Posted 4/18/01 The race is on to contain ëMad Cowí The disease known as ìmad cow diseaseî has not shown up in the United States, and U.S. livestock producers are hoping it never will. Precautionary measures to keep the disease out of the country are well worth the effort, says veterinarian Scott Haskell of the University of Minnesota Extension Service. The scientific name for mad cow disease is bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. When a spongiform encephalopathy affects cattle it's called BSE, and when it affects sheep it's called scrapie, or mad itch disease. When it affects elk it's called chronic wasting disease. Although the U.S. has remained free of BSE, scrapie and chronic wasting disease are currently found in the U.S. Haskell says spongiform encephalopathy can also occur in wild cats such as the puma and cheetah and wild ungulates such as the onyx, kudu and eland. Disease symptoms similar to spongiform encephalopathy have also shown up in domestic cats. ìAnimals with a spongiform encephalopathy have symptoms that are similar to Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in humans,î says Haskell. ìHowever, there is no evidence that the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies of humans are acquired from animals.î Haskell also emphasizes that BSE and other spongiform encephalopathy diseases are different from foot-and-mouth disease, both in the way they are transmitted and the way they affect animals. ìBSE is a progressive, fatal neurological disease,î says Haskell. ìIt was first diagnosed in England in 1986. The disease is transmitted to cattle when they eat contaminated meat and bone meal in their feed. There is no evidence that transmission to cattle occurs in any other way. However, scrapie in sheep is frequently transmitted within family lines. This has led some scientists to think a ewe can pass the disease to her lambs, but that has not been proven.î Haskell says BSE and other spongiform encephalopathies are caused by virus-like protein particles called prions. Veteri-narians diagnose the disease through tissue evaluation in a laboratory. BSE in cattle and scrapie in sheep affect animals more than two years old, according to Haskell. Staggering, falling, partial paralysis, head and neck tremors, lack of coordination, emaciation and weakness are symptoms that affected animals may display. Intense itch is common in sheep and goats. ìNo evidence exists that BSE transmission in cattle occurs other than through feed,î says Haskell. ìIt is very important not to feed cattle any protein that comes from a ruminant, such as meat and bone meal.î Prevention of spongiform encephalopathies involves testing and destroying sheep and elk. Prevention measures in cattle include not feeding ruminant protein sources, as well as testing animals with symptoms of the disease. ©Post Review