Is the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from mad cows?

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 273; no. 5276; p. 748
• Main Authors: Smith, Peter G., Cousens, Simon N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 09.08.1996; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Animal Feed; Animals; Bans; Biological and medical sciences; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy; Cattle; Causes of; Creutzfeldt Jakob syndrome; Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome - epidemiology; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome - transmission; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Disease resistance; Disease transmission; encefalopatia espongiforme; encephalopathie spongiforme; Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform - epidemiology; Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform - transmission; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Evidence; Food Contamination; Humans; Inhalants; International relations-UK; Meat; Medical sciences; Mice; Nervous system diseases; Neurological disorders; Neurology; Offal; Perspectives; Prion diseases; public health; salud publica; sante publique; Scrapie; Spongiform encephalopathy; transmision de enfermedades; transmission des maladies; United Kingdom - epidemiology; Zoonoses; United Kingdom; Europe; United Kingdom > UK; British Isles; Infection; Human; Variant; Nervous system diseases; Central nervous system disease; Degenerative disease; Prion; Creutzfeld Jakob disease; Epidemiology; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy; Cerebral disorder
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.273.5276.748

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been linked to 10 cases of a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). This association between the diseases has had a big effect on Britain's relations with other countries, has led to a ban in the UK on the consumption of British cattle more than 30 months of age, and may lead to large-scale culling of cattle to curtail the epidemic.