What is Mad Cow disease?

About Mad Cow disease:

• It is also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
• It is a transmissible, slowly progressive, degenerative, and fatal disease which affects the central nervous system of adult cattle.
• Causes: It is caused by a protein called a prion, which is normally found on cell surfaces, called a prion, 
• When this protein gets altered, it destroys the nervous system tissue- the brain and spinal cord.
• Transmission: A cow gets BSE by eating feed contaminated with parts that came from another cow that was sick with BSE.

• Symptoms:
• A common sign of BSE in cows is incoordination. A sick cow has trouble walking and getting up.
• It usually takes four to six years from the time a cow is infected with the abnormal prion to when it first shows symptoms of BSE.
• There are no vaccines available for this disease.