JAPAN is trying to blame its latest case of mad cow disease on Italy. In October, researchers in Italy reported finding two BSE-infected cows whose test results revealed a slightly unusual balance of the different forms of the prion protein that causes the disease. Japan鈥檚 eighth and latest case also gave an unusual test result.
The finding prompted Takashi Onodera of the University of Tokyo, head of the Japanese government鈥檚 BSE panel, to tell journalists that meat and bonemeal imported from Italy might have caused the Japanese case. His claims have been widely reported.
But some experts say there is a slight problem with this theory: the published results show the tests were abnormal in different ways. Markus Moser of Prionics, a Swiss company that makes BSE tests like those used in Italy and Japan, says they clearly show that the Italian cases had low levels of the 鈥渄i-glycosylated鈥� form of the prion protein that causes BSE, while the Japanese case was light on the 鈥渕ono-glycosylated鈥� form. What鈥檚 more, both results might just be accidental artefacts rather than representing real differences in the prions, Moser says.
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