Resources

A professional introduction to the current BSE situation, with a list of excellent, dependable, and substantive links for further information. This page, and others on the same site, are maintained by ProMED—a project of the Federation of American Scientists to promote the establishment of a global Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases.

This page, from the NZ Veterinary Correspondent of July 2, 1996, contains, as its name suggests, original reports by veterinarians of various animal species that appear to have succumbed to BSE or similar diseases.

This site, subtitled "INformATION CONCERNING BSE For the Scientific World" is authored by Steve Dealler, from The Pathology Laboratory, Burnley General Hospital UK. It is an exhaustive and intriguing list of information from a wide range of sources, much of which the author has tried to present in a style comprehensible to the educated lay person. In a welcome fashion, the site distinguishes and lists separately information the author considers solid (data, scientific publications, etc.) from "Gossip" which he includes for completeness with the warning that "This is information that has not reached the scientific press and should not be quoted as certain..."

This is the extensive, table-of-contents-style guide maintained by the British Medical Journal, with the intent of providing references to the reliable and substantive information concerning BSE currently posted on the Web.

Here it is, straight from the horse's mouth: the American Food and Drug Administration's official ruling about BSE and animal feed. This site is worth checking out if you would like to know more about the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), which regulates the manufacture and distribution of drugs and feed additives intended for animals. These include animals from which human foods are derived, as well as drugs and feed additives for pet (or companion) animals.

This is a concise summary of current information, with extensive links to other, more detailed sources on the web.

As the title implies, this site makes an effort to take frontline science and present it in a form that will be accessible to the educated layperson. Maintained and regularly updated by John C. Brown at the University of Kansas. It is comprehensive, informative, and well-written.

This collection of scientific articles and summaries would be a good jumping off point for those interested in getting closer to the science of BSE, new-variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (nvCJD), and prion biology. One of the articles listed on this page even lists the complete DNA sequences for the macaque and marmoset prion protein genes!

Maintained by the IFST in London, this regularly updated set of pages contains the recent scientific summaries concerning all aspects of BSE, nvCJD, and prion research.

This Mad-Cow related page, is part of a larger educationally-oriented site called "The Why Files," which presents the science behind the news related to issues across many fields of science. The site, maintained by the National Institute for Science Education, and housed at the University of Wisconsin, reflects the partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the National Center for Improving Science Education, Washington, DC, with funding from the National Science Foundation. This site is highly recommended.

As the title suggests, this is a scholarly look at the relationship between BSE and nvCJD's. It is also part of the British Medical Journal's site.

Have you been thinking that new and emerging diseases affect only humans, and other animals? Unfortunately, that is not the case, as is made abundantly clear on this site, compiled and maintained by the Department of Plant Pathology and the Plant Disease and Insect Clinic of North Carolina State University. The site is comprehensive, fascinating, and troubling.

Heard about the Oprah Winfrey/Mad Cow fracas and want to go back to the source? If you didn't see or tape the show, here's an edited transcript of the BSE-related portion of the April 16 Oprah Winfrey program. NB: The authors of this page express certain personal opinions about the comments made in the transcript. This link is listed here to enable you to see just what transpired on the program in question, not because the author of THIS page, WGBH, or PBS agree with Earth Island Journal's stand on the issue.

This Scientific American article, written by Prusiner himself, summarizes the research that earned the author a Nobel Prize. Highly recommended.

This high-powered medical site, authored by Gary Baumbach, M.D., Department of Pathology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, contains the medical history and diagnostic characteristics of what are currently referred to as "Prion Diseases." The site, designed for serious students of biology and medicine, includes text and downloadable medical graphics including anatomical images and prepared slides showing the damage caused by these diseases in nervous system tissue.

The title of this page (and its subtitle: Consumer Organizations Call on Clinton to Form New Food Agency) clearly expresses the views of the consumer advocacy groups that authored this site: the well-known Center for Science in the Public Interest, in Washington, and an organization known as S.T.O.P. (Safe Tables Our Priority) in Oceanside, CA.

Here you'll find news and information from the FDA concerning animal health issues, including BSE.

This link will take you directly to the heart of a page on Old Testament dietary laws dealing directly with which animals may and may not be eaten.

This site provides information on foodborne illness, food safety tips, and many useful links.

This site features consumer-oriented food safety news and publications.

Learn about the national food safety initiative and explore tons of food safety resources.

This is the home page of the Animal Health/Emerging Animal Diseases project of the Federation of American Scientists (a component of the larger ProMED initiative referenced elsewhere on this site). AHEAD is particularly concerned with environmental factors in animal disease and species reproduction, the emergence of new herpes viruses and morbilliviruses, and the cross-species transmission of disease pathogens.

This special issue of the online version of the Journal "Emerging Infectious Diseases" was authored by Gregory D. Orriss, of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It concentrates on the importance of emerging food borne diseases from the perspectives of the consumer, international trade in food, producers and processors, and developing countries and addresses prevention and control measures. Fascinating and educational.
Emerging and other Communicable Diseases (EMC)
(http://www.who.ch/programmes/emc/news.htm)
Feeling confident about the omnipotence of modern medicine? Wondering what you might find on your next vacation abroad? Check out this listing of disease outbreak reports managed by the World Health Organization in Geneva.

This detailed annotated outline was prepared and posted by Prof. Frank Pajares, assistant professor of educational psychology at Emory University. This is a fascinating introduction to Kuhn's revolutionary work on the nature of science.

Here is another page authored by Frank Pajares, this one offers a biographical and philosophical snapshot of Thomas Kuhn. It makes for fascinating reading.