To the hard working employees of USDA and their untiring efforts to protect our food supply
Little is known and much has been written Of the deadly disease with which some have been smitten It is certainly true there have been but a few But down on the farm there is cause for alarm
It causes great stress to the CNS T’is a strain on the brain as we shall soon see The causative agent is anyone’s guess A transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
Sheep Scrapie somehow in the UK to Mad Cow Here in the US it is anyone’s guess It’s not perfectly clear how our elk and our deer Both the tame and the free got CWD
To the best of our knowledge out west at a college Where they happened to keep some deer penned with sheep They didn't know why the deer started to die Because they did not know they let the rest go
Now from Washington state comes news that’s not great Ann Veneman tells us how they have found a MAD COW The Federal Vet said she’s a “down cow” you bet But Dave Louthan the talker say’s she was a “walker”
She was grist for the mill, she went regular kill So they started to track when the test did come back But that was 2 weeks later and people had ate her The meat was consumed and the recall was doomed
Now we must remember this occurred in December Ann and Bush have no fears, they’ll have beef for New Years
addendum
There was no proper test In a plant way out west The old cow was unwell, she staggered and fell “We don’t want her” said Ronald, “she’s not for McDonald” The vet made a call and was told not to test after all
Headquarters told Lonestar “we cant send a car” “It’s too long a trip, you don’t know how to ship” No brainstem will you tender, just send her to render We don’t want a section - wait till after election
by the Bard of Bismarck, the Old Curmudgeon Earl Fairbanks DVM USDA Ret.
addendum II 2008. ...TSS
To the hard working employees of USDA and their untiring efforts to protect our childrens food supply
and who gives a fickle, if the last two were atypical, more virulent to animals and man, we'll grind em and crush em, even the stumbling and staggering ones.
those diseased, those sick, the ones injured, be quick. another shot of antibiotics or hormones, it matters not. it's profit, it's profit, look at all we got $$$
those downers, those downers, the ones that cannot stand, oh where, oh where, can they go? with the fork lift at hand, they chain em and stand, and drag them to where know one goes. we'll shock em, and poke em, even waterboard em, and then off to the children they go.
in a long case study, we'll wait and wonder, watching for every little twitch, which one of these children, will be the first to succumb, to the monster we know as the mad cow prion.
100% fatal, for those that go clinical, with no therapy there is. you wait and wonder, as the mind goes, wondering how many others might have been exposed. there is no test, without any guess, you don't care to know.
and for those that lay claim, to no one is sick, beware, beware, for these are the facts. the mad cow prion, can lay dormant before it attacks. for years and years, and even decades to come, your children, will incubate, before they might succumb.
while Washington flounders, the mad cows still wanders, the downers they continue to go, to the cattle feed, to the childrens food and on, nobody knows. from waxman, to durbin, to bush, to leahy, the lies, and promises abound, they just seem to go round and round $$$
it's a sad, sad mess i have come to know, but the downers, all the downers, off to the incinerator they must go. ...TSS 2008
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Food Safety
Failure To Test Staggering Cow May Reflect Wider Problems
Rep. Waxman raises concerns that the recent failure of USDA to test an impaired cow for BSE may not be an isolated incident, citing the failure of USDA to monitor whether cows condemned for central nervous system symptoms are actually tested for mad cow disease.
http://reform.democrats.house.gov/documents/20040607142914-86912.pdf
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20040607142914-86912.pdf
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing On Mad Cow Disease January 27, 2004
For years I have joined with Senator Akaka in attempting to restrict downers from the human food supply, thus I am pleased the Department reversed course and will now implement the Downed Animal Protection Act that was contained in the 2002 Farm Bill for cattle.
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200401/012704.html
CALIFORNIA STATE CAUCUS
Briefing Report: Mad Cow Disease
2/11/2004 - For Immediate Release
Recent Actions
On December 30, 2003, United States Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced additional safeguards to bolster the U.S. protection system against BSE and to further protect public health. Downer cattle and specified risk material and tissues will immediately be banned from the human food chain. If people do not eat these dangerous parts of the cow, their risk of acquiring BSE is severely reduced.
