In fact, infected beef has been found throughout Europe. The British were the first to suffer from this fatal infection of the brain, which seems to have originated in their cows. Scientists believe that the cows were infected after eating feed that contained the ground-up remnants of sheep who had a disease called scrapie . The symptoms include dementia, muscle spasms, and uncoordinated movements.
Death usually occurs within four months.
However, BSE attacks much younger people, often in their teens or 20s. Death usually occurs within an average of 14 months. Fortunately, the possibility of contracting BSE is very low here. The main reason for this is the ban that was placed on imported beef from Britain in 1985, a full year before the disease was discovered in that country, as well as a ban in 1989 on importing live cattle and bovine products such as tallow and bone meal. The ban included other countries where BSE has been discovered, such as Switzerland, France, Spain, and Portugal to name a few.