Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)

Overview 

Numerous diseases are contracted from animals to humans. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a disease transmitted from cattle to humans. Many lives have succumbed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy during the past few years. This blog is a comprehensive guide on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), its symptoms, causes and treatment options. Let’s be aware and fight it.  

What is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)? 

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), sometimes known as mad cow disease, is transmissible, slowly progressing, and a fatal condition that affects cattle’s central nervous systems.  

According to researchers, the infectious agent that causes BSE is thought to be an aberrant form of a prion protein, which is typically present on cell surfaces. This protein changes due to unknown reasons, damaging the spinal cord, the brain and other parts of the nervous system. 

Can humans contract the mad cow disease? 

It is believed that eating meat products contaminated with central nervous system tissue, such as the brain and spinal cord, from cattle afflicted with mad cow disease causes the human counterpart of the condition known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Due to this, it is mandated that all brain and spinal cord tissue be removed from high-risk calves, including older cattle, immobile cattle, and cattle with any neurological issues. 

There are significant differences between variant CJD and classic or sporadic CJD. Classic CJD has no known cause and affects one to two people per million people worldwide every year in nations where mad cow disease has never been reported. Both vegans and meat eaters have died from classic CJD; hence it is not related to ingesting nerve tissue from cattle with mad cow disease. Most patients with CJD are above 65, which typically results in death within six months. 

How CJD is transmitted

The risk of CJD is low. The disease cannot be spread through sneezing or coughing, touching, or even sexual contact. CJD develops in three ways:

• Sporadically: Many people with classic CJD develop the disorder for no apparent reason. This type, known as sporadic CJD or spontaneous CJD, accounts for most of the cases.
• By inheritance: Lesser than 15 per cent of CJD patients have a family history of CJD  or test positive for a genetic mutation linked to the disease. This type is called familial CJD.
• By contamination: A few developed the disease after being exposed to infected human tissue during a medical procedure, like a skin or cornea transplant. In addition, standard cleaning methods do not destroy abnormal prions. And a few developed the disease after undergoing brain surgery with contaminated instruments. Yet a few also developed CJD  from consuming contaminated beef.
• Cases of CJD linked to medical procedures are called iatrogenic CJD: Variant CJD is primarily linked to consuming beef infected with the mad cow disease (BSE or bovine spongiform encephalopathy).

What are the symptoms of vCJD? 

All age groups are susceptible to the condition, making it difficult to identify until it has almost entirely progressed. People with vCJD experience symptoms linked to the nervous system, such as depression and loss of coordination in the early stages of the disease. Dementia sets in later on during the illness. Some other symptoms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy are: 

• Vision problems 
• Inability to walk 
• Stinging or electric shock sensation in nerves 
• Jerking in muscles 
• Psychotic episodes 
• Coma 

But MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) cannot reveal abnormalities in the brain unless the disease is far along. Within 13 months after the commencement of symptoms, vCJD becomes fatal.  

When to see a doctor? 

As soon as a person experiences these symptoms, the healthcare provider should be informed about them.  

Request an appointment at Apollo Hospitals    

Is it possible to get vCJD by drinking cow’s milk? 

It is not proven that drinking milk or consuming dairy products increases the risk of contracting mad cow disease. According to researchers, infections are not brought on by milk from cows with mad cow disease. 

Is it possible to get vCJD by consuming by-products of cow’s meat? 

The FDA prohibits the importation of ingredients for cosmetics and dietary supplements made from bovine materials from animals from any of the 33 nations where mad cow disease has been identified or from animals that could contract the disease. 

Does cooking kill the diseased prion that causes mad cow disease? 

Heating is a common technique for killing disease-causing organisms in food. But it has little effect on prions.  

How long has mad cow disease been a concern for health officials? 

Since it was first discovered in cattle in the United Kingdom in 1986, mad cow disease has been a significant source of worry. In January 1993, it peaked with about 1,000 new cases per week was found. In 1996, the discovery of a link between vCJD in humans and mad cow disease led to a considerable increase in concern regarding this illness. 

What is the removal of Specified Risk Material (SRM)? How does it help in transmission?

The components of the cattle that are most likely to harbour bovine spongiform encephalopathy are known as specified risk material (SRM). The most crucial step in ensuring food safety is eliminating SRM from the food chain. 

It cannot be used to make food or animal feed and must be disposed of properly. This reduces the possibility of slaughtering a BSE-infected animal before it exhibits indications of illness. 

What steps were taken to safeguard food? 

The spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy among cattle is believed to have been caused by animal feed containing meat and bone meal. In Europe today, it is prohibited to feed meat and meals made of bones to farm animals. 

Animals suspected of having bovine spongiform encephalopathy or infected with it are removed from the food chain. Additionally, the cohorts of cattle infected are killed and disposed off properly. 

Conclusion 

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease lacks any treatment. But the quality of life can be improved with the help of advanced medical technologies and expert support. Research is still going on in this field, and hopefully, our researchers will find vaccines and medicines for fighting this killer disease.  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 

What is the incubation period involved in bovine spongiform encephalopathy? 

The incubation period can be a few months or a few years.  

Is there a treatment to cure bovine spongiform encephalopathy? 

There is no known cure for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The healthcare provider usually focuses on easing the symptoms related to it.  

Is bovine spongiform encephalopathy a rare disease? 

Yes. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a very rare disease. Only one in one million gets diagnosed with it.