Steel contact 'linked with CJD'

Scientists have highlighted a potential link between mad cow disease and steel.

They said that the infectious agents thought to be behind the human form of the disease can appear randomly when healthy brain tissue comes into contact with the metal.

The British team claimed the discovery, made during research into detecting proteins on metal surfaces, could be behind some of the so-called "sporadic" cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).

It is thought diseases such as CJD in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and scrapie in sheep are transmitted by "misfolded" prion proteins.

Although prion protein is a normal part of the brain, the abnormally shaped prions can be highly destructive, leaving the brain riddled with holes. They also have the ability to pass their defect on to other prions they come into contact with, thereby spreading the infection.

One type of prion disease, variant CJD (vCJD), has achieved notoriety as the human form of BSE, or "mad cow disease". The disease emerged in the 1990s as a result of people eating BSE-infected burgers and other meat products, experts believe.

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