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Mad Cow Disease

Also called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in cattle, Cruetzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans, Scrapie in sheep and goats, and Chronic Wasting Disease in deer and elk, and Transmissible Spngiform Encephalopathy for generalizing all animals affected, "Mad Cow Disease" is a slow, silent, but deadly disease that affects the central nervous system of humans and ruminant animals. It is caused by prions, or misfolded proteins, that is caused by either genetics or the consumption of animal-based proteins (especially ground-up brain and spinal tissue) from an infected animal that have accidentally entered the food chain. Feel free to ask or answer any questions related to Mad Cow Disease here.

500 Questions

How do you say you mad cow in Spanish?

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Asked by Wiki User

The question is ambiguous.

Do you mean:

'(I) don't have a cowman' or '(I) don't have a cow, man'

Or, as an imperative/suggestion:

'Don't (you) have a cowman!' or 'Don't (you) have a cow, man!'

Clarify the question, and a translation is possible.

What is the incubation period for mad cow disease in humans?

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Mad Cow disease in humans is known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). The incubation of mad cow (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) in bovines is anywhere from 30 months to eight years. The incubation period for vCJD in humans is unknown as of now, but experts speculate that the incubation period could be anywhere from 8 months to 50 years.

Who was the scientist who described and named the infectious protein that responsible for Mad Cow Disease?

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This is impossible to find out unless somebody admits to it. Perhaps it happend by accident or somebody did it on purpose but who ever did do it would quickly become a very hated person and would probably be murdered because they created it which is we wont be able to find out as no one with a sane mind would step forward admitting to it.

What is unique about the infectious agent that causes Mad Cow Disease?

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BSE is a fairly unique disease because the infectious agent is a misfolded protein called a prion, rather than a separate particle or living organism. Every cow naturally has the proteins that can become misfolded, but it is rare for the protein to become a prion.

What are the benefits of mad cow disease?

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Since this disease is contagious between certain animals, it kills alot of our agricultural animals(beef, dairy,ect..) Our economy depends on our production, and if it kills it off, wed be a seriously poor country.

How likely is it to get mad cow disease?

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Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, a form of "mad cow" in humans, is mostly a genetic defect in humans. However you can "catch" it if you eat meat that is contaminated from exposure to brain tissues or spinal fluid infected with BSE prions, or from eating the brains or spinal column of an animal with the misfolded prion. But even that is very rare, and the chance of getting CJD is 1 in one million.

What are the signs and symptoms of mad cow disease in humans?

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The first symptom of CJD is rapidly progressive dementia, leading to memory loss, personality changes and hallucinations. This is accompanied by physical problems such as speech impairment, jerky movements (myoclonus), balance and coordination dysfunction (ataxia), changes in gait, rigid posture, and seizures. The duration of the disease varies greatly, but sporadic (non-inherited) CJD can be fatal within months or even weeks (Johnson, 1998). In some people, the symptoms can continue for years. In most patients, these symptoms are followed by involuntary movements and the appearance of a typical diagnostic electroencephalogram tracing. The symptoms of CJD are caused by the progressive death of the brain's nerve cells, which is associated with the build-up of abnormal prion proteins. When brain tissue from a CJD patient is examined under a microscope, many tiny holes can be seen where whole areas of nerve cells have died. The word 'spongiform' in 'transmissible spongiform encephalopathies' refers to the 'spongy' appearance of the brain tissue.

What is the theoretical cause of mad cow disease?

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Genetic mutations, primarily, which were transferred when an animal (either a sheep or cow) was ground up to be used as a protein source for other ruminant livestock (like cows and/or sheep).

How can you tell if meat has mad cow disease?

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On the dressed carcass there are no signs of bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE, the scientific name for mad cow disease). However, the signs in live cattle are neurologic -behavior changes, nerve deficits and incoordination between muscle groups. This is why in the United States all cattle of all ages are individually seen while walking prior to slaughter - so inspection personnel can look for these signs on the live cattle and make sure such cattle are not put into the food chain.

What percentage of USA cows are tested for mad cow disease?

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Currently your risk of getting variant Creutzfeld-Jacobs Disease (vCJD, the human result of infection with a BSE prion) is hovering around zero. Infectious BSE has been all but eradicated in the world; the recent cases of BSE have been atypical (non-infectious) variants that are expected to spontaneously occur in a few cattle in a normal cattle population.

What country is mad cow disease most commonly in?

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During the initial emergence and outbreak, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, the proper name for mad cow disease) was primarily found in cattle in the United Kingdoms. Today it has been almost completely eradicated from the world, although sporadic cases are reported occasionally in different countries.

Is mad cow disease in the blood of cows?

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No. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, the scientific name for mad cow disease) is caused by a misfolded protein called a prion. The protein has been found in the distal small intestine, tonsils and central nervous system tissues of cattle infected with the prion. The prion has never been found in the blood or milk of cattle.

Is there a certain age group that mad cow disease affects?

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no there isn't, mad cow disease can affect everyone, when if your 1-years old to if your 80-years old. As long as your eating the meat of a cow that had the infection. But you can only get it if you eat as large amount of cow brains/meat

Where does the name Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease come from?

