What is Mad Cow Disease?

MAD COW DISEASE ALSO KNOWN AS BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY IN CATTLE (BSE) OR CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD) IN HUMANS ARE DISEASES CAUSED BY PRIONS

BSE (sometimes referred to as "mad cow disease") and CJD belong to the unusual group of progressively degenerative neurological diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These diseases are characterized by an incubation period of several months (among mink) to several years, during which there is no visible indication of the disease. The incubation period for BSE among cattle ranges from three to eight years; for CJD among humans, it is approximately 13 years.

Following a relatively short clinical course of neurological signs, the disease is characterized by 100-percent mortality of its victims. There is no known treatment or cure.

BSE among cattle was first described in the U.K. in November 1986. Epidemiological evidence established that it was an extended, common-source outbreak, one that occurred in many places at nearly the same time and was traced to the same source. It is believed that rendered feed ingredients contaminated with a TSE agent served as the common source of infection. The epidemic expanded when carcasses of BSE-infected cattle were rendered and used as feed ingredients, thereby further spreading the TSE agent.

Through November 15, 1996, about 165,000 head of cattle in over 33,000 herds were diagnosed with BSE in the U.K. The disease has also been confirmed in domestic cattle in the Republic of Ireland, France, Portugal, Oman, and Switzerland. The epidemic peaked in January 1993 at nearly 1,000 new cases per week; currently, fewer than 200 suspect cases are diagnosed every week.

Source US Food and Drug Administration

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What is Mad Cow Disease?

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