Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and aquaculture.
Dietary consumption of fish is widely recommended because of the beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the risks of cardiovascular and Alzheimer's diseases. The American Heart Association currently recommends eating at least two servings of fish per week. We are concerned that consumption of farmed fish may provide a means of transmission of infectious prions from cows with bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans, causing variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.
Department of Neurology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Room 120-HSC, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. robert.friedland@louisville.edu
Robert P
RP
Friedland
Robert B
RB
Petersen
Richard
R
Rubenstein
D000821:Animal Feed / Q000592:standards; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000209:etiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D016643:Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform / Q000635:transmission*; D005398:Fisheries; D005399:Fishes; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans