Review

Policy on the hoof

THE MAD COW CRISIS: health and the public good
Scott C Ratzan (ed)
UCL Press Limited, 1998, £14.95

This book provides a comprehensive retrospective analysis of the BSE crisis, as well as seeking to provide guidance for the future on the basis of the lessons learned. Most of the pertinent issues are covered in detail; some of this detail may be excessive for readers who are not thorough devotees of the issues surrounding BSE. The book is divided into four sections, beginning with an analysis of the origins of the crisis, followed by sections on its politics, communication issues and finally lessons for the future.

The chapters are written by contributors from a wide range of professional backgrounds. Veterinary and medical issues are reviewed but it is the politics and the wider lessons, for example in terms of risk communication and management and managing the media, that are covered in the greatest detail, and which perhaps hold the most important lessons for managing future threats to public health.

Intensive farming and its alternatives are discussed and there is a useful chronology of the crisis in an appendix.

The book is recommended for those with a specialist interest in BSE and risk communication, as it provides useful insights into the wider aspects of major public health crises.