mad cow
Prion-infected cattle
Mad cow is an informal name for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a fatal brain disease affecting cattle that causes spongy degeneration of brain tissue.
The disease gained worldwide attention in the 1980s and 1990s when infected beef entered the food supply, leading to a human variant called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The mad cow scare devastated the British beef industry.
The name comes from the erratic, aggressive behavior exhibited by infected animals.
- prionSelf-propagating rogue protein
- diseaseDisorder impairing normal function
- cattleDomesticated bovines kept commercially
- encephalopathyDisease impairing brain function
- spongiformResembling a sponge's structure
beef · ground beef · infection · neurodegenerative · zoonosis · food safety · amyloid · cattle farming · brain lesions · quarantine · export bans · meat industry · public awareness · disease control · slaughter · pathology · livestock · brain
- Animal Virusesrabies, parvovirus, parvo, distemper, canine distemper
- farm hazardsdrought, frost damage, flood, hail damage, frost
- food hazardspathogens, toxins, parasites, viruses, bacteria
- dairy farm problemsmastitis, ketosis
- Livestock Diseasesbloat, hoof and mouth, anthrax, ketosis, brucellosis
- prion diseasesprions, prion, prion disease, kuru, scrapie
mad cowbacterial infection
Illness from harmful microorganisms
viral infection · viral disease · influenza · tuberculosis · E. coli
cow, mad, cows, madness, maddening, maddened, maddens, cowhide, cowherd