Mad cow disease, caused by mutated proteins called prions, affects cattle and can lead to a human variant called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). There is no cure for CJD, which has symptoms including coordination difficulties, memory loss, and muscle spasms. Governments have issued protocols to prevent infection, and people can limit their risk by not eating beef products in affected countries.
Spongiform encephalitis, or mad cow disease, is a type of encephalopathy that affects cattle. Humans who ingest the spinal cord or brain of infected cattle are at risk of developing a human variant of spongiform encephalitis called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). As of early 2011, there was no cure for this disease.
Mutated proteins called prions cause spongiform encephalitis. Prions do not behave like viruses or bacteria; they are resistant to drugs, heat and radiation. These prions deteriorate the brain by creating sponge-like holes within the brain tissue. The disease has a long incubation period lasting several years.
Researchers believe that cattle become infected with spongiform encephalitis when they consume the brains and spinal cords of other infected cattle. They have difficulty walking or standing and may appear to be off balance. They have behavior and attitude changes and lose weight even if they continue to eat. Infected cows continue to deteriorate physically and mentally until they are culled or die of the disease.
Humans with CJD develop similar symptoms. They have coordination difficulties and suffer from memory loss, withdrawal, depression and muscle spasms. Some infected patients also have difficulty sleeping.
Doctors run a variety of tests to screen human patients for CJD. They examine your blood and liver to rule out other possible infections or diseases that could be causing your symptoms. They may also do electroencephalogram (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests to look for damage within the brain or body. Doctors might also do a spinal tap or brain biopsy to look for chemicals or proteins that will help in the diagnosis.
There is no treatment for CJD; doctors do their best to put patients at ease by giving them medications to control symptoms. Death typically follows eight to 60 months later. This disease is extremely rare, with only a few hundred or fewer cases reported annually.
Governments have issued a number of protocols to prevent people and animals from being infected. Prior to 1997, farmers fed cows feed mixes containing beef and bone meal that contained parts of the entire carcass, including the spinal cord and brain. This practice has been banned in some places to stop the spread of the disease. People can limit their risk of getting CJD infection by not eating beef products in countries that have had problems with bovine spongiform encephalitis.
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