Mad cow 'more deadly potential'
2005-01-22 10:33
Washington - Mad cow disease has more deadly potential to infect animals as was previously thought, said scientists on Friday.
Scientists have long believed that the proteins that cause mad cow disease could only infect an animal's brain and nervous system, but a new study on mice has shown that the disease can spread to other organs as well.
If further experiments demonstrate the same effect on animals such as cows and sheep, it could mean that current preventative measures taken to protect the public may not be enough, according to Adriano Aguzzi, who led the study at University Hospital in Zurich.
Many governments require that the skull, brain, eyes, spinal cord and other parts of the nervous system be removed from slaughtered animals meant for consumption in order to prevent any potentially infected tissues from entering the food chain.
Aguzzi's experiments, released on Friday in the journal Science, indicated that the proteins that cause mad cow can also infect an animal's liver, kidneys and pancreas.
Mad cow disease, or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), is a chronic, degenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system of cattle and has been passed onto humans in the form of human BSE.
After cases of human BSE were discovered in Great Britain in the mid-1990s, there were fears across Europe that beef may not be safe to eat. Since then, other nations, including the United States and Canada have discovered cattle infected with mad cow disease. - dpa
- SAPA