Neurodegenerative disease discovered in dead cattle. The human variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease caused an epidemic in the 1990s
The Dutch authorities have confirmed the discovery of a case of mad cow found on a local farm. Dutch Agriculture Minister Piet Adema pointed out how the meat of the infected specimen has not been commercialized and does not pose a threat to food safety. The case was diagnosed on a farm whose activities were blocked by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nvwa) after the discovery. The neurodegenerative disease was found in a dead animal. The authorities have not disclosed the location of the farm.
Cattle that have been in contact with the sick cow or that have shared the same feed were analyzed, slaughtered and their carcasses destroyed. Experts are also trying to establish whether it is a “classic” or “atypical” variant of the disease. The “classic” form of the disease spreads through animal meal contained in cattle feed, if contaminated by one or more carcasses of sick animals. The “atypical” form occurs sporadically in older cattle. The Netherlands reported the last case of the “atypical” variant in 2011.
The human Creutzfeldt-Jakob variant
The disease, commonly known as mad cow disease, called in scientific terms bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain typical of cattle and always has a fatal outcome. There are links between the disease and a rare one human variants of the Morbo di Creutzfeldt-Jakob (vCJD). The disease in humans usually occurs spontaneously, but can be caused by consumption of beef or beef products from animals with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease). It may be meat that causes the infection contaminated with brain matter.
Symptoms
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease a patologia da prioni characterized by progressive deterioration of mental function, leading to dementia, involuntary contraction of muscles (myoclonus) and staggering when walking. The first symptoms are confusion, memory problems, involuntary muscle contraction, loss of coordination. The majority of people dies within 4 months to 2 years. There are no cures, but some medications can relieve some of the symptoms. The incubation period is very long: only after an asymptomatic period of 3-5 years does the disease begin to manifest itself.
The mad cow epidemic spread to the UK and then to other European countries in the 1990s. The first case was recorded in the United Kingdom in 1986 when an increasing number of cattle began to die, up to 100 per day and cases of Creuzfeld-Jakob disease also occurred among young people.
February 1, 2023 (change February 2, 2023 | 11:46 am)
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