The Scare

Now that people were eating the contaminated meat there was a new scare. It was called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). This disease was found in those who had consumed infected meats. It affected humans the same way that BSE affected cattle; it was a degenerative disease that harmed the nervous system. The continent of Europe went into a panic. Less people began consuming beef. This loss of consumption dropped sales 30%.Farmers were not able to sell their beef products which lead to a 40% drop in beef production. Over 1.3 million cattle had to be killed in Great Britain alone. The beef industries crashed and more than 45,000 jobs were lost. In total, vCJD caused 167 deaths.

Photo Credit: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/images/dynamic/ew/v07n02/030109-vCJD.gif

Link: http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/NM/madcow96.php

"MAD COW DISEASE The BSE Epidemic in Great Britain." MAD COW DISEASE: THE BSE EPIDEMIC IN GREATBRITAIN. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/NM/madcow96.php>.