Michael Greger, M.D.
Cont'd....CJD victims petitioned the FDA and the CDC
Thu Jan 8 01:25:41 2004
64.140.158.123

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/GregerCJD.cfm

Five years ago this week, the Center for Food Safety, the Humane Farming Association, the Center for Media & Democracy, and ten families of CJD victims petitioned the FDA and the CDC to immediately enact a national CJD monitoring system, including the mandatory reporting of CJD in all 50 states.[76] The petition was denied.[77] The CDC argued that their passive surveillance system tracking death certificate diagnoses was adequate. Their analysis of death certificates in three states and two cities, for example, showed an overall stable and typical one in a million CJD incidence rate from 1979 to 1993.[78] But CJD is so often misdiagnosed, and autopsies are so infrequently done, that this system may not provide an accurate assessment.[79]

In 1997, the CDC set up the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University to analyze brain tissue from CJD victims in the U.S. in hopes of tracking any new developments. In Europe, surveillance centers have been seeing most, if not all, cases of CJD. The U.S. center sees less than half. "I'm very unhappy with the numbers," laments Pierluigi Gambetti , the director of the Center. "The British and Germans politely smile when they see we examine 30% or 40% of the cases," he says. "They know unless you examine 80% or more, you are not in touch."[80] "The chance of losing an important case is high."[81]

One problem is that many doctors don't even know the Center exists. And neither the CDC nor the Center are evidently authorized to reach out to them directly to bolster surveillance efforts, because it's currently up to each state individually to determine how--or even whether--they will track the disease. In Europe, in contrast, the national centers work directly with each affected family and their physicians.[82] In the U.S., most CJD cases--even the confirmed ones--seem to just fall through the cracks. In fact, based on the autopsy studies at Yale and elsewhere, it seems most CJD cases in the U.S. aren't even picked up in the first place.

Autopsy rates have dropped in the U.S. from 50% in the Sixties to less than 10% at present.[83] Although one reason autopsies are rarely performed on atypical dementia cases is that medical professionals are afraid of catching the disease,[84] the primary reason for the decline in autopsy rates in general appears to be financial. There is currently no direct reimbursement to doctors or hospitals for doing autopsies, which often forces the family to absorb the cost of transporting the body to an autopsy center and having the brain samples taken, a tab that can run upwards of $1500.[85]

Another problem is that the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center itself remains underfunded. Paul Brown, medical director for the National Institutes of Health, has described the Center's budget as "pitiful," complaining that "there isn't any budget for CJD surveillance."[86] To adequately survey America's 290 million residents, "you need a lot of money." UK CJD expert Robert Will explains, "There was a CJD meeting of families in America in which... [the CDC] got attacked fairly vigorously because there wasn't proper surveillance. You could only do proper surveillance if you have adequate resources."[87] "I compare this to the early days of AIDS," says protein chemist Shu Chen, who directs the Center's lab, "when no one wanted to deal with the crisis."[88]

Andrew Kimbrell, the director of the Center for Food Safety, a D.C.-based public interest group, writes, "Given what we know now, it is unconscionable that the CDC is not strictly monitoring these diseases."[89] Given the presence of Mad Cow disease in the U.S., we need to immediately enact uniform active CJD surveillance on a national level, provide adequate funding not only for autopsies but also for the shipment of bodies, and require mandatory reporting of the disease in all 50 states. In Britain, even feline spongiform encephalopathy, the cat version of Mad Cow disease, is an officially notifiable illness. "No one has looked for CJD systematically in the U.S.," notes NIH medical director Paul Brown. "Ever."[90]

The animal agriculture industries continue to risk public safety, and the government seems to protect the industries' narrow business interests more than it protects its own citizens. Internal USDA documents retrieved through the Freedom of Information Act show that our government did indeed consider a number of precautionary measures as far back as 1991 to protect the American public from Mad Cow disease. According to one such document, however, the USDA explained that the "disadvantage" of these measures was that "the cost to the livestock and rendering industries would be substantial."[91]

Plant sources of protein for farm animals can cost up to 30% more than cattle remains.[92] The Cattlemen's Association admitted a decade ago that animal agribusiness could indeed find economically feasible alternatives to feeding slaughterhouse waste to other animals, but that the they did not want to set a precedent of being ruled by "activists."[93]

Is it a coincidence that USDA Secretary Veneman chose Dale Moore, former chief lobbyist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, as her chief of staff?[94] Or Alison Harrison, former director of public relations for the Cattlemen's Association, as her official spokeswoman?[95] Or that one of the new Mad Cow committee appointees is William Hueston, who was paid by the beef industry to testify against Oprah Winfrey in hopes of convicting her of beef "disparagement"?[96] After a similar conflict of interest unfolded in Britain, their entire Ministry of Agriculture was dissolved and an independent Food Safety Agency was created, whose sole responsibility is to protect the public's health. Until we learn from Britain's lesson, and until the USDA stops treating this as a PR problem to be managed instead of a serious global threat,[97] millions of Americans will remain at risk.

