Should I stop eating beef?
That depends on your level of risk tolerance. You can’t contract variant CJD (the human form of mad-cow disease) unless you eat meat from an infected animal–and no tainted cows have been identified here so far. Critics charge that’s because the government hasn’t been looking hard enough.
Are certain cuts of beef more risky than others?
European health agencies believe the greatest dangers come from burgers, sausages and meat still attached to the bone, such as T-bone steak. Because these products are more likely to contain nerve fibers, they’re also more likely to harbor the prions involved in mad-cow disease. Flank steak and filet mignon are presumably safer.
Should I avoid eating meat overseas?
Even in Europe, where a dozen countries have lost cattle to mad-cow disease, the odds of contracting vCJD from a serving of beef are remote. But that hasn’t stopped Europeans from jettisoning red meat faster than you can say bistecca alla fiorentina. The good news is that most European countries now monitor their herds. The risk may be higher in Russia and in Southeast Asia, where countries that imported feed and cattle from Britain during the 1980s and ’90s have yet to mount extensive surveillance efforts.
Are pork, lamb and chicken all safe to eat?
Chickens and pigs are unlikely to harbor mad-cow disease. Lambs can develop scrapie, but that disease isn’t known to to harm people.
Do supplements pose a danger?
Cow hides and bones are used to make the gelatin in gel caps, hard capsule shells and glossy pill coatings. But prions have not been found in these products. A bigger worry are memory-boosting supplements that contain raw cow brains and glandular concentrates.
What about vaccines?
The risks are minimal. Vaccines are grown in cell cultures derived from humans and animals, including cows. But the FDA recommends that no cows from countries with mad-cow disease be used. Even in Britain, there is no evidence that transmission has ever occurred through vaccines.
Can medical procedures spread?
Yes. Standard CJD has been CJD transmitted by surgical instruments and by hormones and brain tissues taken from human cadavers. But these cases are exceedingly rare. In more than 20 years, the United States has confirmed only three from dura-mater grafts, three from surgical instruments, two from corneas and 22 from pituitary hormones that are no longer used.
Could CJD invade the blood supply?
In theory, yes. That’s why the U.S. government bans blood donations from people who spent more than six months in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996. Still, transfusions have apparently never spread the disease, even among hemophiliacs.
