mad cow disease
Fatal cattle brain-waster
Mad cow disease is a fatal brain disorder in cattle, technically bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The disease causes spongy degeneration of brain tissue, leading to abnormal behavior and death.
It gained notoriety in the 1990s when a variant was linked to human deaths from contaminated beef.
Several countries banned British beef imports during the mad cow disease crisis.
Self-propagating rogue protein
- infectious agentDisease-causing microorganism
- amyloidCross-beta protein aggregate
- scrapieOvine prion disease
- kuruPrion disease from cannibalism
Domesticated bovines kept commercially
- herdGrazing animals together
- beefBovine meat for eating
- dairyMilk-based foods collectively
- livestockDomesticated farm animals
calf · steer · heifer · feedlot · slaughter · rendering · abattoir · culling
Disease impairing brain function
- spongiformResembling a sponge's structure
- brain lesionsInjured areas in cerebrum
- neurodegenerationProgressive loss of neurons
- dementiaChronic cognitive impairment
ataxia · cognitive decline · myoclonus · behavioral changes · brain tissue · incurable · progressive · fatal
Sudden eruption of trouble
- epidemicWidespread disease occurrence
- UKBritish sovereign state
- 1990sFinal twentieth-century decade
- European UnionContinental political-economic federation
export restrictions · public health · food safety · compensation · inquiry · surveillance · testing
Disease from animals
- psychiatric symptomsMental disorder indicators
- incubation periodTime before symptoms emerge
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- brain biopsyExtracting cerebral tissue sample
prion
Self-propagating rogue protein
- infectious agentDisease-causing microorganism
- amyloidCross-beta protein aggregate
- scrapieOvine prion disease
cattle
Domesticated bovines kept commercially
livestock · calf · steer · heifer · feedlot · slaughter · rendering · abattoir · culling · offal
encephalopathy
Disease impairing brain function
- spongiformResembling a sponge's structure
- brain lesionsInjured areas in cerebrum
- neurodegenerationProgressive loss of neurons
dementia · ataxia · cognitive decline · myoclonus · behavioral changes · brain tissue · incurable · progressive · fatal
outbreak
Sudden eruption of trouble
European Union · export restrictions · public health · food safety · compensation · inquiry · surveillance · testing
zoonotic
Disease from animals
- psychiatric symptomsMental disorder indicators
- incubation periodTime before symptoms emerge
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- animal diseasesrabies, distemper, tuberculosis, mange, anthrax
- infectious diseasescholera, anthrax, malaria, measles, flu
- food issuesfood additives, food labeling, food waste, factory farming, GMOs
- Health Hazardsair pollution, asbestos, carbon monoxide, chemical spills, cholera
- 1990sMonica Lewinsky, impeachment, NAFTA, Whitewater, Oklahoma City bombing
- farm disasterscrop failure, crop blight, failed harvest, drought, locust plague
mad cow diseasebacterial infection
Illness from harmful microorganisms
viral infection · influenza · tuberculosis · anthrax · salmonella
disease, cows, madness, cowed, bovine, maddening, cowing, maddened, madder