By March 27th, 1996 the United Kingdom's Commission banned exports from the UK to other member states and third world countries. The Commission did this as it was the best way to ensure that BSE from the UK did not spread to other countries. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy was identified as a Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy in 1986. It was first linked to scrapie- implying that it would not infect humans. The British government was hesitant to tell the public that infection of humans was possible.
By December 1997, 84 house cats were reported to have contracted feline spongiform encephalopathy, or FSE… The discovery of such cases, plus the deaths of various exotic zoo animals, offered solid evidence that the prion strain of BSE could jump to different species. Moreover, although lab experiments demonstrated that cats could contract a TSE, felines seem to be immune to scrapie. So whatever malformed prion protein was destroying their brains, it wasn’t the same as the scrapie agent. If cows did indeed develop BSE because of scrapie, then the malformed prion protein must have taken a slightly new form that was hazardous to other species. (Yam, 124)
United kingdom's Response
Articles showing public displeasure, beginning in 1986, expressing beliefs such as “We are witnessing a collapse in worldwide investment into essential water and sanitation systems, public health care, insect control measures, immunization programs, and so forth-parallel with falling material living standards for the majority of the world's population.” (Baker, 22)
While this statement is an exaggeration , it didn't help ease the government or citizens' anxiety of the tense state which the disease created. |