In article <47v5hm$hld at news.csus.edu>, mattw at sfsu.edu (MATTHEW FRANCIS
WETTLAUFER) wrote:
> Jorg Kirberg (kirberg at bii.ch) wrote:
> : In article <47h4pd$cbe at news.csus.edu>, mattw at sfsu.edu (MATTHEW FRANCIS
> : WETTLAUFER) wrote:
>> : > VANCAMPE at UWYO.EDU wrote:
> : > : Dear Anyone: I've heard a rumor through the grapevine that 3 cases of
> : > : spongiform encephalopathy have been diagnosed in young (teenage)
> : humans in the
> : > : U.K. There is some mention of possible links to the ingestion of
> : unpasteurized
> : > : milk and bovine brains by two of these patients. The report is
> : supposed to be
> : > : in Lancet. Anyone have a reference or can confirm? Thank you in
> : advance, Hana
> : > I haven't read any articles about it but it would make sense if you
> : ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ???*
> : > consider the outbreak of "mad cow disease" in the U.K. during the
> : > mid-1980's when up to 130,000 head of cattle had to be destroyed because
> : > they had become infected with prions from sheep mulch.
> : > Spongiform encephalopathies have very long incubation periods, 5 to 8
> : > years, so there was and still is speculation over whether a species leap
> : > could take place between cows and humans (as it did between sheep
and cows).
> : > Don't know if any of this info. helps.
> : > Matt Wettlaufer
>> : * how can it make sense if man never got it from sheep before ? I would
> : think that one still has to wait for more cases before a link between BSE
> : and humans eating whatever from the U.K. cattles can be made.
> : jorg
>> : ******************************************************************
> : Joerg Kirberg EMAIL: kirberg at bii.ch> : Basel Institute for Immunology FAX: 41-61-605 13 72
> : Grenzacherstr. 487 PHONE: 41-61-605 12 77
> : CH-4005 Basel
> : Switzerland
> I agree with you that no connection can be made between BSE and human
> spongiform encephalopathy unless more cases arise. But I do not think
> that should rule speculation out. PrP proteins that cause BSE are closer
> to PrP proteins sequenced for humans than they are to those that have
> been sequenced for sheep (scrapies). And as the others of this panel
> have mentioned, it is worrisome when two cases of noninherited CJD arise
> in the same country at the same time in two young people (when CJD
> usually developes in elderly people and at an incidence rate of one per
> million). No connection can be proven at this point unless other cases
> arise, but speculation about this is not unwarranted given this pathogen's
> unpredictable etiology.
> Matt Wettlaufer
'Speculation' is a more appropriate term than to say 'it makes sense'.
Thats all I wanted to complain about. I agree that my reply concerning
the infectivity of scrapie for man is not very appropriate; but it was ment
to be on the same level as saying something makes sense. There is none.
jorg
