Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (affects only cattle)
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (affects only cattle)
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), sometimes inappropriately referred to as “mad cow disease,” is a chronic, degenerative, neurologic disorder of cattle. Affected animals display neurologic symptoms, such as changes in temperament (nervousness or aggression, incoordination, abnormal posture, loss of appetite, and decreased milk production. The incubation period (time of infection to time when signs start to show) is between two and eight years. The disease is always fatal, but time from onset of clinical signs to death is variable, and can be between two weeks and six months.
