Mad Cow Disease Symptoms

Scientifically known as 'Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy' (BSE), this ailment affects the central nervous system of cattle. This dangerous disease can also be found in human beings and is known as variant Creutzfeldt-jakob disease (vCJD). The name is taken from the names of the two physicians who discovered the existence of this disease.

General Information
This disease is caused when prions or abnormal infectious protein particles are found in the brain, spinal cord, small intestine and blood of cattle. They can also be found in the lymph nodes, spleen and bone marrow of the animal. Some scientists are also of the opinion that proteins present in the body turn into prions due to the presence of some kind of virus. However, this theory cannot be fully believed. Nevertheless, these infectious proteins damage the central nervous system, making sponge like holes in these parts, and eventually leading to the death of the animal. Before we look into the symptoms, let us know more about what causes this disease in animals as well as in humans.

Causes

• When cattle are fed with the products made from other cattle or animals that had the disease, there are high chances of the former getting infected. When human beings consume red meat, sometimes the infected nerve tissues are eaten, putting them at the risk of contracting this disease too. However, there is no evidence on the theory that an individual can get this disease by eating the muscle meat or drinking the milk of such animals. Nevertheless, there have been many cases of human beings affected by this disease due to consumption of cooked animal meat.
• There have been some cases where variant Creutzfeldt-jakob disease have been found in people without any known reason, including those who are vegetarians. Hereditary is also said to cause this disease in individuals. Apart from this, infected blood transfusion, transplantation of tissues containing prions, and exposure to infected surgical instruments can lead to the development of this disease in human beings. However, this disease cannot be transferred from person to person through social contact like shaking hands, hugging or through sexual contact.

Symptoms in Animals
One of the most common symptom in cattle is difficulty in standing. The animals may also find it difficulty to walk and have some problem in muscle coordination. Other than this, one may even observe slight change in behavior and attitude of the animal that is affected by this disease. It may lose weight quickly, even though it has been fed healthy food regularly. One may also notice a decrease in the production of milk in the animals. Symptoms in animals as well as humans are not manifested immediately upon infection of prions. Rather, it can take anywhere between 2 - 8 years for an animal or a person to start showing the symptoms.

Symptoms in Humans

• The earliest symptoms in humans include depression, insomnia and anxiety. The person may look withdrawn and seem to be always in a confused state of mind. One would be able to notice significant changes in the personality and behavior of the individual. He/she may also experience muscle spasms, i.e. involuntary muscle contractions that are very painful.
• As the condition of the person suffering from this disease worsens, he/she loses muscle control and coordination, and may also face some problems involving vision and memory. He/she may start having a blurred vision, and also start forgetting people and things that they do in their daily life. It is also usual to experience a tingling sensation on the feet, hands, face and legs of the individual who has this disease.
• As the condition of the patient worsens, he may develop dementia and all his mental and physical functions will become weak. During the final stages of the ailment, the patient may go into a coma which finally leads to death. A person reaches the final stage within 6 months to one year after the inception of the symptoms.

Diagnosis and Treatment
The worst part of this dangerous disease is that there is neither any diagnosis or any treatment to cure this disease. As it is not a common disease in human beings, a physical test to diagnose it has not yet been developed. The doctor may advise a complete blood check up along with MRI or PET scan. He may also recommend a brain biopsy to check the changes caused in the brain. As there are no effective treatment measures to cure the disease, the patient may be given certain medications to control the symptoms. Research is still going on to find medications that would help in curing this disease in humans as well as in animals.

As you now know that there is no cure for this disease, it is better that you take certain precautionary measures to prevent getting affected by this medical condition. If you love consuming meat, you must shift to the consumption of fish and poultry. Turing into a vegetarian is also a good idea to avoid suffering from this disease.

This disease is extremely dangerous, and is difficult not only for the person suffering from it, but also his or her family members and friends who have to cope with it. If your loved one is showing any of these symptoms, consult a doctor as soon as possible. One must remember that the best treatment one can give to a patient is one's love and moral support.