began to cause brain disease in the cattle Humans are not susceptible to sheep scrapie But there’s a mainly hereditary human brain disease similar to scrapie and caused by a similar prion; it is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), typically strikes old people with loss of coordination and then dementia, and eventually kills them In 1995 and 1996, ten relatively young Britons died from a new variant of CJD, and the prion agent found in their bodies was closely related to the BSE prion This strongly suggests that humans can contract a devastating disease by eating meat from BSE-infected cattle The cattle brain, spinal cord, and retina are thought to be the tissues in which prions are concentrated, but a 2004 report suggests that they may also be found in muscles and thus in common cuts of beef BSE appears to have been eliminated in Britain thanks to the culling of affected herds, changes in feeding, and surveillance But diseased cattle have turned up elsewhere in Europe, as well as in the United States, Canada, and Japan As a precautionary measure, a number of countries have suspended some traditional practices at least temporarily These include eating flavorful meat from older animals (which are more likely to carry BSE), as well as beef brains, sweetbreads and spleen (immune-system organs), and intestines (which contain immune-system tissues) Some countries also forbid the use of “mechanically recovered meat” — tiny scraps removed from the skeleton by machine and incorporated into ground beef — from the head and spinal column These rules will probably be modified as rapid tests for the animal disease are developed and implemented, and as we learn more about how it is transmitted to people To date, the known human death toll from BSE-infected beef numbers in the low ... meat from older animals (which are more likely to carry BSE), as well as beef brains, sweetbreads and spleen (immune-system organs), and intestines (which contain immune-system tissues) Some countries also forbid the use of “mechanically recovered... Some countries also forbid the use of “mechanically recovered meat” — tiny scraps removed from the skeleton by machine and incorporated into ground beef — from the head and spinal column These rules will probably be... Europe, as well as in the United States, Canada, and Japan As a precautionary measure, a number of countries have suspended some traditional practices at least temporarily These include eating flavorful