Part 1: Mad Cow Disease and Food Safety News Programme

Click here ► http://www.foodsafetypolicy.com to find out more. See ► foodsafetypolicy.com

BBC Documentary about Andy Black (from Portsmouth, England) who died after suffering from the human form of mad cow disease variant CJD.

vCJd fact file

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare and fatal progressive degenerative brain disease. It is one of a group of diseases which affect humans and animals called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). TSEs are believed to be caused by the build up of an abnormal form of the naturally occurring 'prion' protein in the brain.

CJD was originally described in its classical form in 1920. A new variant - called variant CJD (vCJD) - was first identified in 1996. Variant CJD is strongly linked to exposure to a TSE of cattle called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), probably through food.

Moving and harrowing story

We started filming Christine Lord in September 2007, just a couple of months after her son Andrew was diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJd).

Andrew had been a fit and healthy radio producer, but the disease was already damaging his mind and body.

He was unable to walk more than a few steps and struggled to speak above a whisper.

Christine borrowed one of our cameras, so that she could film Andrew at home and record her thoughts.

These video diaries provided a moving insight into the harrowing months that followed as Christine cared for her son.

Christine's a freelance journalist, so she used her spare moments to look into the history of BSE and the possible causes of vCJD.

While Andrew slept, she researched the disease that was killing him.

Voice in the wilderness?

We also followed Christine as she visited Pitsham Farm near Midhurst, where the first cow was spotted with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in 1984.

The farm is just 30 miles away from Christine's home in Southsea, but it was the furthest she had been from Andrew since he was diagnosed.


Emotional meeting - Christine and David.

Vet David Bee told Christine how he labelled the disease "Pitsham Farm Syndrome" after seeing eight cows with similar symptoms.

"We had a range of clinical symptoms. We had cows that were aggressive, cows that had lost weight and cows with head tremors. And we weren't seeing those anywhere else."

For Christine, the vet's description is distressingly familiar: "The symptoms you have described are exactly what I have been experiencing with my son.

"I have to be his voice in the wilderness because it feels like we've been forgotten, that the broader public have forgotten about it, but everyone over the age of 10 has been exposed to this."

Search for the truth

Christine's search for the truth also took her to London to see the man leading the search for the cure.


Search for truth - Professor Collinge.

Professor John Collinge and his team at the Prion Unit have managed to reverse the disease in mice.

It's too late for Andrew, but Professor Collinge thinks a similar treatment for humans might be just a few years away.

He also tells Christine how the government "leaned on" scientists who tried to speak out about the health risks of BSE in the early '90s.

"I had phone calls from government departments in somewhat intimidating tones. They left you in no doubt that you weren't making yourself very popular."

Confronting the politicians

Christine's most testing encounter was with the politician who will always be associated with the BSE crisis.

Agriculture Minister John Gummer attempted to convince the public that beef was safe by feeding a burger to his daughter Cordelia.


Safe to eat? John Gummer with Cordelia.

The BSE inquiry concluded that the government's campaign of reassurance was a mistake, but it didn't criticise Mr Gummer for his role in the crisis.

At a highly charged meeting, Mr Gummer tells Christine that he took the right decisions based on the knowledge he had at the time.

"At every point and on every occasion, I sought to make the best choice and best decision I could for the safety of myself, my family and my country."

He strongly denies Christine's suggestion that the Government relied on selective scientific research.

"No scientist of any kind was stopped by me from giving their information. I only wanted to know the facts."

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News & Politics

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[AnimeFanPan]

I wanna give that woman a hug =[

[ambera15]

mAN THIS SCARES ME.

[DrStrangebomb1993]

My deep sympathy for the family. I hope this horrific thing will abate, and that we learn from our horrendous mistakes.

[SupremeCommander360]

@Vivekmaru45

Why do you call them "school dinners"? It's food provided at lunch time at school so shouldn't it be called "Lunch" wtf? Dinner is at dinner time which is after lunch, if you already ate dinner why would you have a second dinner, makes no sense.

[HardikG121]

this is stupid, why the hell would a person feed a cow a dead cow?

[LordGoatAlmighty]

Wow. This is the first time I've ever really bothered to learn anything about BSE and I'm quite shocked at how familiar some of it sounds. The refusal to vaccinate against FMD and justification for the massive culls and pyres stemmed from the same driving force (export trade) and involved the exact same manipulation of science and media.

[TheLeilisa]

hgh will stunt my growth if im a teenager?

[301001082]

@pinkipingbling it can reside in all mammals

[AceofDlamonds]

it's understandable to be angry at governments and such BUT...it's extremely hard to detect, untastable, indestructible with practical methods, and it's basically a protein.

You would think the British or US government would go hard to detecting this stuff, but killing cattle is the only option really...and even then it's hard. Today we strip cattle of brain and spinal cord matter from the kills of healthy cows.

ppl who r diagnosed within the past 5 yrs could have gotten it 2 decades ago!

[Vivekmaru45]

I am horrified that the British Government allowed offal to be disguised as burgers and sausages in school dinners. They are the ones to be blamed. How many school children have they doomed? It is very possible that Andy contracted this disease in a school dinner. All my sympathies go to Andy's mother. May God give Andy peace. Amen.

[SmithRoseMarie]

v C.J.D  Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease my son Billy Smith aged 21 years of age.. Died of this disease on 13 .01. 2010