Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a neurodegenerative disease of cattle.

Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss.[1] Later in the course of the disease the cow becomes unable to move.

The time between infection and onset of symptoms is generally four to five years.

Time from onset of symptoms to death is generally weeks to months.

Spread to humans is believed to result in variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD).

As of 2018, a total of 231 cases of vCJD have been reported globally.