Thursday, March 15, 2012

Another cow enters food supply without being tested for BSE aka mad cow disease UK 15 March 2012

Cow aged over 72 months enters food supply without being tested for BSE



Thursday 15 March 2012


The Agency has been notified that meat has entered the food supply from a cow aged over 72 months that had not been tested for BSE. A negative BSE test result is mandatory for cattle slaughtered for human consumption at over 72 months of age.

It is very unlikely that the cow was infected with BSE and, as specified risk material (SRM) was removed, any risk to human health is extremely low. SRM is the parts of cattle most likely to carry BSE infectivity.

The cow, aged 158 months and 22 days, was slaughtered at Rhinds of Elgin Ltd abattoir in Moray, Scotland, on 10 January 2012. The error was discovered on 28 February in the course of routine cross-checks of slaughter and BSE test data.

According to BSE regulations, the untested cow, plus the one slaughtered before and the two, after should not have entered the food supply. However, by the time the failure was discovered, the associated carcasses had left the premises.

Some frozen offal and meat product directly linked to these carcasses has since been destroyed. However, checks found that most the meat from these carcasses is likely to have been eaten.

Individual reports of BSE controls breaches 2012


http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2012/mar/605602




Wednesday, March 7, 2012

ANOTHER COW NOT TESTED FOR BSE AKA MAD COW LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN EATEN UK 2012

http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/2012/03/another-cow-not-tested-for-bse-aka-mad.html





Sunday, March 11, 2012

APHIS Proposes New Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Import Regulations in Line with International Animal Health Standards Proposal Aims to Ensure Health of the U.S. Beef Herd, Assist in Negotiations


http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2012/03/aphis-proposes-new-bovine-spongiform.html






Thursday, March 01, 2012

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Fact sheet N°180 Revised February 2012 W.H.O.

http://vcjd.blogspot.com/2012/03/variant-creutzfeldt-jakob-disease-fact.html





SNIP...

WHO response

WHO has worked on: convening scientific consultations on issues related to animal and human TSEs (these meetings have made recommendations aimed at protecting human and animal health); assisting with global surveillance of CJD and its variants, by holding training courses worldwide, particularly in developing countries, to help countries establish national surveillance of CJD and its variants; convening the Technical Consultation on BSE: Public Health, Animal Health and Trade, publishing the WHO manual for surveillance of human transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, including variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. WHO recommendations




To protect human health, WHO has several recommendations. No tissue that is likely to contain the BSE agent, nor part or product of any animal which has shown signs of a TSE should enter the (human or animal) food chain. All countries should ban the use of ruminant tissues in ruminant feed. The pharmaceutical industry should avoid the use of bovine materials and materials from other animal species in which TSEs naturally occur. If their use is absolutely necessary, these materials should be obtained from countries which have a surveillance system for BSE in place and which reports zero cases of BSE. The Guidelines on tissue infectivity distribution in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in 2006 provide information and assist national regulatory authorities in conducting risk assessments of vCJD transmission. In 2010, WHO updated the Tables on tissue infectivity distribution in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The Tables reflect the current status of knowledge about infectivity in body tissues, secretions, and excretions of humans and animals, and thus provide information about potential transmission of vCJD through human blood and blood products, as well as through medicinal products prepared with animal-derived materials.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




1 The term "Classical BSE" has been introduced to differentiate the disease from Atypical BSE cases, which occur rarely in the cattle population.




http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs180/en/




WHO Tables on Tissue Infectivity Distribution in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Updated 2010




http://www.who.int/bloodproducts/tablestissueinfectivity.pdf






Key facts missed ;



Monday, October 10, 2011



EFSA Journal 2011 The European Response to BSE: A Success Story

snip...

EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently delivered a scientific opinion on any possible epidemiological or molecular association between TSEs in animals and humans (EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) and ECDC, 2011). This opinion confirmed Classical BSE prions as the only TSE agents demonstrated to be zoonotic so far but the possibility that a small proportion of human cases so far classified as "sporadic" CJD are of zoonotic origin could not be excluded. Moreover, transmission experiments to non-human primates suggest that some TSE agents in addition to Classical BSE prions in cattle (namely L-type Atypical BSE, Classical BSE in sheep, transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) and chronic wasting disease (CWD) agents) might have zoonotic potential.

snip...

