Second Case Of Mad Cow Disease Possibly Found In U.S.

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Agriculture Department officials said Thursday they may have found a second case of mad cow disease in the United
States.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=27921

Just breaking now on CNN...will be doing a followup piece as soon as more info is avail.

[maddezmom]

1. USDA 1st round of tests "inconclusive"

more test results in 4-7 days.

[gulfcoastliberal]

2. The NJ Racetrack cluster, the rural NY cluster, etc, etc

Mad cow is probably a hidden epidemic. Since it has such long incubation, expect to see a lot of people mysteriously dying of dementia, or CJD, even young people, over the next 5-10 years. If any of us are still here, that is. What they like to call "classic" CJD is really indistringuishable from nvCJD. I have not eaten conventional beef in 2 years, nor will I ever eat it again. Fuck big beef and this misadministration.

Scientists in Great Britain injected tissue from a cow with mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalapothy, into mice whose brains were genetically engineered with human genes. One set of mice fell sick with the human form of mad cow, or new variant CJD.

But, in a finding that stunned researchers worldwide, another set of the genetically altered mice developed what looked like the sporadic form of CJD, the one scientists have long believed has no relationship to mad cow disease or meat-eating.

"This finding has important potential implications as it raises the possibility that some humans infected with (mad cow disease) may develop a clinical disease indistinguishable from classical CJD," the researchers wrote in November 2002.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/156393_madcow13.html

[bullimiami]

6. clusters of cjd. exactly.

they have no clue what they are dealing with. just like the bush cia they are "guessing" but they tell you they arent. and instead of erring on the side of caution they err on the side of business. A real false choice they will discover once its too late.

i think this is going to be a real horrible screwed up mess by the time it forces its way out in the open.


Not only are they doing nothing but covering up. They are actively supporting a dangerous and twisted system.
Remember. They wouldnt let an independent beef producer test and label their own product because it would hurt the credibility of the industrial producers.

cjd clusters in usa

http://www.rense.com/general58/count.htm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/NJ12204.cfm


info

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm
http://www.colmkelleher.com/

[Eurobabe]

14. If people REALLY think our Daddy govt. is going to protect them

from ANYTHING, they need to have a lobotomy. Reality is, govt. can't protect us from nothin.' Think flu vaccines, pills being yanked from the market, mad cow, terrarists, market scandals. Who's rubber stamp precedes all this crap? FDA, USDA, FBI/CIA, SEC. I begin to think it is all a scam by this maladministration for us to get so sick of govt. agencies that we demand they be knocked down.

I try to eat only organic beef, FWIW, but I did not need to hear this today. :grr:

[MuseRider]

3. Anyone remember what the final

results were from the last one? Did they ever release a report? I remember hearing this same thing and then never hearing another word but we were all busy with election stuff so I certianly could have missed it.

[elehhhhna]

4. isn't there a cluster of 5 or 6 in NJ?

[MuseRider]

7. I don't remember.

I don't want to sound like a paranoid, although I am, but I just don't remember hearing anymore and I do remember reading that this will all be covered up as long as possible. I don't know. Maybe later today I will go look it all up, no time now, I just wondered if anyone else had heard.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

13. There was a NJ cluster

There was a piece on it in the NYT magazine a few months ago. (I don't have a link.)

Somewhere between 5-10 people died of the classic symptoms within a couple of months, if I recall correctly. A woman was doing research on it and discovered that all of the people had eaten at a NJ racetrack within a month or so of each other about 8 years previously.

She was having difficulty getting the government to listen to her story. (Surprise, surprise.)

If I can find a link to that story, I'll add it.

[patcox2]

18. One of those who died was George Young, manager of the Giants

A very well known figure in NJ.

[xpunkisneatx]

34. Uhhh..

Was it the race track near Freehold mall?? I sure as hell hope not, cause I had been there several times and eaten meat. yikes!

[FlaGranny]

35. Garden State Race Track

in Camden County. I believe it was torn down a few years ago.

[Just_a_rancher]

47. The source of the meat

wasn't the race track. You don't have anything to worry about in that regard.

