September 1, 2005

UK's mad cow disease may have originated from India

The UK mad cow disease epidemic could have been from the feeding to cattle of bonemeal containing infected human remains from India, a UK scientist claimed on Sept 1.

Currently, a popular theory in the origin of the mad cow disease is that British farmers fed their cattle bonemeal containing infected sheep, resulting in the transmission of the disease from animal to animal.

However, Alan Colchester, a professor of neurology at the University of Kent, pointed out that it could have been humans who first infected the animals.

He explained that Britain had imported substantial quantities of whole bones, crushed bones and carcass parts for fertiliser manufacturing and animal feed in the 1960-1970s, with half coming from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

However, religious beliefs in these countries often result in human remains--often whole corpses and which may have carried the disease--being thrown into rivers such as the Ganges as part of their traditional death rites.

These bones and carcasses have been collected by local peasants and sold to processing mills, media and eyewitnesses report.

Prof Colchester admits that more investigations are needed into the sources of animal by-products used in animal feed manufacture, and into the transmittability of the human form of the disease to cattle.

James Ironside, a professor of clinical neuropathology at the National CJD Surveillance Unit in Scotland, described this new theory as interesting and plausible, but pointed out that more concrete evidence was needed before it could be taken more seriously.

Indian neurologists Susarla Shanka and P. Satishchandra of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in India, also said that more work was needed to substantiate this new theory, warning that scientists should be cautious when hypothesising about a disease that has wide geographic, cultural and religious implications.