-Caveat Lector- Sunday Herald - 05 January 2003
CJD linked to infected cow tongue Call for new food ban after tests in US on hamsters suggest high transmission risk By Sarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor Guidelines on the types of meat allowed into the food chain should be re-evaluated , according to scientists who have shown that tongue could carry a risk of infection from mad cow disease. The tongue meat could contain high levels of the prion protein thought to cause bovine spongiform encephal-opathy (BSE) in cattle and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, scientists at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, found. Tests showed that prions injected into hamster brains travelled to the tongue and accumulated at relatively high levels there. The research was published in the Journal of Virology and reported in the science journal Nature. The team, led by Professor Richard Bessen, also suggest that, in humans, prions causing CJD might enter the body via the tongue. It is presently believed prions infect people through the stomach. Prions injected into hamsters' tongues took one to two weeks to reach the brain. These animals fell ill in around 80 days -- compared with 190 days when infected through the gut. According to Professor Bessen, the prions can enter through small wounds on the tongue. He said: 'A lesion, cut or infection could enhance the ability of [an animal or person] to become infected.' Dr James Ironside, director of the National CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh, says we cannot be sure, as yet, how prions get into people . He said: 'The route of infection is interesting. We do not know how BSE or variant CJD is spread through the body. At the unit we have been looking at a number of tissues in patients who have died from CJD. We have detected abnormal proteins in the tonsils but not in the tongue muscle itself. 'This does not mean, however, that the tongue is not the route of the infection. The person could have been infected many years before death and the infection could have moved. We don't know how the agent gets into the body. Other people have suggested lesions in the gums or dental problems could be a route of entry.' Cattle spine and brain are barred from meat products in the UK because they are considered to be at high risk of carrying BSE. Tongue is not banned, however. And there are fears that infected beef is still entering the food chain. There are also safety concerns over meat from sheep and deer with related prion diseases. Jan Fraser, of the Institute for Animal Health in Edinburgh, confirmed that nerves could carry infectious prions from the brain to the tongue. But mice injected with nerve cells from infected cow tongue had remained healthy. Dr Fraser said: 'Whether there's sufficient [infectivity] to cause disease is a moot point. 'We have no evidence at the moment for infectivity in the tongue or peripheral nerves of BSE cattle.' Dr Fraser added, however, that the new result makes further testing worthwhile. In October, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced results of research which found BSE infectivity in cow tonsil. This is of concern because it is known that tonsil tissue can be found at the root of the tongue. While tongue can be sold in the UK, tonsil is not permitted in meat products. A limited initial study of current practice suggests that tonsil tissue does not appear to remain on the tongues prepared for human consumption. But the FSA is sufficiently concerned to carry out further research. A spokeswoman for the Food Standards Agency Scotland said: 'Tongue is not specified risk material and can enter the food chain. 'The Agency plans to assess the way in which tongue is extracted, in particular to see whether any traces of tonsil tissue might be inadvertently included with tongue. 'The results from these further investigations into the way bovine tongues are removed will form part of a risk assessment to be considered by the Government's BSE advisory committee.' Clive Evers, spokesman for the CJD Support Network, last night called for precautions to be taken to avoid any possible risk of infection. 'The approach that the CJD Support Network takes is that, when there is any identification of food products that might contain BSE prions, the product should be removed from the food chain. Any opportunity for the prion to get into the food chain should be eliminated. The risk should be minimised. 'The amount of infected prions necessary to cause CJD is minuscule. They are extremely powerful. 'As far as the new route of infection is concerned, I think that is an interesting finding. The idea that CJD can get into the body through a cut in the tongue would need to be replicated by other researchers before we react to it.' 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