Can Mad Cow Disease Infect Humans? Understanding Transmission Routes and Prevention Measures in One Article

Disease is an extremely complex process. In many cases, the progression from health to disease is a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change.So do you know what mad cow disease is? Can it infect humans? What are the transmission routes? How to prevent it?

What is mad cow disease?

Mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE for short, was named BSE in November 1986 and was first reported in British newspapers. This disease has affected many countries around the world, such as France, Ireland, Canada, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Oman and Germany. According to investigations, some of these countries were affected because of imported British beef.

Can mad cow disease infect humans?

1. Generally, eating beef contaminated with mad cow disease may cause infection. Its typical clinical symptoms are dementia or mental confusion, blurred vision, balance disorders, muscle contractions, etc. Patients eventually die from mental confusion.

2. All kinds of cattle are susceptible to mad cow disease, but in reality the vast majority of cases come from dairy cows. After cattle are infected, it usually takes a long time for the disease to develop, mostly 2 to 8 years, so it mainly affects adult cattle. At present, there is no treatment for this disease, nor is there a vaccine, and infected cattle all die. Some other animals such as sheep, cats, monkeys, tigers and mink can also be infected with mad cow disease. Mad cow disease can infect humans. After human infection, it causes variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which cannot be treated and ultimately leads to death. The routes of infection mainly include food, drugs and medical devices contaminated with the mad cow disease pathogen.

What are the transmission routes of mad cow disease?

Mad cow disease is mainly infected and transmitted through feeding cattle feed containing the mad cow disease pathogen. The pathogen content is highest in the brain, spinal cord and other nervous tissues of diseased cattle, and the risk of transmitting mad cow disease is greatest. It is not transmitted through the air, nor through contact with diseased cattle.

How to prevent mad cow disease?

1. Do not import breeding cattle from countries where mad cow disease occurs or from risk countries; second, do not import cattle feed or additives containing animal protein from countries where mad cow disease occurs or from risk countries;

2. Do not feed cattle with feed containing animal protein; fourth, do not feed cattle with feed of unknown origin or composition.

3. After suspecting a case of mad cow disease, it should be reported immediately to the local animal husbandry and veterinary department, animal health supervision agency or animal disease prevention and control agency. After confirmation by the national authoritative body, isolate the animals promptly. Private trading, transfer or slaughter is strictly prohibited. In accordance with current national laws and regulations, infected cattle and at-risk cattle in the same herd must be subjected to culling and harmless disposal measures. Any part of the culled cattle must be destroyed and must not be used for any purpose. It is strictly prohibited to privately sell or dispose of dead or diseased animals, otherwise it will lead to the spread of mad cow disease or human infection.

Appendix: Common clinical symptoms of mad cow disease

Most cattle have no obvious symptoms in the early stage after infection. As the disease progresses, they gradually show certain neurological symptoms: restlessness, fear, convulsions or depression; abnormally increased chewing frequency, muscle twitching, generalized trembling and spasms; excessive sensitivity to touch, sound and light; unwillingness to cross thresholds, walk on slotted floors or enter pens; unsteady walking and repeated falling. The course of the disease is mostly 1 to 4 months, and in some cases up to 1 year, with gradual weight loss and eventual death. Because other diseases such as rabies, nervous ketosis, organophosphate poisoning, listeriosis and brain parasites sometimes also show similar symptoms, it is difficult to determine whether mad cow disease is truly present based on clinical symptoms alone, so laboratory methods must be used for confirmation.