Source - Date: Tue, 4 Jun 1996 06:30:04 GMT From: Subject: Mark Purdey: New Theory, New Intrigue and the Mad Cows
Subject: Mark Purdey: New Theory, New Intrigue and the Mad Cows Date: June
3, 1996
From: Claire Gilbert
On May 5, 1996, I conducted a long distance telephone interview with Mark
Purdey of Somerset, England. Purdey has published scientific papers on Mad
Cow Disease and he has appeared on British television regarding the same.
It was his TV appearance last year which prompted the November, 1995 cover
of Blazing Tattles. His views are not mainstream because he sees an
"intervening variable" of chemicals between the healthy cow and the mad
cow. I had assumed incorrectly that the "prion protein" was a figment of
scientific imagination, but according to Purdey there is such a thing. The
question is how the prion protein becomes "incorrectly folded." Now, before
the reader says "Whoa!," let me backtrack.
Of recent years, a disease has been observed among cattle. A sick cow
drools, wobbles as if drunk, and has difficulty using its hind legs (if I
have that right). Then one day it falls over dead. [The US version may be
the "downer cow."] It has been found upon autopsy that their brains are not
normal, and the disease is caused from an infectious agent. It was widely
believed to be a slow incubating virus, but now some scientists believe it
is caused from an almost indestructible protein molecule called a "prion."
It was assumed humans could not catch this disease. It is an incorrectly
folded prion protein molecule, according to Purdey. These incor- rectly
folded molecules have an abnormal electrical charge which facilitate the
neighboring prions to become incorrectly folded. These proteins are not
destroyed by ordinary cooking and there is also no known remedy for the
disease. Over a period of years, this process continues, until the cow
falls ill.
Purdey believes that the cause of the problem is that a chemical gets into
the brain and binds with the normal prions to produce abnormal ones. He
believes it is a specific chemical called "phosmet" which does this.
Phosmet is a combination of an organophosphate pesticide (OP) and thalimide
(base of thalidomide) which is used against the warble fly in cattle. The
phosmet is applied on the skin in an oily base, with the intent of it being
taken into the skin, into the cow's body where the fly burrows in.
According to Purdey, the warble fly actually lives in the cow nine months
of the year. The OP plus thalimide initiates the prion change. Once
changed, its electrical charge can trigger normal prion protein into
abnormal form.
Purdey controls the warble fly with "derris root powder." It kills the
warble fly and does not harm the cow -- it is not necessary to use phosmet
to kill the warble fly.
It seems researchers in many fields who get onto something regarding toxic
chemicals have bad things happen. Purdey's re- search that was contracted
out to the Medical Research Council was intercepted by the government, and
one trial was cancelled while the other was mysteriously changed. The
chemical he designated for the experiment was altered and diluted. The
results therefrom were weakened, although still was found a slight bond
with the OG and the prion protein. CROSSING THE SPECIES BARRIER
A big issue today is whether the mad cow disease could cross the species
barrier and be transmitted to humans or between other animal species. There
is an emerging view, based on a variety of correlations, that this is
possible.
With respect to humans, there is a disease known as "CJD" which resembles
Mad Cow Disease in that it has a long incubation period and when a fatality
is autopsied, the human brain shows minuscule holes as does the cow's. The
British believe it is caused from eating contaminated beef. CJD is an
extremely rare illness and normally strikes only older people. More
recently a second strain has emerged in which younger people have been
affected.
But Purdey says that human cases can be caused from chemicals. He says
there was a cluster of CJD in Kent, England. There were four cases in four
small villages. These villages are ten miles downwind of a factory which
manufactures phosmet. In 1986 they had a leak and the chemical went all
around the countryside. The incubation period is ten years. He says there
is another cluster of this very rare disease in Teeside, where another
plant is located. His conclusion is that the second strain is caused from
chemicals.
There's been another ominous story going around about hay mites infecting
minks. Purdey says the mite prion which infected the minks was itself
affected by the chemical. COINCIDENCE OR CONSPIRACY?
I asked Purdey if it is true that both his veterinarian and his lawyer were
killed in car crashes, and he confirmed this. His lawyer was run off the
road by another car and died as a result of the accident. His new lawyer
also had a car crash, but he survived. Purdey's house was burned down.
Purdey related that the scientist, Dr. C. Bruton died in a car crash. He
had just produced a paper on a new strain of CJD. Bruton was a CJD
specialist. Posthumously, his work was announced to the public. It is
likely or at least possible that Bruton knew more than what was in the
paper, said Purdey.
I asked Purdey if he thought the arrest and firing from his research
position of the distinguished, US resident, Nobel Award CJD specialist, Dr.
D.C. Gajdusek was also related to this mad cow situation. Purdey said that
weeks before the arrest of Gajdusek Purdey was told by Ray Bradly of the
Ministry of Agriculture that Gajdusek was seeking alternative hypotheses
and specifically requested all of Purdey's papers. They were faxed to
Gajdusek.
* From Blazing Tattles (BT) May 1996. Email sent to Blazing Tattles in
response to this article becomes the property of BT. BT links pollution to
health, weather, and ecosystems. Vision: Clean & healthy planet. For
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Moon Bay, CA 94019.
Best Regards,
David Briars
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