What is Mad Cow Diesease ?
It is an illness also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE). BSE is a degenerative neurological disease caused by an aberrant protein called a prion. It's called mad cow disease because it affects a cow's nervous system, causing a cow to act strangely and lose control of its ability to do normal things, such as walk. An infected cow would act "mad'. A cow with BSE develops these problems because it has developed an infection. This infection causes its brain to waste away and become spongy.
How does it affect us humans ?
BSE is a concern because it can be transmitted to people if they eat meat that came from a cow with BSE. If a person eats BSE-infected beef, the person is at a higher risk for getting a human form of the disease, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD. It is a very serious disease that affects the brain, but CJD is very rare in the United States. Only 1 in a million people get it. Furthermore, it is not contagious. Likewise, a cow that has BSE can't infect other cows.
BSE is a concern because it can be transmitted to people if they eat meat that came from a cow with BSE. If a person eats BSE-infected beef, the person is at a higher risk for getting a human form of the disease, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD. It is a very serious disease that affects the brain, but CJD is very rare in the United States. Only 1 in a million people get it. Furthermore, it is not contagious. Likewise, a cow that has BSE can't infect other cows.Actions done by beef processors to prevent Mad Cow Diesease
Many people in the United States are working to prevent BSE-contaminated beef from getting to stores. There are rules against beef processors using the brains or spinal cords of the animal to make food products, as this are the main parts affected by the disease. In addition, there is a testing system in place designed to identify cows that may have the disease. There's also a recall system that allows companies to notify consumers and pull products off store shelves if there could be a problem with them.
Effects of cooking:
The prions (abnormal proteins) that are the disease agents are not destroyed at normal cooking temperatures - the meat remains infectious. It has not been demonstrated that high temperatures or irradiation have any effect on the prions. That said, most of the prions are found in the brain and spinal cord tissue. It is considered safe to consume meat from an infected animal, provided you avoid the infected areas(not permitted according to USDA standards). although the chances of getting it is very slim.
Read more:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/mad_cow_disease.html,
http://www.mad-cow-facts.com/mad-cow-faq/
Post by: Jovin
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