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/e991.htm?emt=1




http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/e991.pdf






see follow-up here about North America BSE Mad Cow TSE prion risk factors, and the ever emerging strains of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy in many species here in the USA, including humans ;




http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2011/10/efsa-journal-2011-european-response-to.html






Thursday, August 12, 2010

Seven main threats for the future linked to prions

First threat

The TSE road map defining the evolution of European policy for protection against prion diseases is based on a certain numbers of hypotheses some of which may turn out to be erroneous. In particular, a form of BSE (called atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), recently identified by systematic testing in aged cattle without clinical signs, may be the origin of classical BSE and thus potentially constitute a reservoir, which may be impossible to eradicate if a sporadic origin is confirmed.

***Also, a link is suspected between atypical BSE and some apparently sporadic cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. These atypical BSE cases constitute an unforeseen first threat that could sharply modify the European approach to prion diseases.

Second threat

snip...




http://www.neuroprion.org/en/np-neuroprion.html






Atypical BSE in Cattle




To date the OIE/WAHO assumes that the human and animal health standards set out in the BSE chapter for classical BSE (C-Type) applies to all forms of BSE which include the H-type and L-type atypical forms. This assumption is scientifically not completely justified and accumulating evidence suggests that this may in fact not be the case. Molecular characterization and the spatial distribution pattern of histopathologic lesions and immunohistochemistry (IHC) signals are used to identify and characterize atypical BSE. Both the L-type and H-type atypical cases display significant differences in the conformation and spatial accumulation of the disease associated prion protein (PrPSc) in brains of afflicted cattle. Transmission studies in bovine transgenic and wild type mouse models support that the atypical BSE types might be unique strains because they have different incubation times and lesion profiles when compared to C-type BSE. When L-type BSE was inoculated into ovine transgenic mice and Syrian hamster the resulting molecular fingerprint had changed, either in the first or a subsequent passage, from L-type into C-type BSE.




In addition, non-human primates are specifically susceptible for atypical BSE as demonstrated by an approximately 50% shortened incubation time for L-type BSE as compared to C-type. Considering the current scientific information available, it cannot be assumed that these different BSE types pose the same human health risks as C-type BSE or that these risks are mitigated by the same protective measures.





This study will contribute to a correct definition of specified risk material (SRM) in atypical BSE. The incumbent of this position will develop new and transfer existing, ultra-sensitive methods for the detection of atypical BSE in tissue of experimentally infected cattle.



http://www.prionetcanada.ca/detail.aspx?menu=5&dt=293380&app=93&cat1=387&tp=20&lk=no&cat2





When L-type BSE was inoculated into ovine transgenic mice and Syrian hamster the resulting molecular fingerprint had changed, either in the first or a subsequent passage, from L-type into C-type BSE. In addition, non-human primates are specifically susceptible for atypical BSE as demonstrated by an approximately 50% shortened incubation time for L-type BSE as compared to C-type. Considering the current scientific information available, it cannot be assumed that these different BSE types pose the same human health risks as C-type BSE or that these risks are mitigated by the same protective measures.




This study will contribute to a correct definition of specified risk material (SRM) in atypical BSE. The incumbent of this position will develop new and transfer existing, ultra-sensitive methods for the detection of atypical BSE in tissue of experimentally infected cattle.




http://www.prionetcanada.ca/detail.aspx?menu=5&dt=293380&app=93&cat1=387&tp=20&lk=no&cat2





Saturday, June 25, 2011



Transmissibility of BSE-L and Cattle-Adapted TME Prion Strain to Cynomolgus Macaque




"BSE-L in North America may have existed for decades"



http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2011/06/transmissibility-of-bse-l-and-cattle.html





Over the next 8-10 weeks, approximately 40% of all the adult mink on the farm died from TME.




snip...




The rancher was a ''dead stock'' feeder using mostly (>95%) downer or dead dairy cattle...




http://web.archive.org/web/20030516051623/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m09/tab05.pdf





Sunday, February 5, 2012



February 2012 Update on Feed Enforcement Activities to Limit the Spread of BSE



http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-2012-update-on-feed.html






snip... see more here ;





Thursday, March 01, 2012

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Fact sheet N°180 Revised February 2012 W.H.O.



http://vcjd.blogspot.com/2012/03/variant-creutzfeldt-jakob-disease-fact.html






Friday, March 09, 2012




Experimental H-type and L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle: observation of two clinical syndromes and diagnostic challenges




Research article




http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2012/03/experimental-h-type-and-l-type-bovine.html





2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006




http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2006/08/bse-atypical-texas-and-alabama-update.html




LET'S take a closer look at this new prionpathy or prionopathy, and then let's look at the g-h-BSEalabama mad cow.



