These resources are brought to you by the Cooperative Extension System and your Local Institution

FAQ #25227

Have a question? Try asking one of our Experts

Is foot and mouth disease (FMD) the same as mad cow disease (BSE)?

Related resource areas: Agrosecurity and Floods

No, they are completely different diseases.

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed (split-hoof, such as cattle) animals. It does not have human health significance. The FMD virus is fragile and easily killed by disinfectants. FMD was last seen in the United States in 1929.

Mad cow disease, technically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is believed to be caused by a protein called a prion and affects the central nervous system of cattle. The BSE prions are highly stable; they resist freezing, drying, and heating at normal cooking temperatures. The disease is transmitted among cattle by the practice of feeding rendered protein from cattle, such as meat and bone meal, to cattle as a nutritional supplement. This practice has been banned in both the United States and Canada. A number of cases of BSE have occurred in Canada and the United States since 2003. Fortunately, most of these cases have occurred in cattle born before the ruminant feed ban was put in place.

Have a specific question? Try asking one of our Experts

Unlike most other resources on the web, we have experts from Universities around the country ready to answer your questions.

Comments

Post a comment about this topic

Please keep comments on topic. To ask a question, please use Ask an Expert. All comments are held for moderation. Comments that include profanity, personal attacks or other inappropriate material will not be posted to the site.

Did you find this page useful?

No one has rated this article yet. Why not be the first? what is this?
not useful
very useful
 1  2  3  4  5