Symptoms
Microscopic holes in infected person's brain.
Mad Cow Disease and vCJD basically slowly destroys the brain. Symptoms include extreme sensitivity to touch to the skin, a gradual inability to control motor actions such as the inability to stand up. Variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)also causes a rapid loss of memory, emotional instability such as random outbursts of confusion, a limp while walking or running, and very severe dementia. (loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior) There is no cure to the disease and it is %100 fatal. Death usually occurs 1 year from the time symptoms occur.
The Cause
Currently the most accepted theory is that the cause of vCJD and Mad Cow Disease is a prion .
A prion is not a virus nor a bacteria. Prions are proteins that contain no DNA or RNA;
Prions are normal parts of the body when in their normal form, but when they are corrupted and bent, they are thought to cause disease.
Currently there is no known treatment for this disease nor is there a way to destroy prions in food (Pasteurization will not destroya prion). Scientists are actively researching drugs for possible cures in animals and in people for this disease.
A prion is not a virus nor a bacteria. Prions are proteins that contain no DNA or RNA;
Prions are normal parts of the body when in their normal form, but when they are corrupted and bent, they are thought to cause disease.
Currently there is no known treatment for this disease nor is there a way to destroy prions in food (Pasteurization will not destroya prion). Scientists are actively researching drugs for possible cures in animals and in people for this disease.
Where is Mad Cow Disease Most Common?
The table to the left shows cases of vCJD and of BSE by country. BSE is the disease in cattle, while vCJD is the disease in humans.Dark green areas are countries with confirmed human cases of vCJD. Light
green shows countries which have reported cases of only BSE.