farm-raised fish may carry mad cow disease

[Amby 490]

Three U.S. scientists are concern about the potential of people contracting Creutzfeldt Jakob disease — the human form of "mad cow disease" — from eating farmed fish who are fed byproducts rendered from cows.Mad cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a fatal brain disease in cattle, which scientists believe can cause Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in humans who eat infected cow parts.

In the latest issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Dr. Robert P. Friedland, a neurologist at University of Louisville in Kentucky and colleagues suggest that farmed fish fed contaminated cow parts could transmit Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.

The scientists want government regulators to ban feeding cow meat or bone meal to fish until the safety of this common practice can be confirmed.

Eating fish at least two times a week is widely recommended because of the beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the heart and brain, they note.

"We are concerned," Friedland and colleagues write, that eating farmed fish may provide a means of transmission of infectious proteins from cows to humans, causing variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.

"We have not proven that it's possible for fish to transmit the disease to humans. Still, we believe that out of reasonable caution for public health, the practice of feeding rendered cows to fish should be prohibited," Friedland said in a prepared statement. "Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows," he added.

The risk of transmission of made cow disease to humans who eat farmed fish "would appear to be low," the scientists emphasize, because of perceived barriers between the species, but that's no guarantee that it can't happen.

"The fact that no cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease have been linked to eating farmed fish does not assure that feeding rendered cow parts to fish is safe," Friedland said.

"The incubation period of these diseases may last for decades, which makes the association between feeding practices and infection difficult," he points out.

"Enhanced safeguards need to be put in place to protect the public," Friedland concludes.

SOURCE: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, June 2009.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529385,00.html

[mawilson 2,133]

Unbelievable.

Feeding cow meat to fish? To FISH???!!!

#######! If they don't know what to do with all that diseased meat, send it to China!

[Nagishkaw 510]

Nothing is safe to eat.

[Amby 490]

Unbelievable.

Feeding cow meat to fish? To FISH???!!!

#######! If they don't know what to do with all that diseased meat, send it to China!

Happy I'm not the only one who was like #######? Fish eat cow? I wish it would have specified what "byproducts" they're fed. I'll try to find it later.

[HAL 9000 96]

Unbelievable.

Feeding cow meat to fish? To FISH???!!!

#######! If they don't know what to do with all that diseased meat, send it to China!

Happy I'm not the only one who was like #######? Fish eat cow? I wish it would have specified what "byproducts" they're fed. I'll try to find it later.

OMFG

Damn libruls.

[Amby 490]

Here's a little more...

In a paper that shows just how strange our modern world has become, Robert P. Friedland, neurologist from the University of Louisville, warns that farmed fish could be at risk of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, or mad cow disease.

Currently, farmed fish are fed cow byproducts—a food source they would never find natural environment (unless society started dumping cow carcasses in oceans or lakes).

Friedland and co-authors raise the issue in the Journal of Alzhemier’s Disease and call on food regulators to ban feeding cow bone or meat to farmed fish until it can be determined if the practice of feeding fish cow-parts is safe.

“We have not proven that it’s possible for fish to transmit the disease to humans. Still, we believe that out of reasonable caution for public health, the practice of feeding rendered cows to fish should be prohibited,” Friedland said. “Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows.”

Mad cow disease is a fatal disease that can be contracted by eating parts of a cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). After an outbreak in Britain due to infected beef, 163 people died.

“The fact that no cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease have been linked to eating farmed fish does not assure that feeding rendered cow parts to fish is safe,” warns Friedland. “The incubation period of these diseases may last for decades, which makes the association between feeding practices and infection difficult. Enhanced safeguards need to be put in place to protect the public.”

Along with cow, farmed fish are also fed significant amounts of antibiotics to keep them disease-and-parasite free. Farmed fish pose additional health hazards due to the possibility of mercury contamination.

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0617-hance_madfish.html

I love the quote “Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows.”

[HAL 9000 96]

Well... protein IS protein... they'll eat people too if dumped into the sea. Its not just sharkies doing the scavenging ya know.

But yeah... with all the ####### we feed cows on land... I'll take my fishies without hormones, wacko chemistry, or prions, thank you very much.

[Amby 490]

After experiencing the craziest diseased fish, ever...I will no longer touch farm-raised fish. I went to butcher this salmon and within 30 seconds of cutting it open, the flesh went from normal raw salmon to what I can only describe as salmon mousse. It was the craziest thing! It wasn't just that one fish, it was every single one from that shipment. Bizarre!

[mawilson 2,133]

I love the quote “Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows.”

I actually LOL'ed when I read that.

[HAL 9000 96]

After experiencing the craziest diseased fish, ever...I will no longer touch farm-raised fish. I went to butcher this salmon and within 30 seconds of cutting it open, the flesh went from normal raw salmon to what I can only describe as salmon mousse. It was the craziest thing! It wasn't just that one fish, it was every single one from that shipment. Bizarre!

Gross...

And with that in mind I head to meet a colleague about doing some mouse surgeries.

[Amby 490]

After experiencing the craziest diseased fish, ever...I will no longer touch farm-raised fish. I went to butcher this salmon and within 30 seconds of cutting it open, the flesh went from normal raw salmon to what I can only describe as salmon mousse. It was the craziest thing! It wasn't just that one fish, it was every single one from that shipment. Bizarre!

Gross...

And with that in mind I head to meet a colleague about doing some mouse surgeries.

oh mouse surgery sounds fun! enjoy!

I love the quote "Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows."

I actually LOL'ed when I read that.

me too

[mawilson 2,133]

After experiencing the craziest diseased fish, ever...I will no longer touch farm-raised fish. I went to butcher this salmon and within 30 seconds of cutting it open, the flesh went from normal raw salmon to what I can only describe as salmon mousse. It was the craziest thing! It wasn't just that one fish, it was every single one from that shipment. Bizarre!

Gross...

And with that in mind I head to meet a colleague about doing some mouse surgeries.

Salmon mouse?

[HAL 9000 96]

After experiencing the craziest diseased fish, ever...I will no longer touch farm-raised fish. I went to butcher this salmon and within 30 seconds of cutting it open, the flesh went from normal raw salmon to what I can only describe as salmon mousse. It was the craziest thing! It wasn't just that one fish, it was every single one from that shipment. Bizarre!

Gross...

And with that in mind I head to meet a colleague about doing some mouse surgeries.

Salmon mouse?

Almost. We will do two tomorrow and if they make it... two more the next day.

[lostinblue 1,989]

We have not proven that it's possible for fish to transmit the disease to humans。。。。。。。Sounds like the global warming deal .......It is not proven so we will guess it is a problem

[HAL 9000 96]

Will the actual scientists raise their hands?

(Oh... I guess if I do that I couldn't type)