A fatal, prion caused neurodegenerative disease of cattle, commonly known as mad cow disease, linked to feeding cattle protein derived from infected animal remains. The United Kingdom epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, and its transmission to humans as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, led to the destruction of millions of cattle, sweeping bans on feeding ruminant derived protein to ruminants, and lasting changes to beef trade and food safety regulation worldwide.
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Cattle, Livestock Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) is a fatal neurodegenerative prion disease of cattle.
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1. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationOpening definition paragraph
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of the disease, the cow becomes unable to function normally. There is conflicting information about the time between infection and onset of symptoms. In 2002, the World Health Organization suggested it to be approximately four to five years.
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A fatal, prion caused neurodegenerative disease of cattle, commonly known as mad cow disease, linked to feeding cattle protein derived from infected animal remains.
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