26

26. BSE

Date	Source	Title	Summary	Other Categories
07.26.2001	Nature	Beating surgical vCJD risk may prove costly	Researchers at Imperial College, London, have identified a possible risk of transmission of the human form of BSE, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), through surgical procedures on the rear of the eye and on the rectum (Wadsworth, J. D. F. et al. Lancet 358, 171-180; 2001).
01.18.2001	Nature	BSE fallout sends shock waves through Germany	Consumer panic has disrupted German meat markets after the discovery of a small number BSE cases in German-born cattle.
01.04.2001	Nature	British BSE committee opens up to the public	A recent public enquiry into the BSE epidemic found that a culture of secrecy had contributed to its spread (see Nature 408 , 3–5; 2000). To help regain public confidence, advisors to the UK government are pushing to have some of their sessions made public—for the first time. Sessions involving commercial or patient confidentiality will remain closed.	4. Ethical and Social Concerns Arising out of Biotechnology
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Whitehall condemned over BSE	The indictment of the system of government that kept the public in the dark about the country's worst human and animal health crisis was delivered [26 Oct. 2000] by the BSE inquiry. In this article (and the series that follow) the central issues of the inquiry are explored in considerable detail including reactions from victims, families, farmers, government and scientists. This collection of articles presents a valuable "case-study" opportunity to explore the interface between public risk, science and effective governance that could be applied to biotechnology exploitation in society (e.g. xenotransplantation and GMO foods).
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Families who suffered may be paid £100,000	Part of Whitehall series (described above)
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Grieving father condemns Tories as 'a smug and arrogant bunch'	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	The Rolls-Royce system that failed	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Officials and ministers who faced the crisis	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	The 'recipe for disaster' that killed 80 and left a £5bn bill	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Government missed warning of Max the cat	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Mysterious mutation unleashed epidemic	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Public mistrust of safety assurances 'may last decades'	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Man at heart of £27m hearings	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	What They Said	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Brown promises compensation for CJD victims	Part of Whitehall series
10.27.2000	UK Telegraph	Getting to the meat	Part of Whitehall series
10.26.2000	BBC News	Government urged 'to listen' to experts	British scientists have called for changes to the government's handling of scientific advice following the report into the BSE crisis. Scientists have spoken of a "culture of secrecy" over BSE where experts couldn't pursue their research into the disease and that rivalries within governmental agencies delayed vital research into the disease in the early stages of the outbreak.
08.02.2000	New York Times	Judge Upholds Killing of Vermont Sheep in 'Mad Cow' Case	A federal judge ruled today that two flocks of sheep that the federal government says may suffer from a version of the always fatal mad cow disease should be killed. The owners had argued that the tests used to condemn their sheep were inconclusive. But the judge wrote that in seeking to prevent diseases with long incubation periods, officials could not afford to wait for clinical signs of disease "because any actions implemented at that time would be taken years too late."
07.18.2000	New York Times	U.S. Planning to Destroy Sheep at Risk of an Infection	Federal agriculture officials plan to seize and destroy nearly 400 Vermont sheep in the coming days, over the objections of the owners, because four of the group imported from Belgium have tested positive for a disorder that may be similar to the mad cow disease reported in Europe. Formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, mad cow disease is not known to have ever passed from cattle to sheep, except in the laboratory. But the agricultural authorities said today that they were intent on sparing the United States the nightmare Europe has been through, and with the sheep showing definite signs of some form of disease, they said they wanted to err far on the side of caution.