Example research essay topic: The Threat Of Mad Cow Disease In America - 1,071 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

... 100, 000 cattle which die per year from the disease (Klepper 1). Even though the disease is difficult to detect with medical tests, there are symptoms of the disease. Physical symptoms include sore joints and muscles. Psychiatric problems include personality changes, depression, difficulty sleeping, withdrawal, fearfulness, paranoia and possible Alzheimers disease (Lawrence 6). When a cows immune system is contaminated with the Mad Cow disease; the side affects include drooling, wobbling (such as a drunken state), holes that form in the brain, and then, just falling over dead.

The incubation period of this disease can be as long as ten years (8). It can be something to think about since this disease was discovered in U. S. in 1985, yet more research at this current time. Preventative Measures For preventative measures, Public Health control includes the culling of sick animals or banning specified risk materials (SRMs), or a combination of these, have been instituted in Europe to prevent potentially BSE infected tissues from entering the human food chain. People can minimize or alleviate their intake of beef or reduce there intake and consume solid pieces of muscle meat which does not contain any spinal cord and brain matter versus hamburger meat, which may have contaminated tissues that carry the BSE prion.

This is due to the fact that hamburger meat derives from muscle taken from the cows spinal cord. The spinal cord is linked to the cows brain, thus causing fragments of brain tissue, which can possible have the disease. Our research indicates that it is not likely that a human will get BSE from milk and other dairy products. Even though the disease is not likely transmitted through dairy products, countries such as Germany and France have strict search regulations pertaining to food, even down to a slice of lunch meat has been inspected, so they claim (McArthur 1). It can be concluded that blood transfusions may pass on the disease. In Europe, predominantly the United Kingdom, blood transfusions were restricted due to the large possibility of BSE being transmitted.

English hospitals are reporting that vCJD can be transmitted through the use of unclean surgical instruments. British Ministers are also requiring the use of disposable instruments to be used in tonsillitis surgeries in order to prevent spreading of the disease, a new decontamination process with current state-of the art procedures for multi use surgical equipment and task committees to address Mad Cow Disease issues (Times News Paper 1). The British believe that this scare will bring Europe closer in their fight to stop the spreading of the disease and also devise a system that will prevent the disease in its entirety. Classical Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) This disease is the human form of BSE, which targets the central nervous system and starts to disintegrate the human brain (About Classical CJD). This disease is one of few that has actually been reported in the United States. It has also been reported in Australia and New Zealand, which is hard to believe since scrapie or BSE has not affected either country (Classical CJD in the U.

S. A. ). Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) announced the disease, which has affected ten patients in 1994 or 1995. There are several differences from classical CJD and variant CJD. The patients were much younger compared to the individuals infected with the classical form of CJD. The average for CJD is sixty-three while vCJD is twenty-eight.

The course duration of vCJD is around thirteen months, but CJD is only six months. Electroencephalographic (EEG), which is electrical activity in the brain, was reported with vCJD, but not with CJD. Through studies SEAC have found that vCJD has the same signature as BSE, which suspects that BSE and vCJD are in some way associated. The study was with four panels of mice, one with crossbred mice and the other three with inbred mice. The mice that were infected with BSE showed the same signs of illness as the vCJD infected mice. Mice with just classical CJD did not show these signs (BSE and CJD - Human).

History From 1985 Current Time For the last several years the Mad Cow Disease has infected thousands upon pawn millions of European livestock. The first sign of the disease began in the UK in 1985 when 133 cows died after suffering brain damage, weight loss, and addition abnormalities. Following after the first known case was the final recognition of the disease in 1986. In 1990 the United Kingdom formulated the National CJD Surveillance Unit to investigate cases, and try to find a correlation between the disease (Associated Press 2). When the United Kingdom began the surveillance unit, fear arose an overwhelming concern throughout Europe. BSE reached its worst form in 1992 1993, with 100, 000 confirmed cows infected with Mad Cow Disease.

The first known human victim died two years later in 1995. This was the first case documented of vCJD. Followed by three more people dying in the UK in that same year. After the first known human deaths from the disease, many people started asking questions that scientist and doctors did not have the answer for.

Still the Mad Cow Disease was supposedly not related to vCJD at that time. After March of 1996 United Kingdom Health Secretary, Stephen Dorrel announced there was a correlation between the Mad Cow and vCJD, followed by a ban of export on British beef, and a slaughter of all cattle over the age of 30 months. This was a result of the expensive test that had to be conducted on the cattle, and they could not afford to do it on every single one. (Affected Areas) By the year 2000, France banned beef from restaurants and school canteens, then Italy bans adult cows and beef from France. Then the first case of Mad Cow Disease is detected in Spain and Germany. Both countries ordered for testing on all cattle to help relieve public fears. By the end of the year 2000, the entire country of France had also come down with the disease.

In fact, it was worst than expected, with one in every five hundreds cow infected. Then, in the beginning 2001, Belgium and Italy had been hit with this horrible disease. The only good notion that has come out of this event is that the United States has barely noticed an outbreak, just from a few possible...

Research essay sample on The Threat Of Mad Cow Disease In America