How do humans get bse

Humans cannot get mad cow disease, but they can get a variant of the disease if they eat food contaminated with the diseased tissue of sick cattle. Mad cow disease is the common name for a disease affecting cattle that slowly destroys the brain and spinal cord.

The human form, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease vCJD , is a rare and fatal degenerative disorder that destroys the brain and spinal cord over time. Keep reading to learn more about mad cow disease in humans, including the transmission and symptoms, as well as when to see a doctor. Mad cow disease, known medically as bovine spongiform encephalopathy BSE , is a progressive neurological disorder in cattle.

The disease gets worse over time, slowly eating away at the brain and spinal cord. The exact cause is still unclear, though according to the Food and Drug Administration FDA , most scientists believe that BSE results from an abnormal change in specific proteins called prions within the brain and nervous tissue of cattle. Cattle get the disease by eating animal feed that includes the remains of infected cattle. Humans cannot get this form of the disease.

However, people can get a human variant of the disease, called vCJD. The evidence suggests that similar to BSE in cows, vCJD comes from eating food contaminated with the brain or spinal cord tissue of sick cattle. Other possible causes are outliers, such as a case featuring in the New England Journal of Medicine of a technician who contracted the disease after cutting their thumb while handling diseased brain tissue.

Other forms of the disease may occur that have no connection to mad cow disease. These forms of CJD usually appear later in life and have a very fast disease course. The onset of the variant form of the disease tends to occur at a younger age, with the symptoms lasting longer than those of other forms of CJD. It is not possible for vCJD to transmit to others through everyday forms of contact, such as through breathable vapors, bodily fluids, or sexual contact.

Additionally, people cannot get the disease from drinking milk or eating dairy products. The only common way for both humans and cows to contract the disease is to eat food containing contaminated tissue from cows that have the disease.

The disease also has an incubation period, so the person is unlikely to feel sick immediately after consuming the contaminated food. It may take years for the disease to cause noticeable symptoms. The disease damages brain tissue, leading to symptoms such as:.

As the disease affects more and more brain tissue, the symptoms will get worse over time before the person dies. Similarly, there is currently no test on live cattle to determine if they have BSE. Due to the long incubation period, symptoms of a sick cow may not appear for many years after infection. In addition, normal disinfection procedures do not stop this disease, so even well-cooked contaminated meat can infect humans.

The rendering process — cooking of dead, often disease-ridden, animals — used to make supplements for animal feed, also cannot kill the infection, and only serves to spread it. Mad Cow was first detected in England in the mids, where it killed over , cattle. From Britain it spread to Europe, infecting over 4, cattle in 19 countries by mid The disease still kills cattle each day in Europe. In May of , a bull tested positive in Canada, and the U.

Three other cases of BSE were found in the U. McNeil Jr. House of Commons, October Mad Cow U. Maine: Common Courage Press, p. Once again mad cow disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE] has surfaced in the U. Center for Food Safety is a tax-exempt c 3 organization. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No text may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission or proper citation. Since , only three more cows in the United States have been found to have mad cow disease.

It is fatal. Symptoms include:. If a person does eat nerve tissue from an infected cow, he or she may not feel sick right away. The time it takes for symptoms to occur after you're exposed to the disease is not known for sure, but experts think it is years.

There is no single test to diagnose vCJD. Doctors may think that a person has vCJD based on where the person has lived and the person's symptoms and past health. Researchers are now trying to develop a blood test that looks for vCJD.

But no blood test is available at this time. There is no cure for vCJD. Treatment includes managing the symptoms that occur as the disease gets worse. The following health organizations are tracking and studying mad cow disease and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease vCJD. Their websites contain the most up-to-date information about these diseases.

Current as of: September 23, Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: E. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.

Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » Mad Cow Disease.