[Seabiscuit]

37. Isn't there a cluster of 12 or 13 at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

[Dem2theMax]

39. And here I was hoping I'd get to post it first. But you beat me to it!

:evilgrin: lol.

At LEAST 12 or 13. }(

[mother earth]

46. God bless you....

you are too funny....smile.....so true & so sad.

[makhno]

5. I saw a report on US mad cow on CBC the other day

Basically, the US policy seemed to be - you see an impaired cow, you kill and burn it, no reports needed. The USDA is also woefully understaffed/unmotivated at the local level, meaning that reports of possible downer cows usually don't get anywhere.

If you care about your health, don't eat US beef.

[MuseRider]

8. This from my

home state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/10/national/nationalspec...

The Department of Agriculture refused yesterday to allow a Kansas beef producer to test all of its cattle for mad cow disease, saying such sweeping tests were not scientifically warranted.

[Just_a_rancher]

43. USDA needs to...

...allow ranchers to test their cattle and sell them as certified BSE tested. It's a marketing idea that could REALLY pay off for the American beef producers but the USDA won't let it happen.

[makhno]

49. No kidding

Why is it if a company wants to market its beef as "fully-tested", it's forbidden by the USDA? You'd think that from a "conservative" point of view, a safety-value-added farm would be allowed to promote its beef in the marketplace. I'd sure as hell buy it over any of the current russian roulette-style beef products.

Could it be that Vaneman and its agribusiness crony successors don't want to impose testing on industrial-scale farmers?

[Just_a_rancher]

42. Actually...

The USDA has required that 200,000 cattle get tested this year. This animal was found as part of that test.

[pansypoo53219]

9. greed and stupidity

i hope this becomes the calling card of bushism.

[Rockholm]

10. Wait, isn't this all Canada's fault?

Canad is the enemy in this, right? Oh, sorry, that is what the Cartel wants you to believe. Kids, we still are NOT importing cattle from Canada. There is still a boycott becuase Canada did not support Bush's WAR.

[Sideways]

11. IMHO Mad Cow Disease Is RAMPANT In The USA

Before the theft of the election Mr Sideways and I were watching Jerry Falwell make a complete ass of himself on Blitzshit's show and I said "this fucker has mad cow. And it is rampant among wealthy white men who eat lots of beef. Our entire fucking Government is rife with people suffering from it."

It is going to be a pandemic. I gave up meat 15 years ago.

[happynewyear]

12. I agree

I haven't touched any red meat in a long time myself due to mad cow disease. I too believe there is far more of it than they are admitting to. The U.S. beef industry is down 40% for the year I heard the other day and yet they continue to sell red meat for horrific prices.

:kick:

[Magic_Cookie]

15. I agree also

Ever since I read "Deadly Feasts" I've steered (hehe, lil joke) clear of Beef. 'Course beef byproducts are also found in so many other things. I was really upset last year about how the whole 'Mad Cow' thing got downplayed & the timing of the announcement, hidden in the Christmas cheer! We've been ignorning recommendations on how to make our beef supply safer for years.

[progressiveBadger]

26. Me too

Gave up red meat after I read "Fast Food Nation".

[daleo]

20. In Fallwell, mad cow disease shows up as mad bull

It would explain a lot.

[daleo]

21. In Fallwell, mad cow disease shows up as mad bull

It would explain a lot.

Dupe - maybe Fallwell is punishing me.

[Catchawave]

16. Could meat give you Alzheimer's?

Some scientist's think so...

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/alzheimers81004.cfm

[ElsewheresDaughter]

28. yes the symptoms are very similar

[ElsewheresDaughter]

17. what 2nd case??in Kingston, NY near where i live 5 deaths in 6 months from

CJD(madcow) last month...but the corporate media and bush admin are NOT letting the news get out because Japan just startyed buying US beef again just last week

[Magic_Cookie]

19. They're referring to the 2nd COW found with it

They still aren't connecting the dots for people & actually admitting that people ARE contracting CJD
"It is important to note that this animal did not enter the food or feed chain," Morgan said. "USDA remains confident in the safety of the U.S. beef supply. Our ban on specified risk materials from the human food chain provides the protection to public health, should another case of BSE ever be detected in the United States."

