is mad cow disease incurable
Mad cow disease is an incurable, fatal brain disease that affects cattle. Different versions of the disease can affect certain other animals, like goats and sheep. The medical name for mad cow disease is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (pronounced: BO-vine SPUN-jih-form en-seh-fah-LA-puh-thee), or BSE for short. It's called mad cow disease because it affects a cow's nervous system, causing a cow to act strangely and lose control of its ability to do normal things, such as walk.