In the fight against mad cows

2004/12/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza

Although meat sold for food is fully guaranteed, mad cow disease continues to cause problems. However, the solution to these problems will soon be available.

Today the risk does not come from the consumption of beef, but from the human beings responsible for the disease in blood. It takes a long time between the modified prions that cause the disease in the blood and the symptoms of the disease. Therefore, contaminated people can live many years without knowing they have the disease, and at that time there is a risk of contagion.

In addition, the diagnostic test of the disease is not quite rigorous and below a certain number of prions gives negative despite having prions in the blood. Therefore, in transfusions and operations doctors should be especially careful, especially in Britain, where the disease has spread most.

Now, researchers have presented ways to completely eliminate risk in both cases and have announced that they will be marketed early next year. On the one hand, an American company has developed a filter to remove prions from the blood.

The systems of destruction of pathogens in blood do not serve prions, since these systems aim at DNA or RNA, and prions do not contain genetic material. This filter removes all prions, even in cases where the diagnostic test has been negative.

On the other hand, a sterilization technique has been invented for the devices used in the operations. Temperature and pressure are normally used to sterilize surgical devices, thus avoiding the disappearance of prions. The electrical current is used in the technique they now propose. This electric current generates highly reactive oxygen particles capable of destroying all organic matter, including prions.

These measures aim to avoid all risks. Bear in mind that the last two cases described are spread by transfusion.