The risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy ('mad cow disease') to human health
P. Brown
Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md 20892, USA. pwb@codon.nih.gov
Some human cases of the transmissible neurodegenerative disorder
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease recently seen in Great Britain are thought to
have resulted from eating beef infected with the agent of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy. Reasons for and against this presumption are explained, and
the question of a similar situation occurring in countries other than
Britain-in particular, the United States-is discussed in terms of the
existence of scrapie (in sheep) or unrecognized bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (in cattle), the practice of recycling nonedible sheep and
cattle tissue for animal nutrition, and precautionary measures already
taken or under consideration by government agencies
