First case of "Mad Cow Disease" in the U.S.

[Katidyd]

"Canada on Sunday confirmed its second case of mad cow disease, just days after the United States said it planned to reopen its border to Canadian beef. "

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ada_mad_cow_18

Eat chicken!

[Kalo]

Originally posted by Katidyd
The good thing about having neighbors is you could always blame them when something goes wrong. Bad Canada bad!

The first infected cow in Canada was actually traced back to the states, a ranch in Idaho was the origin i believe. Nobody south of the border heard about it thanks to selective reporting by US media outlets.

So this is technically Canada's first case and the US's second case.

[Aristotle]

Actually, that cow was tracked to Canada as originally suspected.

So that makes 2 for Canada, 0 for the US.

[Gilgamar]

Damned Canadians! Let them win at this and they'll think they own the US. We gotta get some mad cows now!

[Jozep]

quoted from the Edmonton Journal, Jan 4

"The first mad cow found in Alberta put the Canadian beef industry into death throes in May 2003. The second, found seven months later in Washington state but traced back to Canada, put a spadeful of dirt on the coffin.

But the confirmation Sunday of a third Canadian case of mad cow disease has elicited barely a whisper."

The article goes on to state that the discovery of a third case will likely not affect the reopening of the border to Canadian exports, and is simply proof that the system of testing animals works. Also, that no case of variant CJD has ever been linked to eating Canadian beef.

I think this is a strong indication that the whole ban on Canadian beef was not inspired by a desire to protect the health of the American public, but was a punishment for the Canadian government's refusal to support the invasion of Iraq.

Politics is strange.

[Savaric]

They just need to keep shooting the cows with stronger and stronger antibiotics. Its not like microorginisms can evolve to resist them or anything. Besides, a little antibiotics and growth hormones never hurt anybody...

[Jarkis]

Originally posted by Katidyd

Eat chicken!

Well with bird flu around even chicken is unsafe.

[Yatar]

Originally posted by Savaric
They just need to keep shooting the cows with stronger and stronger antibiotics. Its not like microorginisms can evolve to resist them or anything.

Actually, this is very, very, very, very not true. One of the biggest concerns in the medical field right now is antibiotic-resistant bacteria, brought about by improper use of antibiotics. Bacteria very commonly evolve to resist antibiotics, and do so even more quickly when you use antibiotics when you shouldn't; the medicine kills off non-resistant bugs, letting the tough bugs survive to reproduce. This is why many antibiotics that worked back in the '60s hardly work at all today. Read up on MRSA (methicillin resistant staph aureus) if you want to know more.

(PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE: This is the same reason why doctors will tell you to take antibiotics for their full courses, even after you feel better. If you don't, you will just be killing off the weak bugs, letting the worse ones survive to come back later with a vengeance. So when they say to take an antibiotic for three weeks, take it for the whole three weeks - you've got to kill ALL the bacteria, not just most of them!)

But all that is moot to this discussion anyway, because mad cow disease isn't caused by a bacteria, but a prion (basically a protein gone wrong). Neither antibiotics nor anti-viral medications will help at all. Thus, the only defense against mad cow disease is not to get it in the first place.

[Aristotle]

Yatar, I'm pretty sure Savaric was being sarcastic.

If not, shame on you Savaric!

On the antibiotics issue: I had to learn that lesson the hard way. I got sick my senior year in college (lung infection from mold in the apartment complex's HVAC system) and was given antibiotics. After a few days I felt better so I stopped taking them.

Huge mistake. I had a huge relapse that was much worse. Fortunately the antibiotics still worked and the second time around I took them to completion.

[Savaric]

Yeah, thats my nutty brand of sarcasm.