How to Diagnose Mad Cow Disease

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is a disease that affects the brains of cattle. Diagnosing mad cow disease is relatively easy in its latter stages when the symptoms become apparent, but the diagnosis means certain death for the animal. There is currently no cure for the disease.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

In Cattle

Step 1

Look for a change in behavior. The animal will start to have uncoordinated movements.
Step 2

Check the animal's ability to walk or stand. It will have trouble with both as mad cow disease progresses. Cattle that can't stand are called "downers."
Step 3

Watch for weight loss even though the animal is eating. Also look for decreased milk production.

In Humans

Step 1

Look for psychiatric symptoms first. Depression, anxiety, withdrawal and insomnia have been linked to vCJD.
Step 2

Monitor the person's movements. A person with vCJD has increasingly uncoordinated movements leading to the inability to walk or stand.
Step 3

Pay attention to the person's memory. Since vCJD affects the brain, memory troubles worsen as the disease progresses.
Step 4

When you observe any of the symptoms described above, contact a physician for a professional evaluation.

Tips & Warnings

Humans cannot contract mad cow disease, but there is a human form called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Contracting this disease is rare but it results in death as well. There is currently no cure for vCJD, but doctors can treat the symptoms.
Think about where you've lived and visited and at what times. You are at a higher risk for vCJD if you have been near an outbreak of mad cow disease.
Cattle can have mad cow disease without showing any symptoms. The disease progresses slowly, taking two to eight years for symptoms to develop.
Humans contract vCJD from eating meat infected with abnormal proteins (prions) found in the nervous tissue of cattle. While the disease is rare, the U.S. government has banned the use of nervous tissue in cattle feed or meat used for human consumption.

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