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Re: Contaminated bone meal

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Bonnie,

The diseases you are referring to are Bovine Spongiform Encephelopathy (BSE,
a.k.a. "Mad Cow Disease") and Creutzfeld Jakob Disease (CJD). The former and its
variants affect cattle and animals who are fed products from infected cattle, and
the latter affects humans. The diseases became a worldwide concern several years
ago (the time of your news show), when cattle in the UK suffered a huge outbreak
of BSE. A number of people in the UK were also found to have contracted CJD after
eating infected beef products.

Naturally, drastic steps were taken at that time to prevent the spread of the
disease. The United States banned the import of beef products from the UK (as did
Europe), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) instituted a surveillance
program to monitor for any cases of BSE and CJD in the United States.

From what I can tell from a review of CDC documentation (available at
www.cdc.gov), no cases of CJD stemming directly from contaminated beef products
have been reported here.  On report did say "several cases of CJD have been
reported in Kentucky patients who consumed squirrel brains; however, a causal
link has not been established."

Based on this information, I would say that your risk of contracting CJD from the
bone meal or blood meal you use in your garden is negligable, particularly if you
take the ordinary precautions of wearing a breathing mask and gloves. These are
precautions you should always take when spreading any sort of granulated
products, whether organic or chemical.

Hope this info helps calm some of your fears.

Cheers,

Kitt
Rocky MOuntain Zone 5


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