Hong Kong has also taken corresponding measures to protect public health. What is BSE or Mad Cow Disease 1. BSE, also known as mad cow disease, is a progressive and fatal brain disease of cattle first reported in Britain in 1986. It is characterized by spongy like changes in the brain and spinal cord of the affected animals with an average incubation period of about 4 to 5 years. One generally accepted theory suggested that a self-replicating protein known as prion causes the disease.
Prion is resistant to freezing, drying and heating at normal cooking temperature.
It is also unlikely to be inactivated by normal pasteurization and sterilization. The Risks of BSE 1. The traditional CJD is a rare neurological disease of human and is not associated with the consumption of beef. Tissues derived from spinal cord, brain, eyes, tonsils and intestines of cattle, sheep and goat are regarded as Specific Risk Materials in EU countries and should be handled with care. Nevertheless, according to the information of the World Health Organization, infectivity has not yet been detected in skeletal muscle tissue.