Fatal brain disease transmitted via mother's milk in sheep. A new study published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Virology has shown for the first time that lambs fed milk from prion-infected mothers with inflamed mammary glands can also contract untreatable brain disease. Prions are known to be the transmitting agent for neurologically damaging disorders such as mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt– Jakob disease in humans. Previously thought to be spread only by consuming contaminated organ meat, all prion-based diseases are untreatable and are also tragically fatal. As the lambs in this study were found to develop the deadly disease within a two year period, the results raise the disturbing possibilities that sheep with prion disease can contaminate the milk pool and affect other animals especially in factory farms settings, and that humans with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease also might accumulate and then secrete prions from inflamed organs. It is not known whether milk contaminated with prions could affect human health.

We appreciate this new understanding of deadly disease associated with the sad and unfortunate practices of livestock raising. May we eliminate the suffering of animals and humans alike as we turn away from potentially harmful food sources by opting for safe and humane plant-based meals.

http://www.vetsweb.com/news/prion-disease-can-spread-in-sheep-via-mothers-milk-1907.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/asfm-tft011911.php
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110119191350.htm
http://www.all-creatures.org/health/prionsheep.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion