Mad Cow Disease
By Brooke and Jessica
What Is It?
Also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), Mad Cow Disease is transmissible, slowly progressive, degenerative, and fatal. It attacks the nervous systems of adult cows. It destroys nervous system tissue, including the brain and spinal cord.
Where Is It Found?
In cows, generally. Cases have been found in the US, but it's biggest in the UK. Cases have been reported in cattle in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. It isn't very common in humans though.
How Do Humans Get It?
Humans can't get "Mad Cow Disease," but they can get a human form called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. People get it by eating the brains or spinal cords of infected cattle. vCJd is fatal, but it can't be spread by casual contact or by eating other parts of the cow.
When Was It Discovered?
It's been in British sheep for 200 years, but and a human version was once found in tribal New Guinea. In 1994, a group of British people died from another human form. The first case of the modern form was found in Hampshire in 1985. By 1995, it was in half of all British herds.
How Deadly Is It?
Four people have died from cases of vCJd in the US. It's fatal within 6 months of the onset of symptoms. It's highly fatal.
Mechanisms of Action
It attacks the nervous system in both cows and humans.
Symptoms
It's very hard to diagnose until you're almost dead. It causes depression, loss of coordination, dementia, brain abnormalities, and within 6-13 months, is fatal.
Treatment/Cure/Prevention
It's incurable, and usually kills the human or animal it's found in. To prevent it, there have been trade restrictions on many countries and governments have restricted the sale of cattle.
How Does It Relate to Climate Change?
Climate change affects agriculture, which affects this disease. The global spread of climate change is similar to the global spread of mad cow disease.