Reports: human mad cow epidemic unlikely

The calculations are based on tonsil and appendix samples, where evidence of &to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/2001/01/01/1787.html' target=_blank>infection is most evident, taken from 12,764 people. Three samples tested positive but only one matched tissue taken from a person with the disease, according BBC News.

The pool of infected people could be up to 3,800 people, but only a small number of them would develop the illness.