Spongiform Encephalopathy

These organisms which are more primitive than virus occur naturally in a number of animals. The current large reservoir of prions are cattle that were feed meat and bone meal derived from infected ruminants.

When the disease appears in cows it is called Mad Cow Disease or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). When it occurs in sheep it is called scrapie. In cats it is called feline spongiform encephalitis.

Prions are unique pathogens in that they are very slow to cause disease and can not be destroyed by ordinary methods of sanitation. Humans become infected by eating contaminated meat products.

When the disease occurs in humans it is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The signs of this disease in humans mimic Alzheimer’s Disease.