Montana State University-Billings Biochemist Dan Gretch debates mad cow disease

A Montana State University-Billings biochemist Friday demonstrated the difficulty of science in assessing risk and the certainty of its conclusions following a presentation on the causes of brain-wasting diseases in humans and animals.

His practical application of evidence on both sides of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy – mad cow disease – debate and its risks of being transmitted from beef to humans was laid out chronologically and logically over almost two hours at the MSU-B campus before an attentive audience of faculty, students and citizens.

He said more than 200,000 cows in the United Kingdom were identified with BSE with probably "millions eaten" that also had the disease.

Given that 152 people have died in the UK from the human variant of BSE, the risk is minute.

By JIM GRANSBERY
Of The Gazette Staff

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/01/29/build/local/45-mad-cow.inc