mad cow disease

mad cow disease

noun

mad cow disease

/ măd /

A degenerative neurologic disease of cattle, thought to be caused by infection-causing agents called prions , in which brain tissues deteriorate and take on a spongy appearance, resulting in abnormal behaviors and loss of muscle control. A variant form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is transmitted to humans through the eating of infected cattle tissue.
Also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy

mad cow disease

A lethal disease that originates in cows and can spread to humans through consumption of affected neural tissue. It is called Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease in humans. It causes the brain to deteriorate through the instrument of an infectious protein called a prion .

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1985–90

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Richt says a decade ago he was involved in making cattle resistant to mad cow disease.

Mad Cow disease was first discovered in Great Britain in 1986.

A case of mad cow disease was discovered yesterday in California, sending carnivores across the country into a panic.

Mad cow disease is far less common than it was 10 years ago.

Cases of Mad Cow Disease in humans or in cows are exceedingly rare in the U.S.

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