Limericks

There is nothing sexy about the question I am posing: Why is there is only "Mad Cow disease" but no "Mad Bull Disease"?

Allan Ng Yoon Hooi wrote (23 January 2006, 2055 hours):

Dear Mickey - Thanks for the info re: Peter Yeo. I hope he recovers quickly and things don't leak any more.

Re your thesis on Mad Cow disease, please don't confuse it with Sane Cow disease, a more serious version, which tends to afflict Singaporeans, especially those who write to the press. The danger is that these people profess to be sane, but are actually insane. There are, of course exceptions, e.g. Mickey, and others, who write sensible warnings and give advice about how not to go mad on hamburgers. Just throw it away or give it to your friend.

Best wishes to everyone for the new year and Mickey, please don't take umbrage. Your thoughts are always thought provoking.

Mike Chan wrote (22 January 2006, 1548 hours):

By the way, poor Peter Yeo went for angiogram on 20 January and will be going for a major heart surgery to repair a leaky valve next week or so. Let's all pray for him and wish him a speedy recovery.

Mike Chan wrote (22 January 2006, 1337 hours):

I retired at age 45 in 1987.....plenty of time for me to pursue knowledge/facts I'm keen on. I happen to be very keen on medical stuff especially diseases and the like. I have about 20 medical books bought over the years. Currently I'm into madcow disease as I love to eat beef....steak, satay, beef kwayteow. I wrote a letter 3 yrs back to The Straits Times warning them about the dangers of eating mammal brains as they had a food article about eating goat/pigs' brains (yum yum). Many people overseas contracted mad-cow disease after eating animal brains. My letter was published in full in the Life section. Dick Khoo, Peter Yeo and Henry Lee read my letter. I had lunch with Dr Seng Kwang Meng (why his email address is not in?) and he was impressed with my knowledge of madcow disease as he told me he was doing clinical research with Prof Pusiner, the nobel-prize winner of this disease on a part-time basis.

No I have no personal experience of HPV...... Actually not serious for males, more serious for females. But the problem is that if males have it, they might spread to the females they have sex with. Many males also are carriers of HPV without knowing it as there may not be any symptoms for them.

The friend in Canada with the throat HPV is a close friend. I just heard he is recovering well as the HPV appears to be dormant now.

This is the miracle of the Internet.... one can share knowledge, experiences, tips, information, gossip, wisdom amongst friends and even strangers.

PS: www.merck.com is about the best website for medical information. No need to buy books anymore. Cheers!

Choo Teck Long wrote (22 January 2006, 1020 hours):

I am impressed by your knowledge on this topic. Was it a result of a personal experience???

Mike Chan wrote (22 January 2006, 0915 hours):

CTL,I really appreciate all the dry/subtle jokes you have been sending. Keep it up.

I must add something though......the real danger in oral sex, both ways, is not really aids or stds but HPV ... human papilloma virus. If either party has it, the possibility of getting the virus in your throat/larynx is pretty high.....and when it grows like cauliflowers, you have a big medical problem. You can't talk, can't eat and even can't breathe properly. The only way is surgery for a specialist to cauterise the growths inside your throat. But likely to grow back again and you may have to see the surgeon on a regular basis. This happened to a friend of mine in Canada. He has gone for 4 throat surgeries already since his HPV in the throat was diagnosed a year ago.

HPV is usually spread from male to female during normal sex and the virus, if it stays, grows into genital warts where the virus resides and multiplies. If the warts are not excised and the virus killed off, the HPV may spread to the cervix and the lady gets cervical cancer,as happened to Anita Mui.

HPV is pretty common in the west...there is even a website for fellow sufferers via www.hpv.com Check it out. Regards

Choo Teck Long wrote (22 January 2006, 0745 hours):

The Washington Post runs a weekly contest in its Style section called the "Style Invitational." The requirements this week were to use the two words, Lewinsky (The Intern) and Kaczynski (the Unabomber) in the same limerick.