How would you feel if you digested a potentially dangerous meat that wasn't properly tested? Many people have since the discovery of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease. The whole world has been hit with the disease and many humans have digested the bad beef. As it stands, the United States is doing as much as possible to prevent an outbreak of the disease in the U.S. On December 23, 2003 the United States received it's first case where mad cow disease was found in Washington (Commonly.. 1). Many countries are having problems with the disease including the U.K. and other European countries. The disease itself is costing billions of dollars throughout the world. Many countries are banning beef and its byproducts because they fear that BSE will spread to them and contaminate their cattle. The disease is believed to be linked to a human disease called variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) (Bren 1). The discovery and spread of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy has had a significant impact on the economy of the United States and many other countries. To better understand BSE you must know how this disease spreads and how to prevent it.
             The question is what exactly is Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy? The answer is no one knows for sure. It is thought that BSE came about when the rendering process was changed (Causes.. 1). It is known that BSE was first discovered in 1986. Bovine stands for the cattle or cows in BSE. Spongiform relates to the brain being full of holes. Encephalopathy is the name for a disease that effects the brain (Ridgway 5-6). "BSE belongs to the family of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSEs) diseases" (Sundlof 2). TSEs are fatal and at this time there is no cure for the disease. "BSE is not a contagious disease that spreads naturally from cow to cow. Rather, the infectious agent is introduced when BSE-infected tissue or tissue products are added to animal f...