New Scientist traces the BSE crisis from the mid-1980's to the present

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BSE and vCJD

 

Latest news

 

Mad cow quarantine in Canada extended 23 May 03

 

What next: controlling the spread of BSE and vCJD

 

Prion diseases' deadly action revealed 17 Oct 02 Tainted feed 'source of unexpected BSE' 16 Sep 02 First confirmed case of vCJD in North America 9 Aug 02 Fears over BSE in chicken 23 May 02

 

Worldwide incidence of BSE and vCJD

 

Canada finds case of 'mad cow disease' 21 May 03 Predicted deaths from vCJD slashed 26 Feb 03 BSE may cause more CJD cases than thought 28 Nov 02 First direct estimate of hidden vCJD cases 19 Sep 02

 

Finding a cure

 

Patient benefits from controversial vCJD drug 12 May 03 Controversial vCJD drug to be administered 10 Jan 03 vCJD patients given treatment go-ahead 17 Dec 02 Hopes are revived for CJD drug 26 Oct 02

 

Testing for BSE and vCJD

 

The awful truth 21 Jul 01 Red alert 16 Jun 01 Prion spotter 27 May 00 We're not safe yet 6 May 00

 

Prions and the origins of BSE

 

Search for BSE in muscle meat draws blank 27 Mar 02 BSE link to vCJD questioned 12 Oct 01 You twist my protein, I'll twist yours 11 Aug 01 Mad cow clues 27 Apr 01

 

History of the crisis

 

BSE scandal: the history 25 Oct 00 BSE fiasco 25 Oct 00 CJD creeps up 12 Aug 00 Brain disease drives cows wild 5 Nov 87

 

BSE in sheep

 

vCJD deaths will rise if UK sheep have BSE 9 Jan 02 Bungled BSE experiments due to refrigerator mix-up 30 Nov 01 New clue in BSE fiasco 24 Oct 01 BSE experiment farce deepens 23 Oct 01

 

Other potential sources of infection

 

Surgery patients exposed to CJD risk 30 Oct 02 Common cause 17 Nov 01 Tainted meat 6 Jun 01 Blood alarm 30 Jan 01

 

 

Editorial comment

1/24/2002 Linda A. Theis confirmed vCJD by UTMB(University of Texas Medical Branch)covered up by the mainstream media

 

Supercow 5 Jan 02 [Comment] The madness spreads 10 Feb 01 [Comment] End of an era 4 Nov 00 [Comment] Prions everywhere? 22 Jul 00

 

 

For more articles on BSE and vCJD, see the main page of our special report

 

 

Web Links on BSE and vCJD

 

 

BSE FAQ

 

 

Timeline: The rise and rise of BSE

 

 

BSE and vCJD Special Report

 

 

NewScientist.com News

 

 

Timeline: The rise and rise of BSE

 

22 Dec 1984: The first confirmed victim of BSE. Cow number 133 on the Stent farm in Sussex develops head tremors and a loss of coordination

11 Feb 1985: Cow 133 dies. Other cows show similar symptoms the next year

19 Sep 1985: Government pathologist finds Cow 133 died from spongiform encephalopathy (SE)

Nov/Dec 1986: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) recognised as new cattle disease. Information placed "under embargo"

5 June 1987: Chief Veterinary Officer tells Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) of the new disease

5-6 Oct 1987: BSE found to be a prion disease. Described weeks later in The Veterinary Record

May 1988: Government forms Southwood working party to look into BSE

21 June 1988: BSE becomes notifiable disease

18 July 1988: Ruminant protein banned from sheep and cattle feed

9 Feb 1989: Southwood report says BSE is unlikely to pose threat to humans. Recommends setting up expert committee to advise on SE research

13 Nov 1989: Use of specified bovine offal (SBO) banned in human food

3 Feb 1990: BSE shown to be transferable from cow to cow by injection, and to mice orally

10 May 1990: Siamese cat called Max reported to have BSE-like disease. Species barrier appears to have been broken naturally

16 May 1990: Chief Medical Officer (CMO) says beef is safe to eat

4 May 1992: Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) says existing safeguards should protect human health

1992/1993: BSE peaks as 0.3 per cent of national herd affected. BSE starts to decline in 1993

11 March 1993: CMO again says beef is safe

June 1994: BSE shown to be orally transferable from cow to cow

May 1995: First death from variant CJD

Nov 1995: MAFF informs SEAC that some abattoirs are ignoring SBO ban. Infected tissue could still be entering human food chain

Dec 1995: MAFF bans "mechanically recovered meat" (MRM, dislodged from spinal columns of cattle) from addition to human food

20 March 1996: SEAC announces probable link between BSE and vCJD

25 March 1996: EU bans British beef exports

3 April 1996: Cattle 30+ months banned from food chain

1 Aug 1996: MAFF says BSE may be passed from a cow to its calf

16 Aug 1996: Selective cull of cattle most at risk from BSE announced

16 Sep 1997: Mice studies reveal evidence for link between BSE and vCJD

22 Dec 1997: BSE Inquiry set up

26 Oct 2000: BSE Inquiry report published

28 Oct 2000: European Union approves a massive testing programme for BSE - up to six million cattle a year, starting in 2001

Nov 2000: First Spanish and German cases of BSE discovered

9 Feb 2000 Two Thais reported to have vCJD, the first cases outside Europe

June 2001: The three biggest international agencies for health and agriculture - the World Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisations and World Animal Health Organisation - want all countries to assess their risk of BSE

July 2001: Mouse cells "cured" of scrapie - antibodies raise hope of cure

10 Sep 2001: Mad cow disease reaches Japan - the first native-born case reported outside Europe

Sep 2001: Leading UK epidemiologist says France on course to report more cases of BSE in 2002 than the UK

Sep/Oct 2001: UK-based trial of a drug to treat vCJD - quinacrine - set to start within weeks

Oct 2001: UK BSE experiments end in farce - Scientists conducting a five year study to find whether BSE has infiltrated UK sheep were testing cattle samples all along

Nov 2001: A bug in the soil might trigger both BSE and multiple sclerosis, say a team of immunologists in London

Jan 2002: Researchers may be on the brink of creating prion-free cattle by removing the prion gene from cow cells and cloning the cells to create embryos

Jan 2002: Fears over BSE in chicken as bovine protein is found in breast fillets produced in Holland

Aug 2002: First confirmed case of vCJD in North America

Oct 2002: Hopes revived for CJD drug as new study backs controversial treatment

Nov 2002: Mouse study suggests the eating of infected meat might cause classical CJD in people, as well as variant CJD

Dec 2002: A UK court rules that two dying teenagers can be the first to be injected with an experimental treatment

Jan 2003: Untested drug to be injected into the brain of a British teenager in the hope of slowing the fatal disease

Feb 2003: Predicted deaths from vCJD slashed - A new analysis reduces the extent of the worst-case epidemic to 7000, following two years of falling figures

May 2003: The condition of a UK teenager appears to have stabilised and possibly even improved following injections of a controversial vCJD drug

21 May 2003: The first cow to be found with the deadly disease in Canada for a decade has been discovered

23 May 2003: Mad cow quarantine in Canada extended to nine herds as investigators scramble to find the cause of a case of BSE - and whether any other animals are infected

To 05 May 2003, 135 definite or probable cases of vCJD in Britain karl theis jrvideo field reporterwww.RealityExpander.com Ch.10 TimeWarnerAustin,Texas cell 512 297-9875e-mail: theis888 www.exposureofthetruth.isfamous.com

 

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