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CNN Saturday Morning News

Should People Worry About Eating Beef?

Aired January 03, 2004 - 07:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the first case of mad cow found in an animal here in the U.S., should people worry about getting sick from eating beef? Probably not, say health officials. But one family living here in the United States knows all too well what the consequences can be.
CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This young woman should be finishing up her master's degree or planning her future. Instead, she's become a statistic. Twenty-four-year-old Charlene (ph) -- her parents don't want us to use their last name -- is the only person living in the United States suffering from the human form of mad cow disease. This is what Charlene looked like when CNN brought you these exclusive pictures over a year ago. Then doctors told her parents she had just about three months to live.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stretch your leg out a little bit. Yes. Come on.

FIRFER: And yet Charlene is still alive today. Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sure Charlene contracted the disease in the United Kingdom, not in the United States. Charlene lived in England until she was 13, before moving to Florida 11 years ago. So far, 143 people in Britain have contracted the Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or VCJD, also known as the human form of mad cow. Six of them are still alive. A statement from the British Health Department illustrates how much is still unknown about the VCJD. It is likely to be some years before we are able to make soundly based predictions about the future course of the disease. Twenty-first century medicine has found no cure yet. But Charlene's family will not give up. They bathe and feed her, care for her around the clock...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How Charlene's mom does it, I don't know. And I really don't know. I'm amazed every day.

FIRFER: A neurologist who saw our original report on Charlene's condition was willing to try something new. He offered to give Charlene hyperbaric treatments, pumping pure oxygen into her lungs, which may help the brain function better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And after 192 treatments, she's not only alive, but she's beginning to try to talk. She's responded and will follow simple commands. Still a long ways to go.

FIRFER: So what was the family's reaction to the announcement by U.S. officials that a cow in Washington State had tested positive for mad cow disease and that it's still safe to eat beef?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very upset. I was very upset. I was very upset that the lessons have not yet been learned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like being in England all over again reliving this BSE thing and being told that the meat is safe to eat.

FIRFER: Both Charlene's father and aunt say they are not against the beef industry, but they do worry that another parent's child could fall victim to VCJD.

Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 3, 2004 - 07:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the first case of mad cow found in an animal here in the U.S., should people worry about getting sick from eating beef? Probably not, say health officials. But one family living here in the United States knows all too well what the consequences can be.
CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This young woman should be finishing up her master's degree or planning her future. Instead, she's become a statistic. Twenty-four-year-old Charlene (ph) -- her parents don't want us to use their last name -- is the only person living in the United States suffering from the human form of mad cow disease. This is what Charlene looked like when CNN brought you these exclusive pictures over a year ago. Then doctors told her parents she had just about three months to live.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stretch your leg out a little bit. Yes. Come on.

FIRFER: And yet Charlene is still alive today. Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sure Charlene contracted the disease in the United Kingdom, not in the United States. Charlene lived in England until she was 13, before moving to Florida 11 years ago. So far, 143 people in Britain have contracted the Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or VCJD, also known as the human form of mad cow. Six of them are still alive. A statement from the British Health Department illustrates how much is still unknown about the VCJD. It is likely to be some years before we are able to make soundly based predictions about the future course of the disease. Twenty-first century medicine has found no cure yet. But Charlene's family will not give up. They bathe and feed her, care for her around the clock...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How Charlene's mom does it, I don't know. And I really don't know. I'm amazed every day.

FIRFER: A neurologist who saw our original report on Charlene's condition was willing to try something new. He offered to give Charlene hyperbaric treatments, pumping pure oxygen into her lungs, which may help the brain function better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And after 192 treatments, she's not only alive, but she's beginning to try to talk. She's responded and will follow simple commands. Still a long ways to go.

FIRFER: So what was the family's reaction to the announcement by U.S. officials that a cow in Washington State had tested positive for mad cow disease and that it's still safe to eat beef?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very upset. I was very upset. I was very upset that the lessons have not yet been learned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like being in England all over again reliving this BSE thing and being told that the meat is safe to eat.

FIRFER: Both Charlene's father and aunt say they are not against the beef industry, but they do worry that another parent's child could fall victim to VCJD.

Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com