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Historically speaking, this disease got its name from the first founder, Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt. He examined patients with symptoms related to brain degeneration, which lead to the naming of the disease. Afterward Alfons Maria Jakob found more information regarding the disease, and thus, the "Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease" name was born.

How is mad cow disease prevented?

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You should vaccinate for it and just wait and see. If you find the symptons of it with your animals, (human s also). Report it to your local DNR facility or call your doctor immediately.

Answer 2:The answer above is complete nonsense. There is no vaccine for the disease because it is not caused by an infectious agent, rather a misfolded protein or prion which is not deemed a "foreign" body by the body and thus does not encourage white-blood cells or T cells from coming in to attack.

In order to prevent from getting CJD (Cruetzfeldt-Jakobson Disease, the human-form of "Mad Cow Disease"), you can either opt to not eat beef at all, or complete avoid eating processed meat that contains beef, including ground beef. Also avoid eating any specialty meats that are prone to housing these prions, including the brain and spinal cord.

Cattle cannot ever be vaccinated for this disease because there is no vaccine suitable to prevent this condition. Instead, to prevent cattle from getting this disease is to not feed any feed that contains any form of animal by-product. Feeding just straight grain, no special things mixed with it, is much safer to feed to cattle. A mandatory feed ban in Canada has been put in place for quite some time now which means not feeding any form of animal by-product to ruminants, including chicken litter or feed intended for chickens, fish and pigs.

How many total cases have been reported in the US of mad cow disease?

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The most recent case of mad cow disease in a human was diagnosed in Dec. 2013 in Houston,Tx.

Is mad cow diasese a virus?

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Mad cow disease is scientifically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE for short. BSE is caused by a mis-folded protein in the brain and spinal cord of cattle, so it is actually none of the above (virus, bacteria or protist). Prions are a novel form of disease infection distinct from the traditional three infectious routes identified in the early 1900s.

How is mad cow disease treated in humans?

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BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the scientific name for mad cow disease) is untreatable. It is caused by a normal protein in the cow's brain that mis-folds and cannot be broken down. This protein, which is called a prion when it is misfolded, then causes other copies of the same protein to refold into the wrong configuration. Because it is a basically indestructable misfolded protein, there is no treatment for the live animal and the only two ways known to destroy the protein after the animal has been euthanized is to completely incinerate the carcass or put the carcass through an alkaline hydrolysis machine.

What happened during mad cow disease in 1996 in Britain?

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None. It's the countries that are at risk for having BSE or CJD that you should be considered about, not whether they "have" them or not. Which is to say that all countries in the world are at risk of having BSE in with their cow herds, some much more (like third-world countries) than others (like Canada, the United Kingdom and the USA).

Do proteins cause mad cow disease?

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In a matter of speaking, yes. Mis-folded proteins are what cause "Mad Cow Disease," also known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in cattle or Creuztfeldt-Jakobson's Disease in humans.

What is the Economic impact of mad cow disease?

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You mean did. It certainly brought cattle prices down and the ability to export cattle and beef to other countries was hindered because they closed their borders to Canadian and American beef. Without being able to export over seas, less income comes in.

What is Mad Cow Disesase?

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Mad Cow Disease is more properly referred to as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) which is a degeneration of the central nervous system tissue in the brain and spinal cord in mature cattle. BSE is primarily caused by altered proteins or prions which are mostly found in feed tainted with minute microscopic amounts of prions, either from an animal that was rendered that unknowingly had BSE or from a vector that exposed some of the feed to prions. Prions are very difficult and pretty much impossible to detect in a bag of feed, so even the smallest amount of prions in a feed bag go unnoticed even by a federal inspector. Prions can also be transferred through chicken feces or chicken feed that could be mistakenly given to cattle, exposing them to BSE-infected animal byproduct in the feed.

BSE is related to scrapie in sheep (where it probably originated due to rendered meat and bone meal in sheep being used as a protein supplement for cattle in Europe), Creutzfeldt-Jakobs disease in humans, and Chronic Wasting Disease in deer and elk. In general, BSE is also called TSE or Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy.

The first cases of BSE were discovered in Great Britain in the 1970s and '80s but were soon unheard of until a lone case of BSE cropped up in Alberta in 2003. That cow that came down with BSE was originally from the United States. Other cows that were discovered in Canada were also traced to the U.S. Legislation had come about to ban animal byproducts in feed fed to ruminant animals, including sheep, deer, elk, cattle, bison, camelids and goats. Also, a system was prepared to trace the birth, movements, health records, birth records, etc. of every animal born in Canada. The United States is slow to follow suite because of the immense opposition to have such a system in place, even though BSE cases still crop up in and around the United States. Neither Canada nor the United States are BSE free because it is impossible to trace prions, since prions can last for a long time before entering an animal and causing trouble. However proper diagnosis and disposal of animals with BSE or TSE (CWD, Scrapie) is strongly recommended to decrease the cases of BSE, TSE, CWD and CJD occuring.