For updates on this evolving crisis, visit the OCA Mad Cow page or send a blank email to DrGregerMadCowUpdates-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

For background on this important issue, read the excellent book Mad Cow U.S.A., the full text of which is available free online at http://www.prwatch.org, or my report U.S. Violates WHO Guidelines for Mad Cow Disease".

Michael Greger, M.D., has been the Chief BSE Investigator for Farm Sanctuary since 1993 and the Mad Cow Coordinator for the Organic Consumers Association since 2001. Dr. Greger has debated the National Cattlemen's Beef Association before the FDA and was invited as an expert witness at the infamous Oprah Winfrey "meat defamation" trial. He has contributed to many books and articles on the subject, continues to lecture extensively, and currently runs the Mad Cow disease website http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm. Dr. Greger is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Agriculture and the Tufts University School of Medicine. He can be reached for media inquiries at (206) 312-8640 or mhg1@cornell.edu.

Any part of this report may be reproduced subject to acknowledgment.

REFERENCES:
(Full text of specific articles available by emailing article-request@DrGreger.org)
1 Spokesman Review. 22 September 2003 http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/putnam92203.cfm
2 HealthDayNews. 26 September 2003 http://www.healthday.com/view.cfm?id=515265
3 Reuters. 27 December 2003 http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/cjd122703.cfm
4 Moyes, Jojo. "Depression Leads to Painful Death." Independent 21 March 1996: 1.
5 "Victims' Families Cry Cover-Up by Protecting Beef Industry, Government Cost Lives, They Say." Miami Herald 26 March 1996: 7A.
6 PA News 30 November 1998.
7 http://meatout.org/
8 Brown, Paul. "Beef Crisis." Guardian 26 March 1996a: 7.
9 British Medical Journal 322(2001):841.
10 Journal of Infectious Diseases 161 (1990): 467-472.
11 Bentor, Yinon. Chemical Element.com - Lead. Jun. 3, 2003. http://www.chemicalelements.com/elements/pb.html
12 British Medical Journal 322(2001):841.
13 Bulletin of the World Health Organization 70 (1992): 183- 190.
14 http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/florida1304.cfm
15 Journal of the American Medical Association, November 8, 2000; 284(18).
16 http://www.bseinfo.org/dsp/dsplocationContent.cfm?locationId=1267
17 "BSE prions propagate as either variant CJD-like or sporadic CJD-like prion strains in transgenic mice expressing human prion protein." EMBO Journal, Vol. 21, No. 23, 6358-6368, 2002. http://emboj.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/full/21/23/6358
18 United Press International. 29 December 2003. http://organicconsumers.org/madcow/CJD122903.cfm
19 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98(2001):4142.
20 "BSE may cause more CJD cases than thought New Scientist 28 November 2002.
21 Journal of Infectious Disease 142(1980):205-8.
22 http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/scrapie/yearly_report/yearly-report.html
23 March 17, 2000 Federal Register (Volume 65,:Page 14521).
http://www.mad-cow.org/00/apr00scrapie.html
24 "Sheep consumption: a possible source of spongiform encephalopathy in humans." Neuroepidemiology. 4(1985):240-9.
25 The Veterinary Record 127(1990):338.
26 National Hog Farmer. 15 February 2002.
27 American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 122, No. 3 (1985), pgs. 443-451.
28 http://www.consumersunion.org/food/psecpi301.htm
29 Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance in the UK: sixth annual report 1997. Edinburgh, Scotland: National CJD Surveillance Unit, 1998.
30 American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 122, No. 3 (1985), pgs. 443-451.
31 Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance in the UK: sixth annual report 1997. Edinburgh, Scotland: National CJD Surveillance Unit, 1998.
32 Quarterly Journal of Medicine 93(2000):617.
33 American Journal of Epidemiology 98( 1973):381-394.
34 Lancet 1998; 351:1081-5.
35 American Journal of Epidemiology 122(1985)443-451.
36 Lancet 1998; 351:1081-5.
37 Schoon, H.A., Brunckhorst, D. and Pohlenz J. (1991) Spongiform Encephalopathy in a Red-Necked Ostrich, Tierartzliche Praxis, 19, 263-5
38 Journal of Virology 75(21):10073-89 (2001).
39 http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1976/gajdusek-lecture.html
40 NBC Dateline 14 March 1997.
41 Pearce, Fred. "BSE May Lurk in Pigs and Chickens." New Scientist 6 April 1996: 5.
42 http://organicconsumers.org/madcow/tallow123103.cfm
