Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Mad cow disease

        Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a relatively new disease found primarily in cattle. This disease of the bovine breed was first seen in the United Kingdom in November 1986 by histopathological examination of affected brains (Kimberlin, 1993) . From the first discovery in 1986 to 1990 this disease developed into a large-scale epidemic in most of the United Kingdom, with very serious economic consequences (Moore, 1996).         BSE primarily occurs in adult cattle of both male and female genders. The most common …

…her offspring. For BSE to become an endemic, the number of infected cattle would need to increase by horizontal spread as seen in scrapie (Masood, 1996). The essential prerequisite for controlling such a deadly disease is through good breeding and movement records which are currently being compiled in the United Kingdom following recent legislation (Stadthalle, 1993). Meanwhile the precautionary measures to safeguard other species, including human beings, are already in place and refined to meet today's needs.