Virginia Man Diagnosed with Mad Cow Disease

A Saudi-born Virginia resident has tested positive for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), or the human form of mad cow disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This is the third reported case of vCJD in the US, and about 200 people have died of the disease worldwide, according to offical records. Although it is not very common, vCJD is a very dangerous disease that is always fatal and causes its victims to lose motor skills and develop mental problems throughout the last few months of their lives. Humans can contract the disease by eating beef from cattle infected with mad cow disease. In humans, the disease can lay dormant for decades before any symptoms develop, and the CDC speculates that this latest victim contracted it as a child living in Saudi Arabia.

Although details about the cause and transmission of mad cow are largely unknown, many scientists believe that cows will contract the disease when they are fed rendered body parts from infected cows. In order to avoid beef that is potentially contaminated with mad cow disease, consumers are advised to buy beef that is 100% vegetarian fed.

Visit the Eat Well Guide to find 100% vegetarian-fed beef from farms and outlets near you, and read our Mad Cow Disease issues page for more information about this disease.

Third U.S. mad cow case reported in Virginia, CDC says
(ScientificAmerican.com, December 06,2006)

More Mad Cow News:
Hospital fears ‘mad cow’
Calgary Sun, December 6, 2006