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Mad cow disease in united states
Mad cow disease in united states
Mad cow disease research
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Mad Cow Disease-Eradicating a Cow Killer
Author ID: 3688 Word Count:
Proposed Species: mad cow disease Proposed Action: eradication
What is mad cow disease?
Mad cow disease is caused by prions, "weird mutant proteins that are found in brain and spinal tissue"1. Another name for mad cow disease is called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and the definition is "a progressive neurological disorder of cattle that results from infection by an unusual transmissible agent called a prion"2. It started from what is called a prion protein then it turned into a pathogenic, and then it starts to damaged the brain of a cattle. There's another name for this disease and it's called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease "a form of progressive dementia characterized by loss of nerve cells and degeneration of nerve cell membranes leading to the production of small holes in the brain. It is rare, degenerative, and invariably fatal"3. This disease happen in human causing lapses in the memory, mood swings similar to depression, lack of interest and social withdrawal3. It is said that this disease has no tr...
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal neuro-degenerative, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of the family Cervidae (Hamir, et.al., 2006). The family Cervidae includes mule deer, Odocolileus hemionus, white-tailed deer, Odocolileus virginianus, Rocky Mountain elk, Cervus elaphus nelsoni, and moose, Alces alces shirasi, among others (Sigurdon & Aguzzi, 2007). CWD is a prion disease, meaning it is a protein caused infection, that occurs naturally in the deer family (Song & Lawson, 2009). This protein is suspected to be an abnormal isoform (PrPSc) of the naturally occurring host prion protein (PrPC) (Blanchong, et. Al., 2009). Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), mad cow disease, is a similar prion effecting cattle as CWD affects Cervidae. Although, scientists are not sure of transmission route it is suspected that CWD is transmissible and infectious through direct contact with infected individuals or through environmental contamination (Song & Lawson, 2009). Tests have been performed showing susceptibility of altered mice to oral transmission, mimicking the suspected route of entry, and the incubation appears slower but lasts longer with oral infection (Trifilo, et.al., 2007). The approximate time from the initial infection to death is three years.
TSEs or more commonly prion diseases are a group of invariably fatal neurodegenerative diseases that occur in humans and animals . This disease is caused by a protease –resistant protein (PrPsc) after misfolding of a host-encoded prion protein (PrP). TSEs can exist as genetic, infectious or sporadic forms. The diseases are characterized by dementia, ataxia and neuropathlogically due to loss of specific neurons in the brain. Other clinical features include persistent painful stimuli, dystonia, visual or cerebellar problems and gliosis (1).
Without animal research, cures for such diseases as typhoid, diphtheria, and polio might never have existed. Without animal research, the development of antibiotics and insulin would have been delayed. Without animal research, many human beings would now be dead. However, because of animal testing, 200,000 dogs, 50,000 cats, 60,000 primates, 1.5 million hamsters, and uncounted millions of rats and mice are experimented upon and die each year, as living fodder for the great human scientific machine. Some would say that animal research is an integral part of progress; unfortunately, this is often true. On the whole, animal testing is a necessary evil that should be reduced and eliminated whenever possible.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or Mad Cow Disease (BSE), degenerative brain disorder of cattle. Symptoms in cows include loss of coordination and a typical staggering gait. Affected animals also show signs of senility, for example, lack of interest in their surroundings, the abandonment of routine habits, disinterest in feed and water, or unpredictable behavior. Affected cattle show symptoms when they are three to ten years old.
Chronic Wasting Disease is a highly transmissible, deadly neurodegenerative disease that affects cervids in North America (Belay et al., 2004; Saunders et al., 2012). There are only four types of cervid that are known to get this disease which include elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and moose (Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance). It has been classified has a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), otherwise known as a prion disease (Belay et al., 2004). A prion is an irregular, pathogenic agent that causes abnormal folding of specific proteins called prion proteins. These proteins are mostly located in the brain (Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance). The abnormal folding of this protein causes neurodegenerative diseases in a variety of species including humans, sheep, cattle, and deer (Abrams et al., 2011).
Prions are pathogens, and cause infections, like viruses. Prions cause many neurodegenerative diseases, but are made up of harmless proteins found in mammals and birds. The proteins are not in their normal form though, and once they enter the human brain, can cause severe brain infections. One thing that makes them different from viruses, is the lack of nucleic acids, which means they have no genetic code. Once in the brain, they make normal proteins turn into abnormal ones, which then multiply, causing severe infection. Soon, holes appear in the brain that can only be treated by incineration. An example of a disease caused by a prion would be the Mad Cow Disease, or the human equivalent Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Prions are very dangerous. While some people can confuse prions and viruses, there are some ways to tell the difference.
