Reconstructing BSE: Government Policy and Public Health across Humans and Animals

认识到变异型克-雅二氏病（vCJD）是牛海绵状脑病（BSE）的一种不可治愈的人类表现，大大增加了人们对牛疾病的认识，本项目将集中于1997年12月22日在议会宣布的牛海绵状脑病（菲利普斯）调查，以建立和审查英国出现和鉴定BSE和vCJD的历史。在菲利普斯勋爵的领导下，调查收集了大量的证据，包括历史出版物、口头证词、书面证人陈述和立法，并得到了来自政府、科学组织和其他方面的贡献。调查揭示了政府运作的最深处，正如《卫报》在2000年10月报道的那样，政府在管理和沟通疾病及其对人类构成的风险方面“被指责辜负了公众”。除了首席兽医办公室的记录和其他与菲利普斯调查相关的文件及其公布的证据（最近转移到国家档案馆）外，该项目还将利用新闻报道和新的口述历史，首次重建疯牛病危机的关键事件、决定和影响。以下是一些提示性的问题，这些问题可以通过研究来解决，并形成研究方法：-科学家是如何构建BSE和vCJD的身份的，这是如何影响菲利普斯调查的建立的？非专业知识（畜牧业农民）如何与科学知识和实践相互作用，疾病控制方法是否存在争议？我们可以从菲利普斯调查的活动中发现利益相关者（科学家、农民、政策官员、食品工业、消费者团体）之间的哪些互动？菲利普斯调查的结果如何影响政策的制定？公众如何看待和应对一种新疾病的出现以及所涉及的人畜互动？特别是，我将调查和分析最近公布的首席兽医办公室的档案和国家档案馆保存的相关文件。我计划对档案材料中的相关个人进行一系列口述历史采访，包括政府内部和外部的。取决于研究问题的精确表述，方法还可能包括对危机和调查的新闻报道进行分析;和/或实地调查，包括对选定地区卷入危机的畜牧业农民进行采访。

The realisation that variant Creuztfeldt-Jacob Disease (vCJD) is an untreatable human manifestation of Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE) greatly increased the perceived significance of the bovine disease.This project will focus on the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Phillips) Inquiry, announced in Parliament on 22December 1997, to establish and review the history of the emergence and identification of BSE and vCJD in the UnitedKingdom. Led by Lord Phillips, the inquiry gathered huge swathes of evidence, including historical publications, oraltestimony, written witness statements, and legislation, with contributions from across government, scientific organisationsand others. The Inquiry shone a light into the deepest recesses of government operations, demonstrating the extent towhich, as The Guardian reported in October 2000, the government was 'accused of failing the public' in its management ofand communication surround the disease and the risk which it posed to humans. As well as records of the Chief VeterinaryOffice and other papers related to the Phillips Inquiry and its published evidence - recently transferred to the NationalArchives - the project will draw on press coverage and new oral histories to reconstruct for the first time the key events,decisions, and impacts of the BSE crisis.The research question will be precisely formulated through initial literature reviews and interrogation of primary sourcematerials. The following are indicative questions which may be addressed by and shape approaches to the research:-How were the identities of BSE and vCJD constructed by scientists and how did this influence the establishment of thePhillips Inquiry?-How did lay expertise (livestock farmers) interact with scientific knowledge and practice, and were disease controlmethods contested?-What interactions between stakeholders (scientists, farmers, policy officials, food industry, consumer groups) can werecover from the activities of the Phillips Inquiry?-How did the findings of the Phillips Inquiry influence the formulation of policy?-How did the public perceive and respond to the emergence of a new disease and the human-animal interactions involved?In particular, I will investigate and analyse the recently released files of the Chief Veterinary Office and related documentsnow held at The National Archives. I plan to develop a strand of oral history interviews with relevant individuals, both withinand without government, represented in the archival materials. Depending on the precise formulation of the researchquestions, the methodology may also include analysis of news reporting of the crisis and the Inquiry; and or fieldworkentailing interviews with livestock farmers involved in the crisis in a selected area.