Mad cow disease: cause for concern?

COUNTRYSIDE: Several years ago I read an article in Hoard's Dairyman about the progression of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), "mad cow syndrome," in Great Britain's dairy cattle industry. At that time I thought it would be prudent to check all feed stuffs given to my goats and stop using any that were "animal by-products" such as animal protein, bone meal, blood meal, or fats. I had been feeding a horse protein mineral block that really seemed to be keeping the girls fat and happy. Just to be on the safe side I read the ingredients and was shocked to find it contained animal protein by-products! In a horse feed supplement, no less!

I no longer feed anything that is animal derived to my Nubians. Maybe I am over-reacting? Read on and you decide.

European markets are calling for all British cattle (including all those rare breeds--British White, Belted Galloway, Highland, etc.) to be slaughtered over 30 months. This amounts to hundreds of thousands of cattle to be killed and incinerated. Over 15,000 a week for the next six years! Imagine the absolute senselessness of such a thing! How did this happen, you ask.

The source of the problem is scrapie, a disease found mainly in sheep and sometimes in goats kept with infected sheep. Scrapie has been known to exist in Great Britain sheep herds for about 500 years although it was only in the late 1970s that the causative agent was identified. Smaller than a virus, the causative agent is a "prion," theoretically too small to be a living thing. Infected brain material which has been autoclaved (treated with high pressure and heat as is used in surgical sterilization) was still found capable of infecting animals with scrapie.

While sheep and cattle have grazed the same farms it was not until the 1980s that a cow was ever known to be infected with scrapie. So how did a sheep disease get into the cattle population?

Where it got out of hand in Great Britain was some scrapie infected animal by-products were fed to dairy cattle to boost production. By the time those animals showed symptoms and were diagnosed many of the dairy herds in the country were infected.

In the South Pacific a very similar disease has been known for many years to exist in people who practice cannibalism. This disease is called "kuru" and causes the same brain degeneration as is found in scrapie, BSE and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Now the question has been raised concerning whether people eating infected meat or milk may be at risk of developing this disease!

While some people are making humorous comments concerning the risks involved, becoming violently insane and dying isn't very funny. So far 10 cases of a degenerative brain disorder called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease have been documented in Great Britain. When I say "documented" I am speaking of the brain autopsies of eight cases bearing a striking resemblance to the brain autopsies of BSE cattle. These 10 cases may be the tip of the iceberg as it takes several years after infection to appear. I have several friends from Great Britain That have recently gone home to vinland they have told me that people are very frightened and concerned about the implications.

In the United States every state in the lower 48 has had at least one case of scrapie reported. While rare, scrapie is still a very real threat to the livestock industry in this country. Scrapie is thought to be spread naturally from dam to offspring. Containment measures consist of tracking down and slaughtering all ancestors and descendants of an infected animal. To prevent your animals from being exposed follow these suggestions:

1. Do not allow your animals access to any feed, feed additive, mineral or vitamin supplement that contains animal by-products (bone and blood meal, animal protein or fat). This includes your dog and cat food as goats have a real taste for both. Also avoid rumen by-pass fats that are so popular to boost milk production and which are derived from animal fats. This past winter I watched as tons and tons of protein feed blocks were sold and fed to cattle in our area to supplement a poor hay crop. Plainly the label said "contains animal protein by-products." How many of us are feeding that expensive "lamb formula" dog food to our guardian dogs and the goats are always stealing a bite? Are grain scoops used to get the dog/cat food and then to measure the goat's ration of feed?

2. Do not purchase goats from mixed herds of sheep and goats. All cases of scrapie in Tennessee have been in sheep or goats that were pastured with sheep. This is where it is important to know who you are buying your animals from and whether they trade a lot in sheep. Tennessee had seven documented outbreaks of scrapie as of 1992. Scrapie infected animals may take several years to show symptoms and by that time your whole herd has been exposed and will have to be destroyed. There is some indication of the "prion" remaining in the environment for a long time and being capable of infecting other animals.

3. If you are feeding cow colostrum to your kids be aware of the risks. While infecting a kid with BSE is probably about the same odds as winning the Powerball lotto, the risks of infecting your kids with Johne's (linked with Crone's Disease in humans) and other virulent diseases found mainly in dairy cattle are very real. Regular readers of Hoard's Dairyman will quickly tell you that our problems with CAE are nothing in comparison to the diseases the dairy cattle industry is trying to control that are spread from dam to Offspring by feeding infected colostrum.

And, finally, what about protecting yourself and your family? Know where your meat and dairy products are coming from if you do not raise your own. This may take quite a bit of research as many grocery and fast food stores sell products from outside the USA. While British beef has been banned from import since 1989, products containing British dairy products (butter cookies, for example) have not been banned. While risks may seem nonexistent today, who can say where it might all end?

And, anyway, when British beef was banned in 1989, do any of you remember hearing about why it was being banned?--Donna Raybon, Dandridge, Tennessee