You wrote that less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows are currently tested for the disease under Agriculture Department guidelines. I think that the current level is "even unnecessary", according to my alternative BSE theory. So, the actions of the USDA administration are correct and safe- compared with the Europe- "squandermania"..(ht tp://iowafarmertoday.com/artic les/2006/10/09/livestock/47bse _ap.txt).
However, now European commission scientists say that BSE has almost disappeared. However, really disappeared? See the example- results from Czech Republic. At the begining of the BSE sampling; as the all cattle older than 30 months was tested; (from June 2001) during the period of two years (to June 2003)- only four BSE positive samples were found. However, during the last two years period (2006 and 2007), also four BSE positive cows were found. So where is the BSE disappearance? And the bill for Czech taxpayers? When more than one million of cattle was tested, more than twelve hundreds millions of Czech crowns; this was the cost about the BSE testing.
I described an alternative "BSE ammonia-magnesium" theory (http://www.agriworld.nl/feedm ix/headlines.asp?issue=3). This theory is based on the chronic Mg-deficiency- potentiated by hyperammonemia (high protein intake?). These mechanisms have a strong influence on CNS, especially in ruminants and carnivora animals (www.bse-expert.cz).
Professor Brown, lecturer and researcher at the University of Bath, is another dissident scientist who believes the entire BSE/CJD link must be completely reconsidered. His research team recently found that elevated manganese (Mn) was associated with prion infection (http://jas.fass.org/cgi/conte nt/abstract/85/6/1596).
However, these findings about "BSE; manganese theory"act in concert with my "BSE; ammonia- magnesium theory". So, I will perform some interpretations in my website with conclusion; why some central nervous system regions showed elevated Mn, other regions did not? and why the most consistent finding was an elevation of Mn in blood? However, in the first place, this will be published- presented at the 29th World Veterinary Congres (Vancouver, July 27-31, 2008), see article; Neurodegenerative Diseases and Schizophrenia as a Hyper or Hypofunction of the NMDA Receptors (http://www.meet-ics.com/wvac2 008/pdf/PS1-17Mar2008.pdf).