This new prionopathy in humans?



the genetic makeup is IDENTICAL to the g-h-BSEalabama mad cow, the only _documented_ mad cow in the world to date like this, ......wait, it get's better. this new prionpathy is killing young and old humans, with LONG DURATION from onset of symptoms to death, and the symptoms are very similar to nvCJD victims, OH, and the plaques are very similar in some cases too, bbbut, it's not related to the g-h-BSEalabama cow, WAIT NOW, it gets even better, the new human prionpathy that they claim is a genetic TSE, has no relation to any gene mutation in that family. daaa, ya think it could be related to that mad cow with the same genetic make-up ???



there were literally tons and tons of banned mad cow protein in Alabama in commerce, and none of it transmitted to cows, and the cows to humans there from ??? r i g h t $$$





ALABAMA MAD COW g-h-BSEalabama In this study, we identified a novel mutation in the bovine prion protein gene (Prnp), called E211K, of a confirmed BSE positive cow from Alabama, United States of America. This mutation is identical to the E200K pathogenic mutation found in humans with a genetic form of CJD. This finding represents the first report of a confirmed case of BSE with a potential pathogenic mutation within the bovine Prnp gene. We hypothesize that the bovine Prnp E211K mutation most likely has caused BSE in "the approximately 10-year-old cow" carrying the E221K mutation.


http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1000156




http://www.plospathogens.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1000156&representation=PDF






Saturday, August 14, 2010




BSE Case Associated with Prion Protein Gene Mutation (g-h-BSEalabama) and VPSPr PRIONPATHY (see mad cow feed in COMMERCE IN ALABAMA...TSS)


http://prionpathy.blogspot.com/2010/08/bse-case-associated-with-prion-protein.html





her healthy calf also carried the mutation (J. A. Richt and S. M. Hall PLoS Pathog. 4, e1000156; 2008).




This raises the possibility that the disease could occasionally be genetic in origin. Indeed, the report of the UK BSE Inquiry in 2000 suggested that the UK epidemic had most likely originated from such a mutation and argued against the scrapierelated assumption. Such rare potential pathogenic PRNP mutations could occur in countries at present considered to be free of BSE, such as Australia and New Zealand. So it is important to maintain strict surveillance for BSE in cattle, with rigorous enforcement of the ruminant feed ban (many countries still feed ruminant proteins to pigs). Removal of specified risk material, such as brain and spinal cord, from cattle at slaughter prevents infected material from entering the human food chain. Routine genetic screening of cattle for PRNP mutations, which is now available, could provide additional data on the risk to the public. Because the point mutation identified in the Alabama animals is identical to that responsible for the commonest type of familial (genetic) CJD in humans, it is possible that the resulting infective prion protein might cross the bovine-human species barrier more easily. Patients with vCJD continue to be identified. The fact that this is happening less often should not lead to relaxation of the controls necessary to prevent future outbreaks. Malcolm A. Ferguson-Smith Cambridge University Department of Veterinary Medicine, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK e-mail: maf12@cam.ac.uk Jürgen A. Richt College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, K224B Mosier Hall, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-5601, USA NATURE|Vol 457|26 February 2009




http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7233/full/4571079b.html





P.9.21 Molecular characterization of BSE in Canada



Jianmin Yang1, Sandor Dudas2, Catherine Graham2, Markus Czub3, Tim McAllister1, Stefanie Czub1 1Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre, Canada; 2National and OIE BSE Reference Laboratory, Canada; 3University of Calgary, Canada




Background: Three BSE types (classical and two atypical) have been identified on the basis of molecular characteristics of the misfolded protein associated with the disease. To date, each of these three types have been detected in Canadian cattle.




Objectives: This study was conducted to further characterize the 16 Canadian BSE cases based on the biochemical properties of there associated PrPres.




Methods: Immuno-reactivity, molecular weight, glycoform profiles and relative proteinase K sensitivity of the PrPres from each of the 16 confirmed Canadian BSE cases was determined using modified Western blot analysis. Results: Fourteen of the 16 Canadian BSE cases were C type, 1 was H type and 1 was L type. The Canadian H and L-type BSE cases exhibited size shifts and changes in glycosylation similar to other atypical BSE cases. PK digestion under mild and stringent conditions revealed a reduced protease resistance of the atypical cases compared to the C-type cases. N terminal- specific antibodies bound to PrPres from H type but not from C or L type. The C-terminal-specific antibodies resulted in a shift in the glycoform profile and detected a fourth band in the Canadian H-type BSE.




