The disease has never been diagnosed in the United States, however, due to the seriousness of the disease and the possible public health implications safeguards have been implemented to protect our cattle industry and our food supply. These are fatal neurological diseases in which the brain tissue appears spongy upon microscopic examination. BSE was first diagnosed in Britain in 1986. Other Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies of animals include Scrapie in sheep and goats, Chronic Wasting Disease of deer and elk, Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy and Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy. The most favored theory is that BSE is caused by a small strand of protein known as a prion.
Prions are different than bacteria or viruses.
They are extremely small and resistant to normal sterilization practices. It is thought that BSE is transmitted by cattle consuming ruminant meat and bone meal which contains infected nervous tissue. In 1996 a new disease was diagnosed in humans in the United Kingdom and named New Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. BSE has not been diagnosed in the United States. Two flocks of sheep in Vermont were recently removed from private farms and taken to a USDA laboratory for euthanasia and study.