mad cow disease and pigs

[Martin Weiss]

For some up to date information about BSE and vCJ disease in the Us see:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/cjd/bse_cjd_qa.htm

Martin


>>  live in the midwest of the United States of America. We are 
>>accustomed to buying large quantites of meat from a packing plant 
>>and filling our freezer. I am thinking about buying a 1/2 hog. Are 
>>pigs involved in the mad cow controversy? Thank You
>
>If you do a search on Google for pigs mad cow disease you'll find a 
>number of sites talking about BSE and pigs. However, I would go to 
>cdc.gov or who.org to see what is new. There does not seem to be a 
>lot of BSE in the US or it has not yet surfaced. However, I suspect 
>if there were animals infected with BSE here, as in England, we'd be 
>seeing human cases here and now. Feeding pigs in the US is highly 
>regulated to cut down the transmission of trichinella and 
>trichinosis however that relates to feeding them pig meat, which 
>might be infected with the worm. Most cases of trichinosis in the US 
>involve home produced (not commercially grown) pigs and inadequate 
>treatment or cooking of their products. I am not certain if the 
>regulations cover feeding them cow or sheep meat which might be 
>infected with the BSE prion.
>
>It probably comes down to risk perception. If you drive at high 
>speeds on the highway you certainly are greater risk of dying in a 
>car crash than dying from BSE if you buy and eat a side of pork.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Martin
>--
>Martin Weiss, Ph.D.
>Director of Science
>New York Hall of Science
>47-01 111 th Street
>Corona, New York 11368
>phone: 718 699 0005 x 356
>facsimile:718 699 1341
>mweiss at nyhallsci.org
>http://www.nyhallsci.org

-- 
Martin Weiss, Ph.D.
Director of Science
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111 th Street
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
New York 11368
+1 718 699 0005 x 356 phone
+1 718 699 1341 facsimile
mweiss at nyhallsci.org
weissm at rockefeller.edu
http://www.nyhallsci.org
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