Mad Cow Disease and
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mad Cow Disease Overview
www.emedicinehealth.com "Mad cow" is an infectious disease in the brain of cattle. Humans who become infected, usually by eating tissue from diseased cattle, will die of a similar brain disease that may develop over many years.
Abnormal proteins called prions (PRE-ons) are found in brain tissue of diseased cattle. Prions eat away at the brain and create tiny spongelike holes in parts of the brain. These so-called spongy holes cause slow deterioration within the cattle brain, and eventually symptoms affecting the whole body. Death follows. The scientific name for mad cow disease in cattle is called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (meaning sick brain) or BSE, meaning a sickness of the cow’s brain; when damaged brain tissue is viewed on a laboratory slide, it has a spongy appearance.
U.S. Meat Supply at Risk of Mad Cow Disease
consumeraffairs.com The U.S. Agriculture Department's Inspector General warns beef inspectors aren't strictly following cattle screening rules, increasing the risk of mad cow disease in the nation's meat supply.