[h=2]Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Bad Brains[/h]Hunters beware. Eating squirrel brains might cause a human form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This can also be obtained from eating beef, but then it's called "Mad Cow" disease.
The practice of eating squirrel brains is common place in parts of rural Kentucky, and has been a tradition for many generations. Kentucky is not the only state that practices squirrel brain consumption, many do.
The squirrels are killed, skinned and boiled or cooked. The skull is cracked open and the brains are sucked out or eaten much like a shelled nut. There are several ways to prepare a meal like this. Some "scramble" the brains in eggs for breakfast and for dinner one might scramble the brains in gravy.
In the past 4 years 11 cases of the disease has cropped up and all the patients in Kentucky admitted to the consumption of squirrel brains. Out of the 11 patients 6 of them have passed away.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a disease of the brain that causes dementia, insomnia, depression, and unusual sensations. People that have eaten infected beef demonstrate the same type of symptoms as people who have eaten squirrel brains.
There seems to be no known cure or real life saving treatment for this disease, the only way to prevent this disease is to not eat squirrel brains.
The practice of eating squirrel brains is common place in parts of rural Kentucky, and has been a tradition for many generations. Kentucky is not the only state that practices squirrel brain consumption, many do.
The squirrels are killed, skinned and boiled or cooked. The skull is cracked open and the brains are sucked out or eaten much like a shelled nut. There are several ways to prepare a meal like this. Some "scramble" the brains in eggs for breakfast and for dinner one might scramble the brains in gravy.
In the past 4 years 11 cases of the disease has cropped up and all the patients in Kentucky admitted to the consumption of squirrel brains. Out of the 11 patients 6 of them have passed away.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a disease of the brain that causes dementia, insomnia, depression, and unusual sensations. People that have eaten infected beef demonstrate the same type of symptoms as people who have eaten squirrel brains.
There seems to be no known cure or real life saving treatment for this disease, the only way to prevent this disease is to not eat squirrel brains.
