1. Mad Cow Disease!
Hari Kumar
Medical Microbiology
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3. Mad Cow Disease (MCD) -
Introduction
• It’s formal name is Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy, but we know it as Mad Cow
Disease.
• It causes the breakage of spongy tissue in the
brain and spinal cord of cows.
• By eating the brain or spinal cord of cows that
are affected by this disease, we humans can
get this disease.

4. MCD – In Humans
• When in humans instead of Mad Cow
Disease, it is called Cruetzfeld - Jakob Disease.
• This disease had mostly attacked the United
Kingdom, killing 166 people in that country.
But it has also spread to places like the
USA, Canada, and Ireland.
• 44 people not living in the UK have been killed
worldwide.

5. Mad Cow
Diseased Brain
Regular
Brain

6. MCD – How it Happens?
• Prion (Proteinaceous Infectious Particles)
proteins cause MCD as they turn the normal
protein of a cow into a diseased protein.
• This causes the protein to deform the tissue
into an infectious tissue.
• The result of this is holes in the brain, mental
and physical deformities, and eventually
death.

7. MCD – History
• The origins of this disease were first noted by
Hippocrates in 500 BCE in cattle and then in
humans.
• Also Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus recorded
signs of this disease in 400 CE.
• Then in the 1970’s the British government
took note of this disease and published their
findings.

8. MCD - Symptoms
• During the incubation period of this prion,
there are no noticeable symptoms.
• Once the disease is present, the only way to
detect it is to have your brain “scanned” and
exam some of your brain tissue.
• The symptoms in cows may be loss in milk
production, lethargy, and anorexia.

9. MCD – Prevention
• There is no real way at this point to cure the
disease although they are taking measures to
try to prevent it.
• In countries that have this disease
present, they banned having cattle or bone
meat fed to the cows. Also in the UK Slaughter
houses, the body parts that are infected in
cows must be disposed of properly.

10. MCD – Why does it matter?
• This disease, though it hasn’t killed as many
humans as other diseases, has killed many
cows and they are living organisms too!
• Over 200 people have been killed and you
can’t just look over that!
• We have to be careful with our cows and look
after them so they will stay safe and so will
we!