Mad cow what is it

It also is known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. People cannot get mad cow disease. But in rare cases they may get a human form of mad cow disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease vCJD , which is fatal.

This can happen if you eat nerve tissue the brain and spinal cord of cattle that were infected with mad cow disease. Over time, vCJD destroys the brain and spinal cord. There is no evidence that people can get mad cow disease or vCJD from eating muscle meat—which is used for ground beef, roasts, and steaks—or from consuming milk or milk products. People with vCJD cannot spread it to others through casual contact. People who have spent a lot of time at least 3 months in places where mad cow disease has been found are not allowed to give blood in Canada or the United States.

Experts are not sure what causes mad cow disease or vCJD. The leading theory is that the disease is caused by infectious proteins called prions say "PREE-ons". In affected cows, these proteins are found in the brain, spinal cord, and small intestine.

There is no proof that prions are found in muscle meat such as steak or in milk. When a cow is slaughtered, parts of it are used for human food and other parts are used in animal feed. If an infected cow is slaughtered and its nerve tissue is used in cattle feed, other cows can become infected. People can get vCJD if they eat the brain or spinal cord tissue of infected cattle. The first case of vCJD was reported in Since then, there have been a few cases of vCJD reported in the world. After a cow dies, scientists can tell if it had BSE by looking at its brain tissue under a microscope and seeing the spongy appearance.

Scientists can also tell if a cow had BSE by using test kits that can detect the abnormal prion in the brain. Brain from a cow sick with BSE, as seen under a microscope using special stains. The large white spaces are like the "holes" of a sponge. The parts of a cow that are not eaten by people are cooked, dried, and ground into a powder. The powder is then used for a variety of purposes, including as an ingredient in animal feed.

The contaminated feed contains the abnormal prion, and a cow becomes infected with the abnormal prion when it eats the feed. If a cow gets BSE, it most likely ate the contaminated feed during its first year of life. Remember, if a cow becomes infected with the abnormal prion when it is one-year-old, it usually will not show signs of BSE until it is five-years-old or older.

As of , people worldwide are known to have become sick with vCJD, and unfortunately, they all have died. It is thought that they got the disease from eating food made from cows sick with BSE.

Most of the people who have become sick with vCJD lived in the United Kingdom at some point in their lives. Only four lived in the U. This means that it is not like catching a cold. BSE in cattle was first diagnosed in and led to an epidemic in Great Britain before significant measures were put in place to reduce transmission of the disease. Since that initial outbreak, the disease has been detected in cattle in Europe, Japan and Canada.

One case has now been detected in the United States. Strong evidence indicates that BSE has been transmitted to humans through the consumption of BSE-tainted beef and beef products, causing a human form of the disease known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease vCJD , which is a rare, fatal brain disorder.

But no blood test is available at this time. A brain biopsy is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of vCJD. There is no cure for vCJD. Treatment includes managing the symptoms that occur as the disease gets worse. The following health organizations are tracking and studying mad cow disease and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease vCJD. Their websites contain the most up-to-date information about these diseases. Current as of: September 23, Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: E. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor.

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