Mad Cow Puts Blood Supply at Risk

As we explained in our 1997 book Mad Cow USA, the failure to completely ban
feeding livestock to livestock risks infecting the blood supply with the
human version of mad cow disease.

This risk remains, since the newly announced regulations are still
inadequate.

If you've read our book, you know that it introduced the precautionary
principle, revealed the industry PR campaign against it, and explained why
ONLY the precautionary principle is able to address emerging diseases like
mad cow. Our paperback version is out soon, and I very much look forward to
making the precautionary principle a central part of our new public
education campaign on this issue!

John Stauber, Executive Director
Center for Media & Democracy
520 University Avenue #227, Madison, WI 53703
Phone(608)260-9713 Fax260-9714 http://www.prwatch.org/
--
Co-Author of:
Mad Cow USA <http://www.prwatch.org/books/madcow.html>

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Blood Transfusion Suspected in New Mad Cow Case in Britain

January 28, 2004
By ALICIA AULT

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 - A Food and Drug Administration policy
announced on Monday banning the feeding of cattle blood to
calves was partly based on a new case of mad cow disease in
which a Briton may have been infected through a blood
transfusion, a Food and Drug Administration official said
on Tuesday.

At a Senate hearing, Senator Charles E. Grassley,
Republican of Iowa, questioned why the food agency had
instituted the ban when, he said, scientific evidence
indicated that infectious particles that are believed to
cause mad cow disease, misfolded proteins called prions,
had never been found in blood.

The agency official, Dr. Lester Crawford, told the
committee that a new case of the human form of the disease,
called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, came to light in
late December in Britain. The ill person had received a
blood transfusion from an infected donor, prompting concern
among the authorities who are trying to determine whether
the disease was transmitted through the blood, said Dr.
Crawford, a deputy commissioner with the agency.

"The new case in England has caused shock waves around the
globe," Dr. Crawford said. There have been no proven cases
of transmission of mad cow in humans through blood
transfusions.

If further investigation substantiates that the infection
occurred from a transfusion, Dr. Crawford added, that
"means that prions may be found in the blood."

The food agency already limits blood donations from people
who lived in Britain or received transfusions there during
the height of the mad cow epidemic from 1980 to the
mid-1990's. In light of the new case, it will revisit its
blood donor policies at an advisory committee meeting in
February, Jay Epstein, director of the agency's Office of
Blood Research and Review, said.

Dr. Crawford testified at the Agriculture, Nutrition and
Forestry Committee hearing, where senators mostly praised
the agency's new efforts to limit exposure to mad cow
disease. Some senators questioned the newly announced ban
on the use of dead and disabled cattle for cosmetics,
dietary supplements and some food.

Senator Grassley, for example, suggested that the cattle
might have injuries unrelated to mad cow.

Senators approved of the Agriculture Department's plans to
develop a national system to identify and track all cattle,
prompted by the discovery in December of an infected cow in
Washington State, although some expressed concerns about
the costs to ranchers.

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman told the senators that
an expert panel was reviewing her department's surveillance
for mad cow disease, and hinted that there could be changes
in testing.

Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota, said he had
asked for an investigation into why it took so long to
identify where the infected cow came from, why it was
allowed to be processed and whether there had been leaks
that led to a collapse in cattle futures prices.

Many lawmakers expressed dismay with the testing of cattle
for mad cow disease. Ms. Veneman said the department
planned to double the number tested this year, to 40,000.
But Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, said 35
million cattle were slaughtered in the United States each
year, and he pressed Ms. Veneman on why the department did
not follow Japan's lead in testing all slated for
slaughter.

The secretary said federal testing was in sync with the
guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health.

Dr. Stanley Prusiner, a leading expert on prions, said at a
forum later on Tuesday that until all cattle were tested,
none could be considered safe. He noted that prion
infection could be spontaneous. Speaking at a House Food
Safety caucus forum on mad cow disease, Dr. Prusiner noted
that "changing feeding practices won't eliminate the
spontaneous cases."

The beef industry has suffered since the infected cow was
discovered last month, with dozens of countries closing
their doors to American beef. Ms. Veneman said that
"regaining our export markets is a top priority for the
administration."

Senator Tom Daschle, Democrat of South Dakota, asked
rhetorically if the department had a plan for some 200
million pounds of beef that were in ships at sea, waiting
for acceptance by a foreign market. Senator Daschle and
other lawmakers also called for faster carrying out of a
new law requiring that meat from other countries carry
labels stating its origin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/28/national/nationalspecial2/28COW.html?ex=10
76288103&ei=1&en=4c21133f9867ea40

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