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It is not well known as to how mad cow disease (BSE) spreads. It was thought to be spread from "animal recycling" (feeding animal by-products back to cattle such as bone meal or other ground animal parts in feed). It is NOT spread from cow-to-cow contact.
Animal recycling is still allowed to be used in fertilizer and pet feed, but is not allowed to go to animals that will be used for human consumption.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoMad Cow disease is spread through the feed, but not from cow to cow. A tiny trace amount of prions in the feed, enough to not even be noticeable by the naked eye, can affect a few animals to a whole herd. These prions get in the feed by being exposed to some portion or trace amount of brain or spinal matter, whether it be on the floor or by someone's gloves, shoes or clothing or even from tools like shovels, sacs, etc. The more serious concerns is when the feed is purposely mixed with animal-based protein, which could come from anywhere be it a BSE-infected cow or a ruminant with TSE or even an altogether different animal that consumed BSE/TSE-infected feed.
The only way humans can get BSE or Creuztfeldt-Jakob disease is by eating contaminated meat that was exposed to the brain and spinal column of a BSE-infected animal or came from that animal that was known or suspected to have Mad Cow Disease. That is why the government and producers highly recommend to put a BSE-suspected cow down and burn or bury it, allowing no part of the carcass to enter any form of the livestock and/or human food chain.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoPrion
an infectious protein
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How do cows get mad cow disease?
Mad cow disease happens when the proteins in the brain of cow become misfolded. This is called prion. In simple words all proteins have to be folded before they can function and when some proteins in the brain become misfolded, such a state is called prions (misfolding of proteins) and it results in mad cow disease.
Evidence that prions were responsible for mad cow disease?
At one time, cattle were fed the unwanted parts of ground up sheep. Some of those cows became infected with mad cow disease. Mad cow disease spread to humans. Cattle were also fed parts of ground up cow parts, cows eating ground up cattle were infected with that disease. The breakthrough came in New Guinea. There, women and children would eat the brains of dead people. Men would not. Women and children would catch a disease similar to mad cow disease. Men would not. That made it obvious that the disease came from something common to women and children and not to men. Since they behaved the same as nearby groups except for eating the brains of dead people, that had to be the difference. The only difference in the brains of the dead people with mad cow disease and those without mad cow disease was the prions. This was then tested in England where mad cow disease was common. The only difference between cows with mad cow disease and those without mad cow disease were the same prions. The people with mad cow disease had the same prions in their brains.
Do cows eat herbivores?
No, cows only eat vegetation. Cows are herbivores.
Are cows decomposers?
No. Cows are herbivores, not detritivores or decomposers.
What is the relationship between cows and decomposers?
Decomposers give cows nutrients to live
What is brucellosis in goats?
Simply put, it's a bacterial disease that causes abortions. Meat is safe, as it it cooked. Milk is safe if it is pasteurized. Very RARELY doesit pass to humans, but can spread among goats and cows.
Do cows have brains that can process thought?
Do you have thoughts? Yes. Then cows do.
What is the harmful effect of cow on humans and diseases spread by them?
Under most circumstances, cows are not a danger to humans. However, eating contaminated beef can result in the spread of the deadly E. Coli Virus and Mad Cow Disease.
What is the correct medical terminology for hardware disease in cows?
Bovine traumatic reticuloperitonitis is the correct medical terminology for hardware disease in cows.
Where did mad cow disease come from?
Researchers are not completely sure how cows get mad cow disease, but they believe it comes from certain food that was given to cows. Some of this food contains the remains of dead cows that had the infection causing the cows that are eating it to get the infection. Mad cow disease affects the cows brain causing them to go "mad."
Can cow feces and blood infect humans?
If it's from a perfectly healthy cow, no. If it's from a cow that has a zoonotic disease that can be spread through its blood and/or feces, then yes. But there is no recorded or known disease that is liable to cause such health problems for humans.
What type of beast has Mad Cow Disease?
Cows.
How did the smallpox spread in the English colonies?
The smallpox spread in the English colony by the English themselves. the English were prone to this disease, but many Indians died because of they never faced such a sickness, and had no protection against this. thus the Indians died in hundreds. it was spread through the animals feces: cows, chickens, pigs, goats, etc.
What happens to cows that have mad cow disease?
they go mad
What is sad cow disease?
It's not sad cow disease, it's MAD cow disease. Its a brain disease that can cause irrational behavior in cows.
How did foot and mouth disease start?
i think it was sick cows.
Do only cows get mad cow disease?
Yes, in a manner of speaking. Mad Cow Disease is a nickname for a more harder-to-pronounce name of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Most believe that Mad Cow Disease also applies to humans, but this is a bit of a problem: humans are not cows. Yes they are capable of getting the variant form of this neurologically degrading disease, but that doesn't automatically entitle them to suddenly turn into a cow that is mad. Seriously, humans don't exactly get "Mad Cow Disease." What they do get is Cruetzfeldt-Jakob Disease. The chances of getting this disease is 1 in 10 billion, and only from contaminated beef or infected brain matter and spinal column, bone marrow, and the eyes.
