LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mad Cow Disease: United States
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Mad Cow Disease, which reared its ugly head in the United States for the first time, captured the No. 6 spot. After an initial scare in December 2003, cattle in Washington State were quarantined in January by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and fears arose again in November when the USDA stated they had a potential case after two tests were inconclusive. Beef prices plummeted for a week, but rebounded right before Thanksgiving when a third test confirmed the cow in question did not have the deadly disease.
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The largest outbreak occurred in the United Kingdom in 1993, when the cause and transmission of Mad Cow Disease was just beginning to be understood. About 185,000 cases in cattle have been identified in the U.K. and surrounding countries since then. Only about a dozen cases have been identified in North America in that time period. It is hoped that changes in the use of animal byproducts in cattle feed will prevent further outbreaks of the disease.
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The USDA, headed by former beef industry lobbyist Ann Veneman, claims the 1997 ban on feeding ruminants (cattle and sheep) to other ruminants should be enough to protect U.S. consumers from the risk of mad cow disease. However, a 2001 investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that literally hundreds of feed suppliers violated the ban and found that at least 1,200 feed suppliers had not even been identified nor inspected. What action did the FDA take when learning that hundreds of American feed suppliers were not in compliance with the ban that was to keep mad cow disease risk low in the United States? Virtually nothing. The FDA has done little to enforce the ban, even when it knows a supplier is violating it.
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Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an animal disorder similar to mad cow disease, is spreading in deer and elk populations across North America, particularly in the Rocky Mountain states and Wisconsin. Unlike the experience with infected cows, there is as yet no direct evidence that eating the meat of deer or elk with CWD actually causes disease in people. Still, test-tube experiments with prions have shown that human infection is theoretically possible. And researchers are investigating the deaths of several people who hunted or regularly ate venison and subsequently succumbed to brain-wasting disease. Should consumers avoid eating deer and elk meat? Until more is known, the answer to that question depends on your personal risk tolerance, To play it completely safe, you may wish to abstain from eating deer and elk meat until results of ongoing studies more clearly define any human health risks.
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``With the recent blood bans from donors in the UK by the Red Cross over fears of Mad Cow Disease transmissibility, New York City has had its blood supply decreased by 25%. Combined with the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center there could be serious blood supply shortages. These techniques may be able to clean food and blood supplies infected with these deadly TSE's. Should the results of these experiments come out as expected, Disease Sciences will file patents on these processes and will be at the forefront of the race to eliminate the transmission of these deadly diseases,'' stated Dr. Wayne Goldstein CEO.
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GREENSBORO, Vt. - Federal agents seized a Vermont farmer's flock of 234 sheep yesterday for fear they are infected with a version of "mad-cow" disease - the first such action taken against livestock in the United States. The U.S. Agriculture Department "has no choice but to take this decisive action based on the threat the sheep pose to the health of America's livestock nationwide," said Craig Reed, administrator of USDA's animal- and plant-health inspection service. Houghton Freeman and another farmer had waged a court battle to save their sheep after the Agriculture Department ordered the flocks seized last July.
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