If you had to choose between having Mad Cow Disease or becoming the top scientist in your field, which would you choose? The answer is obvious. Most realize that Mad Cow Disease, i.e. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a fatal disease that has been present among cattle populations in Europe over the past couple decades. In BSE, brain cells begin to die, forming sponge-like holes in the cow’s brain tissue. Evidence shows that consumption of infected cattle could correspond with the contraction of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a similar disease in humans. Although few people have been diagnosed with CJD worldwide, they remain fearful of showing symptoms of CJD; commonly resulting in death within a year. For this reason, many Americans panicked when becoming aware that the first case of BSE was discovered in the United States in December of 2003. Unfortunately, the media is quick to show infected cows, distempered and shaking in their stalls, without giving sufficient information of the disease’s origin or the preventative measures being taken to halt its spreading. Before consumers restrict beef intake from their diets they should consider their risks. In America, chances of developing BSE is far slimmer than becoming infected with other food-borne illnesses. Although many Americans were recently startled by a reported case of Mad Cow Disease in the United States, they are assured protection from infection by: consumption of selected meats, closely guarded packaging plants, and regulation in beef imports.
keep on doing so, your best way to protect your self if to know where
Hundreds of animals die every day, and it can be avoided. Animal testing in thousands of companies kills animals every day. In the essay They Knew But Little, the Kentuckians didn't care much about the environment, and today, there are still too many people that don't see that animal testing is cruel and unnecessary. Toxicity tests are not included.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is an uncommon, deteriorating, consistently fatal brain disorder that is caused by prions. The symptoms of CJD are similar of Alzheimer’s but progress much faster. There are three variations of CJD, sporadic, familial, and acquired. All variations affect the brain the same way and have the same result of death. CJD is an untreatable and incurable disease.
At first, the only time I have heard of the Mad Cow Disease was in my European History class and it was only a brief sentence that was spoken about it, but boy, what a sentence it was. It seems as though during the 1980s, to save money, Great Britain's ranchers began to feed grounded up dead animals (who have died from disease) to their cattle. Now isn't that disgusting? Not only was it disgusting, but cows are herbivores and basically altering their diet like that caused the Mad Cow Disease to develop. When symptoms of the disease started to show, well, the government banned the use of dead animals as fodder and killed off the cows that were predicted to have Mad Cow.
A lot of beef on the market today is from a GMO. The GMO is the Super Cow (Belgian Blue). These cows are made by farmers messing with a gene. The cows have double the muscle mass but live a painful life. When the cow die since they are so big they have a lot of hazards waste. This began in the 1800s when farmers started experimenting with cows and made them. When cattle breeders look for cattle they get the biggest ones and breed them in hope they would be bigger. Since people have been messing with genes some get a defect in which there muscles don't stop growing and this can be painful to the cow. The farmers purposely mess with the genes. The gene they interfere with is the myostatin. This gene is responsible for telling the body to stop growing muscle. The cows go through a lot of pain when there muscles don't stop growing. The purpose to all this super cow stuff is to create more meat. This way of getting more meat is growing in the U.S.. This has been a process has gone on for about a century.They have picked certain cows to breed so there offspring with have more meat and the farmer will make more money.
Cowspiracy Analysis The 2014 documentary Cowspiracy, directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, attempts to show the world what kind of impact raising cattle makes on the earth. Andersen and Kuhn do an exemplary job of exploiting expert testimony to explain their views but lacked emotional appeal. The logic seemed to fall short since the documentary was packed with many facts that didn’t explain all contributors to the statistics. The directors did attempt to use all fields appropriately but only had one strong suit, therefore it was not as persuasive to viewers. Cowspiracy utilizes experts in a way that persuasively move readers toward their opinion.
The beef cattle industry is a way to make a lot of money, but only if you know how to play your cards. As most small family farms are being bought up by large commercial farms, it keeps getting harder and harder for the small farms to turn a dollar. Raising livestock is not for everyone, but it involves anyone who uses meat, milk, animal by-product, uses dog food, uses leather, and anything else to do with any animal. It takes years of learning, experience, and hard work to make a living in the beef industry, but you can reap many rewards. My family has raised cattle for four generations, and I have grown up around cattle my whole life.
he is was known to milk them and to play with them. This importance of