Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease : implications for Australia

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epizootic developed in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s. Feeding practices in the cattle industry amplified the causative prion, and meat contaminated with BSE entered the market. Human consumption of prion-contaminated meat led to the new zoonosis--vari...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical journal of Australia 2001-08, Vol.175 (3), p.154-158
Main Author: GOLDWATER, Paul N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Australia
Biological and medical sciences
Cattle
Cattle Diseases - diagnosis
Cattle Diseases - prevention & control
Cattle Diseases - transmission
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome - diagnosis
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome - prevention & control
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome - transmission
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Disease Outbreaks
Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform - diagnosis
Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform - prevention & control
Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform - transmission
Food Contamination
Humans
Meat - virology
Medical sciences
Mutation
Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics
Neurology
Prions - genetics
Risk Factors
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Summary:The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epizootic developed in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s. Feeding practices in the cattle industry amplified the causative prion, and meat contaminated with BSE entered the market. Human consumption of prion-contaminated meat led to the new zoonosis--variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). The UK BSE Inquiry published its report in October 2000; while praising policy decisions, it also documented failures in the execution of these policies, specifically delays and lack of rigour. Australia is in an excellent position to maintain its BSE- and scrapie-free status, but widespread active surveillance of neural and non-neural tissue from all species of farmed quadrupeds is needed.
ISSN:0025-729X
1326-5377
DOI:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143065.x