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Transmission of BSE to humans and considerations of risk |
P. BROWN, National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 36, Rm. 4A-19, Convent Dr., MSC 4122, Bethesda, MD 20892-4150 Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is unarguably responsible for the currrent outbreak of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), so far limited to the United Kingdom and France, but a continuing threat to appear in other countries in which BSE occurs. The United States is in the fortunate position of having imported very few cattle and little cattle feed from the UK during the early BSE epidemic period, and of having put in place a precautionary package in time to prevent its subsequent movement to this country. Considerations of future risk will mainly depend upon the possibility of spreading epidemics in presently BSE-free countries, and a strict adherence to, and if new data warrants, revision of, USDA and FDA safety guidelines.
Session 18, The prion diseases: Human health and food safety
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