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Bovine Spongiform Encephalophathy
Transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are progressive, degenerative
diseases that are invariably fatal and affect a wide range
of animals, including deer and elk (chronic wasting disease,
CWD), cats (feline spongiform encephalopathy, FSE), mink
(transmissible mink encephalopathy, TME), sheep (scrapie),
and bovids (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE or “mad
cow disease”). BSE has been linked to a variant form
of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans.
These diseases are caused by agents
currently characterized as prions, or “rogue proteins,” which
assume an abnormal conformation in the brain and cannot be
digested in the body by proteases. Prions can survive in
tissues post-mortem and are resistant to disinfection, light
and heat levels that usually destroy bacteria, fungi, viruses
and most proteins. BSE has a fairly wide geographical distribution
and is transmitted orally, which has led to cattle feed restrictions,
increased surveillance and new slaughtering regulations in
order to protect cattle and humans from the zoonotic potential
of this disease.
The CFSPH has developed a fact sheet
on BSE, which is intended for use by veterinarians as an
aid in informing their clients and the general public about
BSE. This file may be downloaded from this site by right
clicking on the link below and selecting "Save Target
As..."
 (PDF
302KB)  (PPT
3.7MB)
Please contact us at cfsph@iastate.edu if
you have any comments and questions.
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