ease have undergone a hefty battery of tests, which included a CT scan, ECG, bone marrow, lumbar puncture, chest X-rays, an endoscopy and blood tests; even though the disease was present, it did not show up in any of the pre-mentioned tests. “The disease is a transmissible infection however, not communicable, which in order to contract, requires intimate contact with the affected material, usually through eating” (Martin 1-3). There are several forms of this disease, which will be discussed furthermore; they include vCJD (Creutzzfeldt-Jakob Dementia), which affects humans, and DCS (Downer Cow Syndrome), which affects the 100,000 cattle which die per year from the disease (Klepper 1).Even though the disease is difficult to detect with medical tests, there are symptoms of the disease. Physical symptoms include sore joints and muscles. Psychiatric problems include personality changes, depression, difficulty sleeping, withdrawal, fearfulness, paranoia and possible Alzheimer’s disease (Lawrence 6). When a cow’s immune system is contaminated with the Mad Cow disease; the side affects include drooling, wobbling (such as a drunken state), holes that form in the brain, and then, just falling over dead. The incubation period of this disease can be as long as ten years (8). It can be something to think about since this disease was discovered in U.S. in 1985, yet more research at this current time.Preventative MeasuresFor preventative measures, Public Health control includes the culling of sick animals or banning specified risk materials (SRM’s), or a combination of these, have been instituted in Europe to prevent potentially BSE infected tissues from entering the human food chain. People can minimize or alleviate their intake of beef or reduce there intake and consume solid pieces of muscle meat which does not contain any spinal cord and brain matter versus hamburger meat, which may have contaminated ...