Discussion: The C, L and H type BSE cases in Canada exhibit molecular characteristics similar to those described for classical and atypical BSE cases from Europe and Japan. This supports the theory that the importation of BSE contaminated feedstuff is the source of C-type BSE in Canada. *** It also suggests a similar cause or source for atypical BSE in these countries.




http://www.prion2009.com/sites/default/files/Prion2009_Book_of_Abstracts.pdf





Saturday, July 23, 2011




CATTLE HEADS WITH TONSILS, BEEF TONGUES, SPINAL CORD, SPECIFIED RISK MATERIALS (SRM's) AND PRIONS, AKA MAD COW DISEASE




http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2011/07/cattle-heads-with-tonsils-beef-tongues.html






Saturday, November 6, 2010




TAFS1 Position Paper on Position Paper on Relaxation of the Feed Ban in the EU




Berne, 2010 TAFS INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR TRANSMISSIBLE ANIMAL DISEASES AND FOOD SAFETY a non-profit Swiss Foundation


http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2010/11/tafs1-position-paper-on-position-paper.html





Archive Number 20101206.4364 Published Date 06-DEC-2010 Subject PRO/AH/EDR>




Prion disease update 2010 (11) PRION DISEASE UPDATE 2010 (11)




http://www.promedmail.org/direct.php?id=20101206.4364






October 2009 O.11.3 Infectivity in skeletal muscle of BASE-infected cattle

Silvia Suardi1, Chiara Vimercati1, Fabio Moda1, Ruggerone Margherita1, Ilaria Campagnani1, Guerino Lombardi2, Daniela Gelmetti2, Martin H. Groschup3, Anne Buschmann3, Cristina Casalone4, Maria Caramelli4, Salvatore Monaco5, Gianluigi Zanusso5, Fabrizio Tagliavini1 1Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute,Italy; 2IZS Brescia, Italy; 33FLI Insel Riems, D, Germany; 4CEA-IZS Torino, Italy; 5University of Verona, Italy




Background: BASE is an atypical form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy caused by a prion strain distinct from that of BSE. Upon experimental transmission to cattle, BASE induces a previously unrecognized disease phenotype marked by mental dullness and progressive atrophy of hind limb musculature. Whether affected muscles contain infectivity is unknown. This is a critical issue since the BASE strain is readily transmissible to a variety of hosts including primates, suggesting that humans may be susceptible.




Objectives: To investigate the distribution of infectivity in peripheral tissues of cattle experimentally infected with BASE. Methods: Groups of Tg mice expressing bovine PrP (Tgbov XV, n= 7-15/group) were inoculated both i.c. and i.p. with 10% homogenates of a variety of tissues including brain, spleen, cervical lymph node, kidney and skeletal muscle (m. longissimus dorsi) from cattle intracerebrally infected with BASE. No PrPres was detectable in the peripheral tissues used for inoculation either by immunohistochemistry or Western blot.




Results: Mice inoculated with BASE-brain homogenates showed clinical signs of disease with incubation and survival times of 175±15 and 207±12 days. Five out of seven mice challenged with skeletal muscle developed a similar neurological disorder, with incubation and survival times of 380±11 and 410±12 days. At present (700 days after inoculation) mice challenged with the other peripheral tissues are still healthy. The neuropathological phenotype and PrPres type of the affected mice inoculated either with brain or muscle were indistinguishable and matched those of Tgbov XV mice infected with natural BASE.




Discussion: Our data indicate that the skeletal muscle of cattle experimentally infected with BASE contains significant amount of infectivity, at variance with BSE-affected cattle, raising the issue of intraspecies transmission and the potential risk for humans. Experiments are in progress to assess the presence of infectivity in skeletal muscles of natural BASE.


http://www.prion2009.com/sites/default/files/Prion2009_Book_of_Abstracts.pdf





Saturday, March 5, 2011




MAD COW ATYPICAL CJD PRION TSE CASES WITH CLASSIFICATIONS PENDING ON THE RISE IN NORTH AMERICA




http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2011/03/mad-cow-atypical-cjd-prion-tse-cases.html






Sunday, February 12, 2012




National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined1 (August 19, 2011) including Texas




http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2012/02/national-prion-disease-pathology.html





Tuesday, February 28, 2012




The 27th Colloque Médecine et Recherche of the Fondation Ipsen in the Alzheimer Disease series: “Proteopathic Seeds and Neurodegenerative Diseases”




Press release



http://betaamyloidcjd.blogspot.com/2012/02/27th-colloque-medecine-et-recherche-of.html





TSS

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