In the United Kingdom, the medical journal Lancet reports new findings that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of mad cow disease, is more prevalent among the general population than previously thought.
In January 2009, a 30-year-old man perished, like all victims of this tragically untreatable condition that is transmitted largely through contaminated meat consumption.

However, analysis of his genetic makeup found that it was distinct from that of the other Britons who had perished thus far from the disease. In fact, the researchers found that nearly half the population who were previously thought to be immune could in fact be vulnerable to the deadly affliction and might just be taking longer to exhibit symptoms.

This could mean that a second wave of the lethal illness is still to come.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease originally arose from the farmed animal practice of feeding dead animals to cows. Influenza viruses like the current swine flu pandemic also originated from unnatural and cruel treatment of livestock, namely the concentrated confining of thousands of pigs together in cramped, filthy conditions.
To date, at least 20,002 people have been officially reported as having lost their lives to swine flu since April 2009, though actual numbers are many times higher. Updated death tolls include 47 in Costa Rica, 86 in Egypt and up to 539 in Ukraine.

In India, where several hundred new cases are recorded daily, total fatalities are now surpassing 789, as 12 people died on Saturday, December 19 alone. It saddens us to know of these ailments, which persistently plague humankind once they emerge.

May we heed the calls to eliminate their breeding grounds once and for all through the healthful, life-sparing choice of organic vegan fare.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/dec/18/mad-cow-disease-vcjd-cases
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6834078/Mad-cow-disease-could-return-in-second-wave.html
http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/091219/html/091219en05004.htm
http://sify.com/news/Swine-flu-kills-12-in-India-toll-780-news-National-jmtxabdhbih.html
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/19/content_12670797.htm