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Re: [RC] OT - Mad Cow Disease in WA State - Mary

Thanks for the info Jeri.  As Paddi stated earlier we who have been living through this scare here in Alberta, Canada close to so many of our friends in the cattle business.  We have been educated to all of this and it is a shame and very upsetting to us that the USA is now in the same situation. The USA/Canada border was shut down to our cattlemen's exports and yes they have suffered and the ripple effect has been devastating in our area as Beef production in the west here is a major source to our economy.
FYI the 1 "old" cow that was positive here had been imported from the Northern USA as a calf. 
 When you mention the possibility of a spontaneous case occurring it has been discussed in the research areas here by some.  Due to the fact that no other cattle on the farm she came from here or the surrounding areas or the area she was born in the USA  nor have her offspring that have been found have had any positives it is interesting that the news media has not put this or other positives of this terrible economic crippler into the forefront of the News.  As usual we only hear the gruesome details and never the possibility that the disease is isolated.  Yes we should set up at racking ID system in food animal population for these situations.  This would lesson the time it takes to track the history/background of a diseased animal and hopefully be better able to quickly solve future  situations (And there will be more). BSE is not a highly contagious disease but is a human health hazard and we need to be diligent with it as any disease but due to the method it is transferable to humans (eating the actual infected tissues of nerve cells in spinal or brain )it is highly unlikely we will have a problem with transition to ourselves through the food chain.  If this was the case we should have been seeing some diagnosis of CJD in people of North America and this has not been the case as of yet.  
Even though it is rare and as you say possible spontaneous occurrences it is more than likely that the disease is out there in very small numbers of cattle and has been for years.  As some local cattlemen have suggested this is probably the case and we are just not catching all the BSC positive, younger, cattle due to the lack of physical symptoms and therefore are not always being tested at the time of slaughter.
On a side note when I was visiting family in Louisiana and Arkansas last month my cattlemen friends there thanked me (Canada) for the positive BSC we had here because the beef prices had been so good (high) in their area and they attribute it to the border closer!!!
Heres hoping that the proper information and perspective is put on this terrible case you have and it does not effect your industry as it has ours. 
May you all have a safe and happy New Year and may ride some great trails in 2004!
Mary
 
From: DESERTRYDR1@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [RC]   OT - Mad Cow  Disease in WA State


Mike and others, it IS possible for a case of BSE to pop up in one cow in an
otherwise clean area.  It happened in Canada.  The disease is caused by a
prion, which is basically a protein gone bad.  It replicates in brain and neural
tissue, and destroys it.  I work for a local health department in Eastern WA. 
We are fairly close to the problem, about 50 miles away.  It really caught us
by surprise, and we were getting phone calls about it before we even got a
press release, which we usually get first.  This morning our Regional
Epidemiologist called a meeting and we discussed the situation.  There is a lot more that
is NOT know about the methods of travel of the prions.  There is a human
variant that is hereditary.  It is also spread by processing brain and neural
tissue into animal feeds then feeding it back to the same species.  As far as I
was told this morning, that practice has been stopped since the big scares in
Great britain.  I do know that sheep that die are NOT accepted by the local
rendering plant due to concerns about scrapie, which is the similar disease in
sheep.  Scrapie is present in sheep in this country.  Also, Wasting disease, a
similar disease of elk and deer, is in this country.  It was introduced by
farmed elk. 

There have been cases of spontaneous CJD (the human variant) and so I see no
reason why there should not be spontaneous cases in cattle.  Also possibly
hereditary cases.  The cow that was involved was 12 yrs. old, fairly old for
cattle.  So far it's history has not been released.  We will know a lot more in a
week or two. 

There is already in place, and at work, a team of experts, vets, etc that are
working on the possible cause of this case.  Also, the whole herd the cow
came from will be destroyed and tested.  Also any cattle that came into
contact,etc.  The Mabton/Sunnyside area of WA has a LOT of cattle, as there is a major
feedlot in Sunnyside.  Instead of getting alarmist or flip about the
situation, be glad it doesn't affect horses, and be glad it hasn't affected your
livelyhood, YET. 

It's amazing the different view we who are actually involved (and I am
involved only to the point of getting first hand info so I can answer questions from
the general public) have a totally different viewpoint than some of those who
get their news from the TV or newspaper, or even the net. 

I personally do not eat a lot of beef, but this won't stop me, because i see
the work going on.   As C Newell posted, that's why they are trying so hard to
get a system in place to track animals sold for food, and animals that can
carry zoonotic diseases.  (Sorry that's a very loose paraphrase, I deleted the
post)  I have a lot more confidence in the people working on these problems,
because I work with them on a daily basis.  jeri

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