Abstract:
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a chronic, degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system of
cattle, the condition being known as "mad cow disease." BSE is part of the family of transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (TSEs). The main characteristics of TSEs refer to: a) very long incubation period, months or even
years; b) progressive neurological disease, often fatal; (c) brain tissue from infected animals showed fibrils associated
with scrapie; (d) pathological changes occur only in the central nervous system. Another disease in the EST category is
scrapie, which was initially thought to be specific to sheep and does not affect humans, although it was known to be an
infectious agent. As there was no other known spongiform encephalopathy at the time of the onset of BSE, it was
considered to be derived from scraps, especially given that sheep meat was often served to cows to increase milk
production.
