Mad Cow Disease

In News

• Brazil has halted its beef exports after the confirmation of a case of mad cow disease in its northern state.
  • Brazil is the largest exporter of Beef in the world while the USA is the largest producer.

What is mad cow disease?

• Mad cow disease is also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). 
• It is a transmissible, slowly progressive, degenerative, and fatal disease which affects the central nervous system of adult cattle. The infectious agent that causes mad cow disease is an abnormal version of a protein normally found on cell surfaces called a prion.
• When protein gets altered, it destroys the nervous system tissue- the brain and spinal cord. 

Source: HT