February 5, 2007

BSE: How risky is it to drink milk?

Prion proteins found in commercial milk
In a first-time global breakthrough, a Swiss start-up firm has succeeded in detecting prion proteins in the milk of humans, cows, sheep, and goats. This again raises the question of a "mad cow disease" risk from drinking milk. Tests are underway to verify disease-causing prions in milk.
Prions are known to be causes of neurological conditions such as Mad Cow disease (BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in human beings. The causative agent destroys the central nervous system in humans and animals. It is known that prions can also emerge in body fluids such as blood and be transferred by them. In the past it was difficult to estimate the risk of an infection through blood transfusion or drinking milk, since the concentration of prions in body fluids is very low; nor is there a sensitive method to identify prions. Moreover, the incubation time for infection in human beings can take 10 years or longer. LINK