http://republican.sen.ca.gov/opeds/99/oped2091_print.asp
2008
USDA CERTIFIED NON-AMBULATORY DOWNER COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/beef-recall-nationwide-school-lunch.html
Specified Risk Material SRM
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
Subject: [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
Greetings FSIS,
I would kindly like to submit the following to [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
THE BSE/TSE SUB CLINICAL
Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle Broken bones and such may be the first signs of a sub clinical BSE/TSE Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle ;
SUB CLINICAL PRION INFECTION MRC-43-00 Issued: Monday, 28 August 2000
NEW EVIDENCE OF SUB-CLINICAL PRION INFECTION: IMPORTANT RESEARCH FINDINGS RELEVANT TO CJD AND BSE
A team of researchers led by Professor John Collinge at the Medical Research Council Prion Unit1 report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on new evidence for the existence of a "sub-clinical" form of BSE in mice which was unknown until now. The scientists took a closer look at what is known as the "species barrier" - the main protective factor which
limits the ability of prions2 to jump from one species to infect another. They found the mice had a "sub-clinical" form of disease where they carried high levels of infectivity but did not develop the clinical disease during their normal lifespan. The idea that individuals can carry a disease and show no clinical symptoms is not new. It is commonly seen in conventional infectious diseases. Researchers tried to infect laboratory mice with hamster prions3 called Sc237 and found that the mice showed no apparent signs of disease. However, on closer inspection they found that the mice had high levels of mouse prions in their brains. This was surprising because it has always been assumed that hamster prions could not cause the disease in mice, even when injected directly into the brain. In addition the researchers showed that this new sub-clinical infection could be easily passed on when injected into healthy mice and hamsters. The height of the species barrier varies widely between different combinations of animals and also varies with the type or strain of prions. While some barriers are quite small (for instance BSE easily infects mice), other combinations of strain and species show a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Traditionally, the particular barrier studied here was assumed to be robust. Professor John Collinge said: "These results have a number of important implications. They suggest that we should re-think how we measure species barriers in the laboratory, and that we should not assume that just because one species appears resistant to a strain of prions they have been exposed to, that they do not silently carry the infection.
This research raises the possibility, which has been mentioned before, that apparently healthy cattle could harbour, but never show signs of, BSE. "This is a timely and unexpected result, increasing what we know about prion disease. These new findings have important implications for those researching prion disease, those responsible for preventing infected material getting into the food chain and for those considering how best to safeguard health and reduce the risk that theoretically, prion disease could be contracted through medical and surgical procedures."
ISSUED FRIDAY 25 AUGUST UNDER EMBARGO. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EMBARGO IS SET BY THE JOURNAL.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/public_interest/public-press_office/public-press_releases_2000/public-mrc-43-00.htm
SNIP...
https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpublic.nsf/0/eff9eff1f7c5cf2b87256ecf000df08d?OpenDocument
PNAS August 29, 2000 vol. 97 no. 18 10248-10253 Neurobiology
Species-barrier-independent prion replication in apparentlyresistant species
Andrew F. Hill*, Susan Joiner*, Jackie Linehan*, Melanie Desbruslais*, Peter L. Lantos , and John Collinge*,
SEE FULL TEXT 17 pages ;
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf
Thursday, February 21, 2008
TRANSCRIPT: Technical Briefing - Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company - (02/21/08)
Release No. 0054.08
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/transcript-technical-briefing.html
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Release No. 0046.08 Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer Regarding Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company Two Year Product Recall
Release No. 0046.08
Contact: USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/release-no-004608-statement-by.html
Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) assessments covering 2000-2006
Date : 01.08.2006
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Document/GBR_assessments_table_Overview_assessed_countries_2002-2006.pdf
In this context, a word is in order about the US testing program. After the discovery of the first (imported) cow in 2003, the magnitude of testing was much increased, reaching a level of >400,000 tests in 2005 (Figure 4). Neither of the 2 more recently indigenously infected older animals with nonspecific clinical features would have been detected without such testing, and neither would have been identified as atypical without confirmatory Western blots. Despite these facts, surveillance has now been decimated to 40,000 annual tests (USDA news release no. 0255.06, July 20, 2006) and invites the accusation that the United States will never know the true status of its involvement with BSE.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no12/06-0965.htm
PAUL BROWN COMMENT TO ME ON THIS ISSUE
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 11:10 AM
"Actually, Terry, I have been critical of the USDA handling of the mad cow issue for some years, and with Linda Detwiler and others sent lengthy detailed critiques and recommendations to both the USDA and the Canadian Food Agency."
