How the Cows Turned Mad: Unlocking the Mysteries of Mad Cow Disease

Maxime Schwartz

Published by University of California Press 2004

How the Cows Turned Mad

Unlocking the Mysteries of Mad Cow Disease

Maxime Schwartz

https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520931510

Overview
Contents

About this book

Fear of mad cow disease, a lethal illness transmitted from infected beef to humans, has spread from Europe to the United States and around the world. Originally published to much acclaim in France, this scientific thriller, available in English for the first time and updated with a new chapter on developments in 2001, tells of the hunt for the cause of an enigmatic class of fatal brain infections, of which mad cow disease is the latest incarnation. In gripping, nontechnical prose, Maxime Schwartz details the deadly manifestations of these diseases throughout history, describes the major players and events that led to discoveries about their true nature, and outlines our current state of knowledge. The book concludes by addressing the question we all want answered: should we be afraid?

The story begins in the eighteenth century with the identification of a mysterious illness called scrapie that was killing British sheep. It was not until the 1960s that scientists understood that several animal and human diseases, including scrapie, were identical, and together identified them as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). The various guises assumed throughout history by TSE include an illness called kuru in a cannibalistic tribe in Papua New Guinea, an infectious disease that killed a group of children who had been treated for growth hormone deficiencies, and mad cow disease. Revealing the fascinating process of scientific discovery that led to our knowledge of TSE, Schwartz relates pivotal events in the history of biology, including the Pasteurian revolution, the birth of genetics, the emergence of molecular biology, and the latest developments in biotechnology. He also explains the Nobel Prize–winning prion hypothesis, which has rewritten the rules of biological heredity and is a key link between the distinctive diseases of TSE.

Up-to-date, informative, and thoroughly captivating, How the Cows Turned Mad tells the story of a disease that continues to elude on many levels. Yet science has come far in understanding its origins, incubation, and transmission. This authoritative book is a stunning case history that illuminates the remarkable progression of science.

Author / Editor information

Schwartz Maxime :

Maxime Schwartz, a molecular biologist, is Professor at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, which he headed from 1988 to 1999. He is also Director of Research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and is currently serving as Director of Laboratories of the French agency for food safety (AFSSA). He is the author of many scientific papers and Pasteur, des microbes au vaccin (1999, with Annick Perrot).

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
FOREWORD TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
PROLOGUE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1: THE SHEEP ARE STRANGELY DIZZY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	4
2: MOLECULES AND MICROBES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
3: MAO DOGS AND EARTHWORMS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
4: SCRAPIE UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
5: CREUTZFELOT, JAKOB, AND OTHERS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
6: SCRAPIE IS INOCULABLE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	38
7: AND GOATS, AND MICE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
8: SCRAPIE IS CONTAGIOUS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
9: KURU AND THE FORE PEOPLE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
10: THE WALL COMES DOWN Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	67
11: FROM PEARL NECKLACE TO DOUBLE HELIX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
12: THE PHANTOM VIRUS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
13: A TRAGEDY I N THE MAKING Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
14: ONE CASE PER MILLION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
15: PRIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
16: APRIL 1985 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	104
17: THE "KISS OF DEATH" Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	110
18: THE RETURN OF THE SPONTANEISTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
19: TO GROW-AND TO DIE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
20: LESSONS LEARNED Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	136
21: HAVE THE COWS GONE MAD? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	142
22: FROM COWS TO HUMANS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
23: FROM COWS TO SHEEP? FROM HUMANS TO HUMANS? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
24: THE SECRET IN THE CLOSET Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	169
25: UNMASKING "THE DISEASE" Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	176
26: HAVE WE CONllUERED "THE DISEASE"? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
27: 2001 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	184
EPILOGUE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
NOTES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
BIBLIOGRAPHY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
CHRONOLOGY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227