Mad Cow Disease
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as Mad cow disease is a relatively new disease. Most sources state that BSE first showed up in Great Britain in 1986 but some say it popped up in 1985. However the official notification was not until 21 June 1988. Spongiform encephalopathies are invariable fatal neuro-degenerative diseases and there is no treatment nor is there a cure for this disease [Gregerp.1]. The recent scare of BSE has arisen because of the contraction of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by humans from eating beef products. Although there are many forms of Spongiform encephalopathies that affect a wide range of animals, BSE has received the most attention because many people in the world consume beef and people are that they might contract the disease from eating a burger at their favorite fast-food restaurant. Due to the fact BSE is something new, they are very concerned about this disease and the effects it can have on humans if it is not stopped. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is not some bacteria and it is not a virus, but in fact it is an infectious protein or prion. A prion is composed solely of proteins, and lacks genetic material in the form of nucleic acids. They are the tiniest infectious agents kno
wn, they can only be viewed under the strongest of electron microscopes. Most scientists are puzzled because nucleic acid is the basis reproductive material needed in all other life forms. Because of their unique makeup, prions are practically invulnerable. They can survive for years in the soil. Chemical disinfectants, weak acids, DNA, RNA, protein, ultraviolet light, ionizing radiation, heat, formaldehyde sterilization, and chemicals that react with DNA all have little effect on the infectivity of the prion. Only marinating your hamburger in Drain-O would make your burger safe to eat. BSE is a slowly progressing degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. BSE is the same as most of the other spongiformencephalopathies, they evoke no immune response and consequently slowly accumulate for an incubation period up to 30 years. You cannot detect them, purify them, nor can you isolate them. Kent, John. (1995). British Food Journal (vol. 97) (pp 3-18) With Great Britain having more than 98% of the cases, world wide you can see that they have the biggest worry. Canada has only experienced one case of BSE. The cow was imported from Great Britain in 1987 and was not diagnosed with BSE until six years later. The Canadian government took extraordinary measures to deal with the risk of BSE. The measures included the destruction of the entire herd containing the BSE infected cows and the trace back and elimination of all other cattle imported to Canada from Great Britain since 1982. Also, they incinerated all of the carcasses of the dead cattle. It was in 1994 that one of the biggest scares came when a 16 year old girl from North Wales claimed to be dying from CJD, which was contracted from eating a BSE infected beef product. In 1995 a farmer died and another farmer was dying from CJD. Both of these farmers came from farms that had BSE affected herds on them. The question that puzzles scientists is the fact that the people that have been affected with BSE are all under the age of 40.This is so puzzling because the average age that people generally contract CJD is 57 years old. Up to this date there has been no scientific proof to prove that BSE can
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1471
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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