http://lists.iatp.org/listarchive/archive.cfm?listID=147&startrow=1081
BEEF RECALL - USA (05) ********************** A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1001:3581618507331539::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,71607
MAD COW TESTING USA
http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 BEEF RECALL NATIONWIDE - SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/beef-recall-nationwide-school-lunch.html
CJD QUESTIONNAIRE
http://cjdquestionnaire.blogspot.com/
Specified Risk Material SRM
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
Beef - Westland/Hallmark Recall OF BEEF WITH DEADSTOCK DOWNER COWS, THE MOST HIGH RISK CATTLE FOR BSE/TSE AKA MAD COW DISEASE
Additional Products Listing 5-20-08
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20Addl%20Prod052008.pdf
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HEALTHINFO/Pages/FDB%20Beef-WestlandHallmarkRecall.aspx
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION LIST
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20All%20Dist042008.pdf
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING RECALLED BEEF
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20Addl%20Prod052008.pdf
SEE FULL LIST OF ALL RECALLED SUSPECT DEAD STOCK DOWNER COW PRODUCTS HERE ;
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HEALTHINFO/Pages/FDB%20Beef-WestlandHallmarkRecall.aspx
Beef - Westland/Hallmark Recall OF BEEF WITH DEADSTOCK DOWNER COWS, THE MOST HIGH RISK CATTLE FOR BSE/TSE AKA MAD COW DISEASE
Additional Products Listing 5-20-08
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20Addl%20Prod052008.pdf
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HEALTHINFO/Pages/FDB%20Beef-WestlandHallmarkRecall.aspx
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION LIST
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20All%20Dist042008.pdf
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING RECALLED BEEF
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20Addl%20Prod052008.pdf
SEE FULL LIST OF ALL RECALLED SUSPECT DEAD STOCK DOWNER COW PRODUCTS HERE ;
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HEALTHINFO/Pages/FDB%20Beef-WestlandHallmarkRecall.aspx
>>>In the papers, the government alleges the meatpacking plant slaughtered and processed downer cows for nearly four years — from January 2004 to September 2007 — <<<
>95%) downer or dead dairy cattle and a few horses. Sheep had never been fed.
PLEASE SEE ;
We believe that these findings may indicate the presence of a previously unrecognized scrapie-like disease in cattle and wish to alert dairy practitioners to this possibility.
snip...
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH ANNUAL WESTERN CONFERENCE FOR FOOD ANIMAL VETERINARY MEDICINE, University of Arizona, March 17-19, 1986
http://web.archive.org/web/20030331063559/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m09a/tab01.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20030516051623/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m09/tab05.pdf
IN CONFIDENCE
PERCEPTIONS OF UNCONVENTIONAL SLOW VIRUS DISEASES OF ANIMALS IN THE USA
http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080102193705/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Mad Cow Disease typical and atypical strains, was there a cover-up ? August 20, 2008
snip...
another question, just how long have these atypical BSE TSEs been around in the bovine ???
let's look at another case of atypical BSE in Germany way back in 1992 ;
Subject: atypical BSE reported in 1992 and conviently slaughterd and incinerated and then swept under rug for about 12 years Date: April 26, 2007 at 1:08 pm PST 1992
NEW BRAIN DISORDER
3. WHAT ABOUT REPORTS OF NEW FORM OF BSE?
THE VETERINARY RECORD HAS PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE ON A NEW BRAIN DISORDER OF CATTLE DISCOVERED THROUGH OUR CONTROL MEASURES FOR BSE. ALTHOUGH IT PRESENTS SIMILAR CLINICAL SIGNS TO BSE THERE ARE MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN THE HISTOPATHOLOGY AND INCUBATION PERIODS BETWEEN THE TWO. MUST EMPHASISE THAT THIS IS NOT BSE.
4. IS THIS NEW BRAIN DISORDER A THREAT?
WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHETHER THE AGENT OF THIS DISEASE IS TRANSMISSIBLE. IN ANY CASE, CASES SO FAR IDENTIFIED HAD SHOWN SIMILAR SYMPTOMS TO THOSE OF BSE, AND THEREFORE HAVE BEEN SLAUGHTERED AND INCINERATED, SO THAT IF A TRANSMISSIBLE AGENT WERE INVOLVED IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED. .......
http://web.archive.org/web/20030714222309/www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1992/10/26001001.pdf
2. The Collinge/Will dispute appears to rumble on. Dr. Collinge had told Dr. Tyrrell that Dr. Will's response to his criticism about sharing material had been ''quite unacceptable'' (in spite of it's apparently conciliatory tone). Apparently Professor Allen was now going to try and arrange a meeting to resolve the dispute. No action here for MAFF, although Mr. Murray may be interested.
