Mad Cow disease is a disease that affects the brains and central nervous system of adult cattle. Its scientific name is Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). It was first identified in the United Kingdom in 1985, however research shows that the first probable infections occurred during the 1970’s. It is called Mad Cow disease because of the way it makes cattle act when they’ve contracted it. They act crazy or “mad”. Being very destructive, foaming at the mouth, being very uncoordinated and falling all over themselves.

“BSE is not caused by a bacterial or viral infection, but rather is the result of infectious prions.” Prions are a protein that does not fold properly. They bond with the cow’s brain cells altering their composition and leading to death. “For reasons that are not understood, the normal prion protein changes into a pathogenic (harmful) form that then damages the central nervous system of cattle.”

Cattle are infected with Mad Cow disease when they eat infections proteins. These proteins were believed to come from feeding cattle meat and bone meal that contained scrapie infected sheep products. It was amplified when prion-infected bovine meat and bone meal were fed to young calves.

Only cows that are genetically susceptible can be affected by Mad Cow disease. This disease did not originate in cattle. It is believed to have first originated in sheep through a similar disease called Scrapie. It has affected sheep in the United Kingdom since the mid-18th century. It is believed that through close contact the disease has learned to adapt and transfer the cattle.

Since 1985 more than 180,000 cows have become infected in the Untied Kingdom. “The British practice of processing central nervous tissue into the animal feed allowed the prions to spread rapidly through their herds.” Since the British export feed and live animals all over the world the disease is spreading.

In 1997 the US banned all products that could have prions from cattle feed or any other risky products from coming into the US. Since then only one animal out of 35 million slaughtered in the US has been infected. It can be visually recognized by a cow going down in it legs and unable to stand erect.

Mad Cow disease can only affect people that eat the infected meat. Unfortunately there is no way to remove the disease from the meat that we eat. It can not be cooked out with massive amount of heat like so many other diseases. BSE is not transferable through any milk products deriving from cattle.

Mad Cow disease can affect people in the form called Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease. This is believed to be formed from eating contaminated beef products from Mad Cow disease infected cattle. There have been 155 confirmed cases worldwide of people diagnosed with Creutzflet-Jacob disease.

Deer and elk contract a similar disease called chronic wasting disease (CWD). They are affected the same way as cattle and sheep and contract it the same way. However there is no scientific evidence that it is related to Mad Cow disease.

Mad Cow disease is a very real threat to our meat products however the US is doing everything in its power to stop the importation of infected meats and cattle. It is a disease that affects the brain and nervous system of cattle and can be closely related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people and Chronic Wasting disease in deer and elk.

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Robert Smith was born in New York City in 1956. He has spent more than 12 years working as a professor of English at New York University. He is fond of giving writing tips for students. Now he spends most of his time with his family and shares his experience in critical essays and narrative essays.