43 "BSE May Have Caused Some Cases Of CJD As Well As vCJD." The Guardian. 29 November 2002.
44 Lancet 360(2002):139-141.
45 Neuroepidemiology 14 (1995): 174-181.
46 http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/cjd/bsecjdqa.htm
47 Altman, Lawrence K. "U.S. Officials Confident That Mad Cow Disease of Britain Has Not Occurred Here." New York Times 27 March 1996: 12A.
48 Flannery, Mary. "Twelve - Fifteen 'Mad Cow' Victims a Year in Area." Philadelphia Daily News 26 March 1996: 03.
49 Neurology 43 (1993): A316.
50 Neurology 44 (1994): A260.
51 Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science 31(2001):211.
52 Boule, Margie. "Despite Anecdotal Evidence, Docs Say No Mad Cow Disease Here." Oregonian 16 April 1996: C01.
53 Burlington County Times 23 June 2003. http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/112-06232003-112425.html
54 Philip Yam. The Pathological Protein: Mad Cow, Chronic Wasting, and Other Deadly Prion Diseases. New York: Springer-Verlag Press, 2003.
55 British Journal of Psychiatry 158 (1991): 457-70.
56 Neurology 38 (1989): 76-79.
57 Neurology 39 (1989): 1103-1104.
58 New England Journal of Medicine 310 (1984): 661-663.
59 "Brain Disease May Be Commoner Than Thought -Expert." Reuter Information Service 15 May 1996.
60 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001820.htm
61 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/alzheimr.htm
62 http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm
63 Neurology 34 (1984): 939.
64 The Lancet 336 (1990):21.
65 Folstein, M. "The Cognitive Pattern of Familial Alzheimer's Disease." Biological Aspects of Alzheimer's Disease. Ed. R. Katzman. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1983.
66 Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders 2 (1989): 100-109.
67 Teixeira, F., et al. "Clinico-Pathological Correlation in Dementias." Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 20 (1995): 276-282.
68 British Journal of Psychiatry 158 (1991): 457-70.
69 Mahendra, B. Dementia Lancaster: MTP Press Limited, 1987: 174.
70 Archives of Neurology 44 (1987): 24-29.
71 Neurology 38 (1989): 76-79.
72 http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/cjd/bsecjdqa.htm
73 Dementia and Normal Aging, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
74 Neurology 55 (2000):1075.
75 Lancet Infectious Disease. 1 August 2003.
76 http://www.mad-cow.org/jan99_petition.html#ddd
77 http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/li/CDCrspn1.html
78 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 12 April 1996: 295-303.
79 Neurology 43 (1993): A316.
80 The Wall Street Journal. 30 November 2001.
81 Beacon Journal (Akron). 5 June 2001. http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/CJD6501.cfm
82 New York Times 30 January 2001.
83 http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/Healthology/HS_autopsydearth_03130.html
84 Altman, Lawrence K. "Four States Watching for Brain Disorder." New York Times 9 April 1996.
85 http://www.medicomm.net/Consumer%20Site/tp/tp_a15.htm
86 http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/fact43001.cfm
87 Case Western Reserve University Magazine - Summer 2001.
88 Case Western Reserve University Magazine - Summer 2001.
89 USA Today. 7 January 1999.
90 Philip Yam. The Pathological Protein: Mad Cow, Chronic Wasting, and Other Deadly Prion Diseases. New York: Springer-Verlag Press, 2003.
91 Rampton, S and J. Stauber. Mad Cow USA: Could the Nightmare Happen Here? Common Courage Press; (September 1997):149-50. Full text available free online at http://prwatch.org/books/madcow.html
92 Food Chemical News 25 March 1996: 30.
93 Food Chemical News 5 July 1993: 57-59.
94 http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/5884855.htm
95 http://organicconsumers.org/madcow/usda1204.cfm
96 http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1998Q1/oprah.html
97 "World Health Organization says BSE is a major threat" http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/BSE7601.cfm
=================================================
Michael Greger, M.D.
Chief BSE Investigator for Farm Sanctuary
http://www.nodowners.org
Mad Cow Coordinator for the Organic Consumers Association
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm
(617) 524-8064
(206) 312-8640
mhg1@cornell.edu
185 South St #6
Boston, MA 02130

For periodic updates on the Mad Cow crisis send a blank email to
mailto:DrGregerMadCowUpdates-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

• A Bum Steer On Mad Cow Disease — Business Week, Thu Jan 8 01:32