NEWS CELSUS ANNOUNCES ALL ANIMAL-DERIVED RAW MATERIALS CERTIFIED FOR ABSENCE OF PRION ANTIGENS03/01/1999 - Celsus Laboratories announces that all animal-derived raw materials used in the manufacture of its heparin and other glycosaminoglycans are now being tested and certified for absence (= 35 x 10-15 moles/mg) of TSE-related prion antigens. Prion antigens have been linked as causative agents of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), a collection of fatal neurological diseases sometimes referred to as “Mad Cow Disease”. The infectious agent of TSE may be of non-viral etiology; i.e. a transmissible infectious protein that is able to cause and propagate degeneration of brain tissue. The evidence is that in humans and in other mammals the disease is transmitted through the food chain. In the case of cattle, TSE is transmitted via infected ruminant proteins contained in nutritional supplements. TSE-related diseases have not been observed in swine. It remains to be determined if pigs may act as asymptomatic carriers or reservoirs of TSE-related diseases. However, the common practice of supplementing starter pig diets with ruminant proteins suggests the potential for pig herd contamination. Celsus developed the ultra-sensitive test described above to further assure the integrity of its raw materials.
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