[Catchawave]

23. According to a Google search....

The story is appearing internationally now. Japan may well be cancelling their orders:headbang:

[Catchawave]

22. Grace Factory Farm Project

Is one of the many animal welfare groups trying to educate the public about corporate bullies...

http://www.factoryfarm.org/

Greed is not only bad for the animals, but humans that consume them as well.

[leftchick]

24. vanity fair had a very good article in Nov. 2004 about it...

there is almost no government control over the meat industry now thanks to bushco*. The article is titled... "Order The Fish" and is by the same fellow who wrote Fast Food Nation.

[SayitAintSo]

25. The USDA is culpable....

Have refused some dairys / cattle farms the right to full mad cow testing. Go figure ? And our beef is still boycotted by many countries while we discover more CJD clusters.

Fiddling.... fiddling ....

burning.... burning......

[warrens]

30. They're just doing what Bush and his cronies

Order them to do. The cronies in this case being Tyson, the Cattlemen Beef Association, et al. The small farmers like Creekstone and Nolan Ryan were more than happy to test all their cattle before slaughter; the big operators don't want to pay for the tests, and didn't want Creekstone et al to break the "solidarity" in their political stance that cattle under 28 months old don't need to be tested. Therefore, the Bushies ordered the USDA to refuse to sell enough testing kits to Creekstone and others.

This is the attitude behind their constant drumbeat of "junk science." What it means in economically inconvenient science.

I spoke to the USDA this morning for a report on the test results. Here's what I found out.

USDA: More rigorous test methodology prompted BSE announcement

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services this morning reported that a tissue sample has returned two inconclusive test results for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and that the sample is being forwarded to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa for definitive testing. Final results will be announced in four to seven days.

After a cluster of initial reports of inconclusive test results last summer resulted in market disruption, the USDA adopted a policy that only samples that returned presumptive positive results twice would be announced. According to Andrea Morgan, associate deputy administrator, APHIS, this is only the third sample to return an inconclusive result.

Compared to the earlier inconclusives, however, this test was more rigorous. In the two other reported cases, both of which ultimately turned out to be negative, only one “well” in the test plate returned a positive reading. Under new guidelines, not only is the test re-run to screen out a false positive, but two of the three wells must return a presumptive positive before USDA alerts the public. In other words, while this remains an inconclusive result until full testing can be completed, it is a presumptive positive of a higher order than its predecessors.

The USDA is withholding all details about the suspect animal, including whether it was tested at random in the agency’s accelerated testing regime, which has screened 113,000 head of cattle since June 1, or whether it exhibited symptoms of BSE infection.

Morgan was joined by American Meat Institute President Patrick Boyle in restating that the test is so far inconclusive, and that even if it turns out to be a second case of BSE, it was caught and contained before the animal entered the food supply.

[ydya]

27. Beef. Its whats for dimmer. eom.

[MISSDem]

29. Yet another reason to be a vegetarian.

I haven't eaten meat in 20 years.

[CHIMO]

31. Mad Cow USA

A very informative book. Free download in pdf

http://www.prwatch.org/books/madcow.html

[Catchawave]

32. Most excellent book....also Fast Food Nation !

...and Slaughterhouse.

Ahhhh, books your government doesn't want you to read:crazy:

[Catchawave]

33. Free download: Meet Your Meat

http://www.meetyourmeat.com/

[0007]

40. Some pretty gruesome video's indeed.

[chiburb]

36. "they may have found a second case of mad cow disease "

If so, they sure aren't looking very hard. Oh yeah, would be bad for "business" if they found more...

[Just_a_rancher]

44. ...

They're testing 200,000 cattle this year as part of a mandatory testing and that's where this cow was found. They SHOULD allow ranches to test their herds and market them as "BSE Tested" but they won't allow that.

[Brundle_Fly]

38. pretty sure

canada will be scapegoated in about 24 hours.

