Question:
There has been much discussion in the media about "mad cow disease" now that it has arrived in the United States. However, I have heard no expression of concern about the possible contamination of pet foods. I have some concern about this since I have two cats who eat canned food.What is your thinking on this? I would appreciate your addressing my concern in your column, as I believe it is a question that would interest all cat and dog owners.
C.W.S., Fairfax, Va Jun 06, 2004
Answer:
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), which devastated the British beef industry, is caused by a little-understood change in the structure of a type of protein called prions that normally exist without causing any harm to the brain. A mutation may have occurred that made these protein molecules capable of destroying cows' nervous systems, and was spread rapidly when parts of cows that had died from the disease were recycled into livestock feed. Many cattle then became fatally infected, as did humans (150 people died in Britain), cats, a dog in Sweden, and several zoo carnivores fed contaminated beef and meat byproducts. Even though the practice of feeding dead cattle parts to live cattle has been prohibited in the U.K., cases of mad cow disease have still been reported, which supports the theory that some agents (like a pesticide or copper deficiency) might mutate harmless brain prions into brain destroyers.According to experts who dealt with the European outbreak, more U.S. cattle are
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