Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, Mad Cow Disease)

Abstract

Mad Cow Disease or BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) became a household name internationally and also in South Africa. International hysteria resulted following reports of a possible link between a disease diagnosed in cattle in Britain and a variant of the disease diagnosed in humans after the presumed ingestion or contact with meat from infected cattle. The European Union instituted a ban on the importation of beef from the United Kingdom during March 1996 that had a severe effect on the beef industry in the UK and also resulted in a world wide consumer resistance against beef consumption.