5 - 11 April 2001
Issue No.528
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 5 - 11 April 2001 Issue No.528 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Bovine hysteria
Mad cow disease remains something of a mystery: neither a virus nor a form of bacteria, its causative agent is a non-living protein. It is carried by the marrow and offal of animals, which go into the manufacture of processed meats. It has not yet been proved conclusively that it is the bovine disease that causes the human variant, however. A similar disease existed in humans prior to the outbreak of the current epidemic affecting cattle, and some transformations were noted in its symptoms and the speed of its progression concurrent with the discovery of "mad cow" disease. This coincidence led to the suspicion that the bovine disease is somehow related to its human counterpart.
Were that true, however, the percentage of human victims would have increased among those working with cattle, or decreased in societies that do not consume meat, such as India; this has not been the case.
In England, the disease appeared because the regulations controlling the manufacture of fodder (related to pressure and temperature) were ignored due to economic considerations, and specifically former Prime Minister Thatcher's encouragement of reckless profit-seeking. Outside England, cases of mad cow disease have been few and far between. The current hysteria is due, then, to the fact that there is no known cure for the disease; once infected, one is doomed. Nor have tests been developed allowing for the early detection of the illness. Still, our government must protect society by banning imported meat and, more importantly, fodder and processed meats from affected areas. Yet it is well to consider that other diseases (like tuberculosis) are rife among us, and the media is not as hysterical about their prevalence. Perhaps this is because they are not related so directly to economic interests.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is professor emeritus at the Military Medical Academy.
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