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

意识到变异型克雅氏病(VCJD)是一种无法治疗的牛海绵状脑炎(BSE)的人类表现形式，极大地提高了人们对这种牛病的认识。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(Phillips)调查，以建立和回顾BSE和vCJD在英国出现和鉴定的历史。在菲利普斯勋爵的领导下，调查收集了大量证据，包括历史出版物、口头证词、书面证人陈述和立法，来自政府、科学组织和其他方面的贡献。这项调查揭示了政府运作的最深层次，正如《卫报》2000年10月报道的那样，政府被指控在管理和沟通方面辜负了公众对疾病的管理和沟通，以及它对人类构成的风险。除了首席兽医办公室的记录和其他与菲利普斯调查有关的文件和最近转移到国家档案馆的公开证据，该项目将利用媒体报道和新的口述历史来首次重建疯牛病危机的关键事件、决定和影响。研究问题将通过最初的文献回顾和对原始来源材料的询问而精确地表达出来。以下是可由研究解决并塑造研究方法的指示性问题：-科学家如何构建疯牛病和vCJD的身份，这对菲利普斯调查的建立有何影响？-非专业知识(畜牧业者)如何与科学知识和实践互动，疾病控制方法是否存在争议？-利益相关者(科学家、农民、政策官员、食品业、消费者群体)我们能从菲利普斯调查的活动中恢复过来吗？-菲利普斯调查的结果如何影响政策的制定？-公众如何看待和回应一种新疾病的出现和涉及的人与动物的相互作用？尤其是，我将调查和分析最近公布的首席兽医办公室的文件和目前保存在国家档案馆的相关文件。我计划制作一系列口述历史访谈，采访政府内部和外部的相关人士，这些人都是档案材料中的代表。根据研究问题的准确表述，方法还可能包括对危机和调查的新闻报道进行分析；或在选定地区采访参与危机的牲畜养殖户的实地工作。

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 22 December 1997, to establish and review the history of the emergence and identification of BSE and vCJD in the United Kingdom. Led by Lord Phillips, the inquiry gathered huge swathes of evidence, including historical publications, oral testimony, written witness statements, and legislation, with contributions from across government, scientific organisations and others. The Inquiry shone a light into the deepest recesses of government operations, demonstrating the extent to which, as The Guardian reported in October 2000, the government was 'accused of failing the public' in its management of and communication surround the disease and the risk which it posed to humans. As well as records of the Chief Veterinary Office and other papers related to the Phillips Inquiry and its published evidence - recently transferred to the National Archives - 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 source materials. 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 the Phillips Inquiry?-How did lay expertise (livestock farmers) interact with scientific knowledge and practice, and were disease control methods contested?-What interactions between stakeholders (scientists, farmers, policy officials, food industry, consumer groups) can we recover 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 documents now held at The National Archives. I plan to develop a strand of oral history interviews with relevant individuals, both within and without government, represented in the archival materials. Depending on the precise formulation of the research questions, the methodology may also include analysis of news reporting of the crisis and the Inquiry; and or fieldwork entailing interviews with livestock farmers involved in the crisis in a selected area.