But even if they recover they will still be disabled. Of course, officials here want to keep it that way, which is why we are seeing precautions at airports like washing shoes and stopping people from bringing animal products into the country to prevent the disease from being brought in by travelers from Europe. These are two very different problems. What is confusing is that both outbreaks have occurred within months of each other, and this is by coincidence. It is passed to humans by consuming beef from an infected animal.
Mad cow is caused by a very unusual agent called prion.
Cows became sick as a result of the practice of using feed that contained brains and nervous tissue of other infected cattle or animals. It takes a while for mad cow disease to set in, and it is not contagious between animals. It is highly contagious and causes illness very rapidly in animals. And remember that the United States had already banned imports of cattle from Britain because of fear of mad cow disease. With mad cow disease, eliminating contaminated feed will eventually put a stop to the spread of the disease.