[Just_a_rancher]

45. Canada was blamed last time because...

...the cow actually came from Canada. It wasn't a stretch to say she got it in Canada.

This time, nobody has reported the location of the cow and there is no way to know where she came from yet.

[chiburb]

48. And when they do report the location...

Will you come back and admit there's a problem? Just asking because your screen name gives this city boy a feeling that you may have an agenda. Please don't misunderstand; I'm not calling you a freeper, or worse, a Republican. For all I know you're a very enlightened, intelliget, modern rancher. I look forward to your contibutions, and welcome to DU!

[Just_a_rancher]

51. There is a problem.

"Will you come back and admit there's a problem?"

I never said there isn't a problem, there is a problem. However, that problem gets overblown by people who prefer to jump to conclusions before all the facts are out. My only opinion on the subject is that it’s about time for the USDA to get off their asses and let producers test their cattle and market them as “BSE Tested”. That would be a boon for producers and would be a great safety measure for consumers but for some unknown reason the USDA still says it’s not necessary so it’s not allowed.

To be brutally honest I want cheaper cattle prices because I’m trying to build a herd and with record high cattle prices, it’s not exactly easy.

BTW, I don't get why any of my posts warranted the condescending tone.

[chiburb]

52. I don't think my reply to you was condescending...

I'm sorry you took it that way. I DID say I was suspicious of you, but that was openly expressed, and not in a "tone".

Good luck with your herd, but I think it'll only be harder for you as more people wake up to the lack of safety in the food supply.

[Just_a_rancher]

53. Thank you,

We raise primarily show cattle and the market price only impacts our cattle that don’t quite cut it in terms of quality.

People predicted the demise of the United States beef producers in December when the first cow was found. Since then, cattle prices have rebounded to record high levels on the backs of higher demand (due in large part to Atkins) and much lower supply (the United States cow herd is extremely low compared to normal due to the abysmal prices from three years ago). The USDA has tested more than 120,000 cows so far and this is the first one that came up positive.

The United States still has the safest and most abundant food supply in the world and it’s been that way for quite a while. That’s based on facts and not political spin over two cows.

In my opinion, cattle producers have more to worry about from Atkins going out of style than anything else. Of course, if they start finding positive test results in more than 1 out of every 120,000 of the cattle tested, that might change.

[warrens]

54. If the positive test is confirmed by the National Vet lab

They will reveal where it came from and all hell will break loose.

[Just_a_rancher]

55. "hell will break loose."

We'll know where this cow came from soon regardless of whether the final test is positive or not. Somebody will leak the information.

Last time, all hell broke loose for about two weeks and then it slowed down. Once the markets got over the shock of losing the export sales prices rebounded and got back up to record highs.

Brazil has been eating into the American beef market share for the past few years and has slowly decreased the dependency of American farmers on exports.

[CHIMO]

56. Canadian Competition

Will not be far behind. The US policy of dividing the North American market into two markets has forced the Canadian producers to invest in packing facilities for export. They should start coming on stream within the next year.

[struggle4progress]

41. kick

:kick:

[mcg]

50. Solution: don't eat meat, at least not from factory farms.

[bhikkhu]

57. nvCJD, CJD, Alzheimer's

For a rough background on the numbers involved, and how much we should worry:

The number of individuals who have died from nvCJD, "Mad Cow", in this country could be counted on one hand.

The number of people in this country who have died from CJD is in the hundreds, I believe. The cause of CJD is unknown, and to some extent unsought. Its pathology is very close to nvCJD, but with a much longer incubation period and a slower death process. There is a vested interest in both industry and government in not proving the link.

Alzheimer's is where the problem gets interesting, and worrisome. Two million or so people have Alzheimer's, and a death from Alzheimer's is symptomatically very similar the a death from CJD. For a variety of reasons, very few autopsies are done in this country verifying the cause of death, particularly on older people. In one limited study (217 individuals), however, a set of Alzheimer's patients was autopsied to verify diagnoses. 17% were found to have actually had CJD. Needless to say, this would tend to indicate a massive problem.

I and my family have not eaten beef for two years.