Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as “mad cow disease”, is a neurodegenerative disease that affects cattle. It is caused by a protein abnormal condition called a prion, which accumulates in the animal's brain and causes progressive and irreversible damage. Symptoms include coordination problems, weight loss, difficulty standing, and altered behavior. The disease is fatal and there is no known cure.
Mad cow on the loose in Brazil?
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Last Monday, the 20th, the Ministry of Agriculture reported that it is investigating a suspected case of “mad cow” in Brazil. Such suspicion occurs about an elderly animal that died in a pasture in Pará.
“Regarding the suspected case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease), all measures are being adopted by governments. The suspicion has already been submitted to laboratory analysis for confirmation or not and, based on the result, the appropriate actions will be applied immediately”, informed the ministry.
The last cases of this disease in Brazil occurred in 2021, in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso. Since the discovery of the disease in the 1980s, countries have implemented control measures to reduce the risk of transmission. These measures include a ban on the use of meat and bone meal in animal feed, the detection and elimination of infected animals and restriction of trade in animals coming from countries with confirmed cases of EEB.
How is the disease transmitted?
'Mad cow' disease is transmitted mainly through eating meat contaminated with prions from infected animals. In humans, the ingestion of these prions can cause the variant of illness Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome (vCJD), which is a rare and fatal neurological disease. Transmission of BSE to humans is considered extremely rare. Until today, Brazil has not registered classic cases of “mad cow” caused by the ingestion of contaminated meat and pieces of bone. In addition to oxen and cows, the disease affects buffaloes, sheep and goats.
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