Worried about variant CJD (mad cow)

[Mango2016]

HI everyone, I'm a 23-year old female from the USA. I'm a veterinary student who happens to have anxiety, which really doesn't help when you have to learn about some of these crazy diseases....A couple weeks ago we learned about variant CJD and it scared the heck out of me. I traveled to England in December of 2012 for 2 weeks with my family for a Christmas trip. We drove all around the UK. We definitely ate a lot of beef when we were there...I'm worried that my family and I are going to get the disease and that we doomed ourselves by eating beef in an endemic country for BSE and vCJD. I cannot stop thinking about it. I read that the incubation period can be years...on average 10, which means I would have about 5 more years to live. It's just been consuming my life and every day I feel like the disease is coming. Has anyone else had this fear? For those of you that live in England, is it a big problem now? Are people worried about it and avoid meat there?

Thanks so much

[Dying_Swan]

Hi Mango

No, I would say it's not a big issue here now. About 20 years ago it was in the news quite a bit due to the BSE scare. At that time my Mum stopped eating beef for a while but I don't think I ever hear people talk about it now. Obviously it's a horrible condition but it's extremely rare and I've probably not met anyone for 20 years or so who avoids beef due to BSE/CJD. Even when it was more of an issue, I think most people I knew happily carried on eating their hamburgers and roast beef.

Hope that helps

[axolotl]

I'm British, aged 37. I've eaten beef all my life. So have most people I know.

Can you guess how many people I know, have known, or have heard of in my social circle with CJD? Absolutely none.

Put it out of your mind.