The Mad Cow Disease in Britain Essay

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Introduction

Mad cow disease also referred to as ‘Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy’ (BSE) is a neurological-system illness generally associated to cattle; though it can also be passed on to humans; a case under which it is referred to as ‘Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease’ (CJD). The instance of this disease is associated to the presence of abnormal proteins commonly referred to as ‘prions’ within the spine, brain, blood or the small intestine. From research it has also been argued that prions can be caused by the changing effect of some kind of virus on ordinary proteins. Some of the causes of this disease include the consumption of infected food products especially those made from other infected animals (Marqulies, 2003) (Yam, 2003).

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With regard to the symptoms of the disease, it should be noted that this disease is not observable after contraction up to and until 2 to 8 years has elapsed both among humans and animals. Some of the symptoms include the difficulty in walking, standing and general muscle coordination. Other symptoms include a sudden change of the animal’s attitude and behavior; an acute reduction in milk production as well as a sudden loss of weight. Among humans the symptoms include anxiety, depression and insomnia; which may show through the person looking confused and withdrawn, a show of an acute attitude and behavioral change as well as highly felt muscle spasms. Other symptoms of the disease associated to the advanced stages of the disease include the loss of memory and vision as well as experiencing a tingling effect on the body especially around the feet, hands and the face. As the disease advances the patient may go through deteriorated physical ad mental capabilities which later advance into a coma after which the victim can die anytime after six months after the inception of the symptoms (Gatrell, 2001).

The case under study is that of the Great Britain dated back to the year 1986 believed to have resulted from a scrapie agent believed to have been present in sheep in this country for the previous 200 years. In addition, it can also be argued that when cows began to die in Britain the leftover parts of the slaughtered cows were injected into the protein increment feeds administered to cattle. Further, it should also be noted that by the year 1993 approximately one thousands occurrences of BSE had been reported in Britain. On the other hand 160,000 contaminated cows had been recognized, of which approximately 50% were for dairy purposes. Further, by the year 1990 people were not aware of the risks of CJD; since even the government seemed ignorant about the issue. Further, it was not until the year 1996 when ten people were reported to have died from CJD, that the government took action on how to control and prevent it within U.K. as well as the rest of Europe (Hope, 2004) (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Fact Sheet, 2010).

In this case, many people within Europe and the rest of the world avoided traveling to this country for the fear of being infected. In addition, it can be noted that the report of the death of these ten people in Britain in the year 1996 created fear among the Americans and other Europeans. As a result, in this time the United Kingdom was considered a ‘danger zone’ since this disease was not only transmitted from animals to humans through the consumption of meat; but also through its communicable transmission (University of Maryland Medical Center, 2007).

The outbreak of CJD in Britain created another picture of this country away from what people’s perceptions had been towards it in the past. However ironically, the United Kingdom being a developed nation could have noticed the signs of this disease earlier; a case under which it could have been capable of controlling the situation. Based on the acute nature of the situation, many people feared traveling to the U.K as the CJD was found to be an acutely incurable disease. Additionally due to the acute nature of the disease; any Britain citizens who were to travel out of their country had to be tested of the bovine agent before entering any foreign country. As a result, this increased the negative perceptions towards this country since many governments feared that their citizens could be infected with the CJD if they were to allow the citizens of the U.K into their country (Cole, 2001).

Conclusion

Having discussed the causes and symptoms of Mad cow disease which is CJD in humans; it is clear that the British outbreak must have been very traumatizing, as the citizens of this country were segregated in the fear that they would communicate the disease; while the citizens of other localities feared visiting the affected areas. As a result for the given time the U.K was viewed as a very dangerous place due to the instance of this disease and due to the severity of its effects. Based on this understanding therefore it is conclusive that an instance of an outbreak can lead to a different perception of a given location; which may even last for a long period of time.

Reference list

  1. Cole, D. (2001). Where’s the Beef?: The Mad Cow Disease Conspiracy. Indiana: Universe Publishers
  2. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Fact Sheet. (2010). Ninds Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Information Page.
  3. Gatrell, A. (2001). Geographies of Health: An Introduction, 1st edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  4. Hope, J. (2004). Why Nearly 4,000 Young Britons Could Have CJD without Knowing. Daily mail London. [Online].
  5. Marqulies, P. (2003). Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (Epidemics), 1st edition. New York: Rosen Publishing Group
  6. University of Maryland Medical Center. (2007). Making Sense of Mad Cow Disease.
  7. Yam, P. (2003). The Pathological Protein: Mad Cow, Chronic Wasting, and Other Deadly Prion Diseases, 1st edition. New York: Springer Publishers
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IvyPanda. (2021) 'The Mad Cow Disease in Britain'. 24 December.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "The Mad Cow Disease in Britain." December 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-mad-cow-disease-in-britain/.

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IvyPanda. "The Mad Cow Disease in Britain." December 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-mad-cow-disease-in-britain/.

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