3. Dr. Tyrrell regretted that the Committee had not seen the article on BBD. However he felt that for the time being NO specific action was called for. The most important need was to consider the possibility that the condition might be transmissible. As we have discussed, I suggested that we might circulate a paper to the members of the committee giving our appreciation of this condition (and perhaps of other non-BSE neurological conditions that had been identified in negative cases) and of any necessary follow up action. IF any Committee member felt strongly about this, or if the issue CAME TO A HEAD, we would call an interim meeting. He was happy with this approach. I would be grateful if Mr. Maslin could, in discussion with CVL and veterinary colleagues draft such a note, which will presumably very largely follow what Mr. Bradley's briefing paper has already said, taking account of DOH comments, We can then clear a final version with DOH before circulating it to Committee members.
http://web.archive.org/web/20030714222309/www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1992/10/29005001.pdf
IN CONFIDENCE
This is a highly competitive field and it really will be a pity if we allow many of the key findings to be published by overseas groups while we are unable to pursue our research findings because of this disagreement, which I hope we can make every effort to solve.
http://web.archive.org/web/20030714222309/www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1992/10/26002001.pdf
COLLINGE THREATENS TO GO TO MEDIA
http://web.archive.org/web/20030714222309/www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1992/12/16005001.pdf
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Monitoring the occurrence of emerging forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United States 2003 revisited 2009
http://cjdusa.blogspot.com/2009/06/monitoring-occurrence-of-emerging-forms.html
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Characteristics of Established and Proposed Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Variants
Brian S. Appleby, MD; Kristin K. Appleby, MD; Barbara J. Crain, MD, PhD; Chiadi U. Onyike, MD, MHS; Mitchell T. Wallin, MD, MPH; Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH
Background: The classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Heidenhain, and Oppenheimer-Brownell variants are sporadic CJD (sCJD) phenotypes frequently described in the literature, but many cases present with neuropsychiatric symptoms, suggesting that there may be additional sCJD phenotypes.
Objective: To characterize clinical, diagnostic, and molecular features of 5 sCJD variants.
Design: Retrospective analysis.
Setting: The Johns Hopkins and Veterans Administration health care systems.
Participants: Eighty-eight patients with definite or probable sCJD.
Main Outcome Measures: Differences in age at onset, illness progression, diagnostic test results, and molecular subtype.
Results: The age at onset differed among sCJD variants (P=.03); the affective variant had the youngest mean age at onset (59.7 years). Survival time (P.001) and the time to clinical presentation (P=.003) differed among groups. Patients with the classic CJD phenotype had the shortest median survival time from symptom onset (66 days) and those who met criteria for the affective sCJD variant had the longest (421 days) and presented to clinicians significantly later (median time from onset to presentation, 92 days; P=.004). Cerebrospinal fluid analyses were positive for 14-3-3 protein in all of the affective variants, regardless of illness duration. Periodic sharp-wave complexes were not detected on any of the electroencephalography tracings in the Oppenheimer-Brownell group; basal ganglia hyperintensity was not detected on brain magnetic resonance imaging in this group either. All of the Heidenhain variants were of the methionine/ methionine type 1 molecular subtype.
Conclusions: The classic CJD phenotype and the Heidenhain, Oppenheimer-Brownell, cognitive, and affective sCJD variants differ by age at disease onset, survival time, and diagnostic test results. Characteristics of these 5 phenotypes are provided to facilitate further clinicopathologic investigation that may lead to more reliable and timely diagnoses of sCJD.
Arch Neurol. 2009;66(2):208-215
snip...
COMMENT
snip...see full text ;
http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2009/08/characteristics-of-established-and.html
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Incidence and spectrum of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease variants with mixed phenotype and co-occurrence of PrPSc types: an updated classification
http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2009/11/incidence-and-spectrum-of-sporadic.html
Thursday, November 12, 2009
BSE FEED RECALL Misbranding of product by partial label removal to hide original source of materials 2009
http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/11/bse-feed-recall-misbranding-of-product.html
Friday, September 4, 2009
FOIA REQUEST ON FEED RECALL PRODUCT 429,128 lbs. feed for ruminant animals may have been contaminated with prohibited material Recall # V-258-2009
http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/09/foia-request-on-feed-recall-product.html
Saturday, August 29, 2009
FOIA REQUEST FEED RECALL 2009 Product may have contained prohibited materials Bulk Whole Barley, Recall # V-256-2009
http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/08/foia-request-feed-recall-2009-product.html
CONFIRMED BSE RELATED FEED BAN RECALL USA VIA FOIA 2009...TSS
----- Original Message ----- From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/11/re-foia-request-on-feed-recall-product.html
TSS
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