Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Have you ever heard of mad cow disease? That's another name for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE for short. Basically, cows can get this disease and it affects their brains, making them act really funny and sick.
Here's how it happens: there's this protein in the cow's brain called a prion. Normally, prions are harmless and help with brain function. But sometimes, they can become abnormal and start causing problems. When a cow eats feed that has been contaminated with those harmful prions, it can start to develop BSE.
As the disease progresses in the cow's brain, it causes tiny holes to form. This is why it's called spongiform: it looks like a sponge that's been poked with a bunch of holes. Because the cow's brain is damaged, it can start to act really strange. It might stumble around or have trouble standing up, and it might lose weight even though it's eating normally.
The bad news is that if people eat meat from a cow with BSE, it can make them very sick too. This is called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and it affects the human brain in a similar way to BSE. It's extremely rare, but it can be very serious and there is no cure.
That's why it's important to make sure cows don't get BSE in the first place. governments and organizations like the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) have come up with rules to help prevent the spread of BSE by testing cows for the disease and making sure that infected cows are not used for food products. This helps keep us all safe and healthy!
Here's how it happens: there's this protein in the cow's brain called a prion. Normally, prions are harmless and help with brain function. But sometimes, they can become abnormal and start causing problems. When a cow eats feed that has been contaminated with those harmful prions, it can start to develop BSE.
As the disease progresses in the cow's brain, it causes tiny holes to form. This is why it's called spongiform: it looks like a sponge that's been poked with a bunch of holes. Because the cow's brain is damaged, it can start to act really strange. It might stumble around or have trouble standing up, and it might lose weight even though it's eating normally.
The bad news is that if people eat meat from a cow with BSE, it can make them very sick too. This is called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and it affects the human brain in a similar way to BSE. It's extremely rare, but it can be very serious and there is no cure.
That's why it's important to make sure cows don't get BSE in the first place. governments and organizations like the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) have come up with rules to help prevent the spread of BSE by testing cows for the disease and making sure that infected cows are not used for food products. This helps keep us all safe and healthy!