Mad About Mad Cow?

It seems like every time I pick up a newspaper or watch the news in Korea, the headline is about beef. I'm neither anti-American beef nor pro-American beef. However, I am definitely pro-beef. =) I've eaten beef from Korea, Japan, the U.S., Canada, Argentina (my personal favorite), Australia, China, and Mexico. I'm going to present some facts:

So far, the U.S. has had a total of 3 cases of vCJD (Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease). This is the human form of mad cow or BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encelphalopy). Worldwide there have been approximately 193 cases. The majority of cases have been from the U.K., with 163 cases of vCJD and 183,823 cases of BSE. Wow. 1980-1996 are considered the unsafe years for anyone living in the U.K. and consuming U.K. beef.

In the first case in the U.S., the patient was born and raised in the U.K. and later moved to Florida in 1992. This patient was born in the 1970s in the U.K. and spent most of his adult life in the U.K.

In the second case in the U.S., the patient was also born and raised in the U.K. and lived in Texas from 2001-2005. His symptoms began in 2005.

The third case was a man born and raised in Saudi Arabia. He moved to the U.S. in 2005 and his symptoms started in 2006.

BSE is not found in meat (steaks, roasts, ribs, etc.) BSE is usually found in brain and spinal cords.

A study claims 94.3% of Koreans carry a gene called MM (Methionine-Methionine) and are 3-4 times more likely to contract vCJD. 38% of Americans also carry the MM gene, which equals 114 million Americans. Approximately 1.4 million Koreans live in the U.S. with zero cases of vCJD.

In 2006, scientists were able to genetically produce cattle that lacked a necessary gene for prion production. So, BSE may eventually become a thing of the past.