News black out on mad cow case? - Democratic Underground

TexasLawyer

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Wed Dec-06-06 06:39 PM
Original message

News black out on mad cow case?

The CDC recently posted an article on its website that a Virginia man (from Saudi Arabia) was afflicted with Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease, aka the human form of mad cow disease.

I just Googled news stories on "mad cow" and "Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease" and came up with a couple of local news stations covering the story and a few foreign press outlets.

I think this story is newsworthy and of interest to the general public. So what's the deal?

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NMDemDist2

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Wed Dec-06-06 06:43 PM
Response to Original message

1. since he is from overseas, i'm guessing folks figure "It didn't happen here"

and move on? :shrug:

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jilln

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Wed Dec-06-06 06:44 PM
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2. This is a good source of mad cow info:

Howard Lyman is the man who was sued with Oprah for "food disparagement". He regularly sends out newsletters with a section containing all the latest news on mad cow. You don't have to join the Yahoo group to read the messages:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mad_Cowboy/

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jannyk

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Wed Dec-06-06 06:44 PM
Response to Original message

3. The only mentions of it are what I've seen here

over the past few days - nowhere else.

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Avalux

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Wed Dec-06-06 06:45 PM
Response to Original message

4. Can you please post your sources?

Edited on Wed Dec-06-06 06:46 PM by sparosnare

As far as I know, there have been three cases of CJD reported in the United States; with origins traced outside the country to Canada and the UK.

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TexasLawyer

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Wed Dec-06-06 06:57 PM
Response to Reply #4

6. Here are some reports

This man has the third case acknowledged by the CDC.

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=106&sid=996863

Reuters Alertnet is a UK news source:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N05348574.htm

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Avalux

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Wed Dec-06-06 07:08 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Thank you.

Unfortunately, the disease can lie dormant in humans for up to 20 years before symptoms are seen. I do not think our government is engaged in a cover up or media blackout; these cases are so rare and and isolated that it really is not a big story.

The infectious particles that causes bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE) in cows and CJD in humans are prions - they cause other illnesses too. Much work to be done in learning about them.

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TexasLawyer

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Wed Dec-06-06 07:20 PM
Response to Reply #7

9. I agree

black out is probably not the right term.

More like possible self-censorship in the face of a highly litigous beef and cattlefeed industry armed with food disparagement laws and in the face of facts that make it seem likely the man contracted the disease outside this country.

But even if the victim likely contracted the disease while abroad, I think people would want to know that the disease is popping up in the US. If for no other reason than it is an interesting medical mystery involving a scary disease, and the American taxpayers are paying the CDC to study this case and probably paying for this guy's medical treatment.

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pinto

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Wed Dec-06-06 07:10 PM
Response to Reply #6

8. "likely infected when he ate contaminated meat as a child in Saudi Arabia":

"The Internet report went on to say the man was likely infected when he ate contaminated meat as a child in Saudi Arabia and there is no record of him donating blood since he's been in the U.S."

from the cited link:

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=106&sid=996863

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lapfog_1

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Wed Dec-06-06 06:46 PM
Response to Original message

5. he's brown and non-christian (we assume)...

and contracted it overseas... (most likely).

move along people, nothing to see here.

Except that in a related story, South Korea refused the importation of US beef (again) after a shipment arrived that they tested for bone chips. Bone chips can be indicative of over aggressive rending, which means that some nervous tissue is also likely to be found.

And the USDA still REFUSES TO ALLOW American beef producers to test for "Mad Cow". That's right, if you own a meat processing facility here and you want to test your cattle for Mad Cow at your own expense, you CAN'T.

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