What type of pathogen is bse

Currently, the most accepted theory is that the agent is a modified form of a normal protein known as prion protein. For reasons that are not yet understood, the normal prion protein changes into a pathogenic harmful form that then damages the central nervous system of cattle. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.

Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. Mad Cow Disease is a neurological disorder of cattle. The large white spaces are like the "holes" of a sponge. The parts of a cow that are not eaten by people are cooked, dried, and ground into a powder. The powder is then used for a variety of purposes, including as an ingredient in animal feed. The contaminated feed contains the abnormal prion, and a cow becomes infected with the abnormal prion when it eats the feed.

If a cow gets BSE, it most likely ate the contaminated feed during its first year of life. Remember, if a cow becomes infected with the abnormal prion when it is one-year-old, it usually will not show signs of BSE until it is five-years-old or older. As of , people worldwide are known to have become sick with vCJD, and unfortunately, they all have died.

It is thought that they got the disease from eating food made from cows sick with BSE. Most of the people who have become sick with vCJD lived in the United Kingdom at some point in their lives. Only four lived in the U. This means that it is not like catching a cold. A person or a cow cannot catch it from being near a sick person or cow. Also, research studies have shown that people cannot get BSE from drinking milk or eating dairy products, even if the milk came from a sick cow.

The U. Since August , the FDA has not allowed most parts from cows and certain other animals to be used to make food that is fed to cows. This protects healthy cows from getting BSE by making sure that the food they eat is not contaminated with the abnormal prion. Certain high-risk cow parts are not allowed to be used to make any animal feed, including pet food. This prevents all animal feed from being accidentally contaminated with the abnormal prion. About BSE. Minus Related Pages.

Since then, the annual numbers of BSE cases in the United Kingdom have dropped sharply— 2 cases in 11 cases in cases in 1, cases in 14, cases in Cattle such as the one pictured here, which are affected by BSE experience progressive degeneration of the nervous system. Related Links. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.

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