There has been a lot of press recently on BSE in Europe, Japan and North America. The disease is fatal for BSE-infected cattle and, potentially, humans that consume certain tissues from infected cattle. This disease, which is linked to BSE, is the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Australia has implemented numerous control measures to remain BSE free.
BSE afflicts cattle. This brain wasting disease causes neurological disease, exhibited by changes in animal behaviour, (increased nervousness and aggression), abnormal posture, coordination problems, difficulty walking and loss of body weight (despite continued appetite).
With no treatment or vaccine to prevent BSE, the condition is fatal. Following the onset of clinical signs, the animal's condition rapidly deteriorates until it dies or is destroyed. There is a long incubation period, generally accepted as ranging from three to eight years. Unfortunately there are no reliable diagnostic tests for BSE in live cattle. BSE can only be accurately diagnosed when veterinary pathologists perform specific tests on brain tissue. BSE is not a contagious disease, and its only significant route of transmission is through feeding cattle meat and bonemeal produced from BSE-infected cattle.