- Abstract
-
- Aims: The aim of this study was to use a marked strain
of Pseudomonas fluorescens to model the spread of central nervous system
(CNS) tissue in cattle following captive bolt stunning.
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- Methods and Results: The marked organism was introduced
by injection through the captive bolt aperture immediately after stunning
and was subsequently detected in a wide range of derived tissues, including
blood, organs, and the musculature of the entire forequarters of test animals.
This was dependent on the use of high concentrations of the organism that
were recovered sufficiently and rapidly to minimize the bactericidal properties
of the circulatory system. These results suggest that a marked organism
could potentially be used to model the effects of captive bolt stunning
on the dissemination of CNS tissue from the brain.
-
- Conclusions: These results indicate that current commercial
methods of captive bolt stunning may induce widespread and significant
mobilization of CNS tissue within beef carcasses. This may lead to the
widespread dissemination of such materials within meat destined for human
consumption.
-
- Significance and Impact of the Study: In the absence
of rapid, simple and sufficiently sensitive methods for the direct detection
of prion in commercially slaughtered animals, marked organisms can provide
useful models in studies of the dissemination kinetics of prion disease
in captive bolt stunned animals.
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- http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2004.02124.x/abs/
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