>
>>         If the germ theory of disease were correct there would be no one
>> alive to prove it.
>>
>
>Interesting, perhaps, but completely irelevant, as Mad Cow Disease is not
>caused by a virus, a bacteria or any other kind of 'germ'. It is caused by
a
>class of abnormal proteins, known as prions. These are not alive in any
>biological sense, making it a hard disease to diagnose, as it does not
>stimulate a normal immune system response.

with bacteria as the culprit we made antibiotics, with virus as the guilty
one we made vaccinations , and with prions what is going to be found  to
save us from the invasion. That is what the germ idea is About. a patriarcal
way of seeing life as a war zone  between SEPARATED "beings".
Bacterias are as much part of more complex organisms than their own cells.
Virus are known now to generate from the cells of their host and are also
transmissible to other organisms . They are often species specific .
Prions are even more intimately related to their hosts.
That look like a familly to me .
It sounds to me that we have to start all over again if we want to
understand something about the generation of diseases.
I think the disease is the humans diss- ease to want to be separated from
their  source. No matter how hard they try to feel special they end up as
humble piece of a a big puzzle and are far from getting the whole picture.
I see fighting disease as a foolish attempt to get rid of neigbouring pieces
.
No wonder that the puzzle loose its meaning in the process.
Medecine inherited from the witch hunt and are still at this level with as
much arrogance than the priests of the time.
jean-claude