Browsing: Mad Cow Disease

Mad cow disease, officially known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects cattle. Characterized by symptoms such as abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss, the disease progresses to severe brain damage and death within months to years. BSE is caused by prions, misfolded proteins that can induce the misfolding of normal proteins, primarily affecting the brain and spinal cord tissues. The disease emerged prominently in the UK in the 1980s, linked to the practice of feeding cattle protein supplements made from meat-and-bone meal, which included remnants of scrapie-infected sheep. Transmission to humans is believed to occur through consumption of infected beef, leading to a variant form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), a similar prion disease. Since its discovery, strict regulations on animal feed and slaughter practices have been enforced to prevent the spread of BSE.