsibility in checking the beef carcasses for removal 
of SBOs.  A quote from a letter sent to the inspectors, signed "Johnston 
McNeill, Chief Executive, dated 8 November 1995, 'Officers of the State 
Veterinary Service carry out audit inspections of beef plants to monitor 
compliance with the SBO Order.'  'Failure to comply with the requirements 
of the Order have been identified in a number of plants on a number of 
occasions.'  Now if I am not very much mistaken the Meat Hygiene Services 
employ lots of sub-contractors part-time.  Hence there is no direct 
control with their workforce and threats with dismissal for not following 
the letter of the law are pointless, they might not be working for the 
agency from one week to the next.  Further problems are the actual 
workforce in the slaughter house who scream if a carcass is sent back 
around just because a little bit of spine is left on the carcass.  Then 
there is the managers of the plants to contend with, complaining that you 
are holding up production and writing to your manager.  Need I go on any 
more, consequently the amount of SBO that is getting through "I am 
saying, is a lot".  How can it be expected any other way when the meat 
plants have orders, schedules and profits to be made or had profits to be 
made!
What is the answer, my opinion only; import scrapie free sheep as a 
start.  There are varieties that do not get the infection.  Next, 
government inspection of slaughter houses, no subcontractors, only people 
who have to answer to judge, jury and Queen.  Only meat from young cattle 
to be used i.e. no British beef offal and bones used in food production.  
Research into why dogs and scrapie free sheep do not get the infection.  
Possibly genetically engineered cattle that can not get the infection. 
And us, I mean humans, well pregnant women and children steered away from 
eating British beef.  Remember it is considered the more you eat the more 
chance of getting the infection.  Why the higher the dosage is not for me 
to theorise.  Personally, I think we have dug ourselves a very deep hole 
and it does not matter how much s**** we throw in it will not fill up.  
Back to reality my British beef sirloin steak rare is ready but the 
children are having fishfingers.  (Dead-End Host, I assume means that the 
infection cannot move from that point onwards.)  Quote of the week; 
(Financial Times Thursday March 21 1996, Editors view), 'Furthermore, the 
proportion of the population affected by the new form of CJD is just 
0.00002 per cent, fewer than perish on the roads each day.'  If we add 
all those little percentages that are quoted by Minster's etc. I bet we 
would get a big number of people who die every day.  Food for though how 
many years did it take to prove that smoking kills? 
PLEASE NOTE:  THE STORY PRESENTED IS AN UNQUALIFIED INPUT TO THE BSE 
PROBLEM AND GRAMMAR/SPELLING NOT INCLUDED PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POINT OUT 
ERRORS TO MY THOUGHT EXPERIMENT!

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