Virologist Richard Marsh Dies at 58

Richard F. Marsh, a veterinary virologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a longtime investigator of infectious agents related to “mad cow disease,” died March 23, 1997 at his home in Middleton, Wis., after a long bout with cancer. He was 58.

The son of a mink rancher, Marsh focused his research the past three decades on diseases of fur-bearing animals, and persistent viral diseases of the central nervous system, specifically on the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Marsh studied both the transmission and the cause of these infectious neurological diseases.

Marsh’s work was recognized world-wide, and his research led to a better understanding of the agents that caused the disease, known as prions, said veterinary science professor Judd Aiken, who worked with Marsh.

His research interests came together in 1985, when he investigated an outbreak of transmissible mink encephalopathy on a mink farm near Stetsonville, Wis. Marsh showed that tissue from the diseased mink could produce encephalopathies in cattle, and that tissue from these diseased cattle could infect mink.

Based on his work in that study, Marsh concluded that the U.S. was at risk of a bovine spongiform encepholapathy (BSE) outbreak similar to the “mad cow disease” epidemic in Great Britain. This prompted his call in 1986 for a ban on feeding rendered ruminant protein to cattle.

Marsh initially was called an alarmist by many in the industry, and was criticized when he repeated his call for a ban at an industry conference in 1990 and a symposium on BSE in 1993.

Marsh lived to see his work vindicated. In 1996 the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a voluntary ban on feeding rendered ruminant products to ruminants, and in January 1997 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a formal ban on using ruminant tissues in the manufacture of ruminant feeds.

In 1996, after reports linked Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (a fatal degenerative brain disease of humans) to consumption of meat from BSE-infected cattle in England, Marsh was interviewed by CNN, NBC, CBS and the BBC, and fielded hundreds of phone calls from around the world.

Marsh earned a doctor of veterinary medicine from Washington State University in 1963 and a doctorate in veterinary science from UW–Madison in 1968. He joined the Department of Veterinary Science faculty at UW–Madison in 1979 and chaired the department from 1984 to 1989.

Marsh is survived by his wife, Helene; their five children, Kathryn, Jeanette, Timothy, Christine, and Deanna; three grandchildren; and his sister, Kathleen. A memorial service for Marsh will be held Thursday, March 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the alumni lounge of the UW–Madison Wisconsin Center, 702 Langdon St.

Memorial gifts can be made to the UW Foundation, care of the Richard F. Marsh Endowment for Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award.