Mad cows and Englishmen – Scrapie, BSE & CJD

Transmissible Sponqiform Encephalopathies (TSE’s) are a group of diseases that affect certain types of animals and can also be found in humans. Transmissible refers to the fact that the diseases can be transferred or spread. Sponqiform refers to the groups of holes which form in the brain and Encephalopathy means degenerative brain disease. Each TSE disease has a separate name but all have the same underlying infective agent the Prion. The diseases are characterized by a long incubation period; degenerative changes in the brain associated with a ‘prion’ agent; and all are invariably fatal. This report provides an overview in to the current information available on scrapie, BSE, CJD and new variant CJD.