Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal brain disease in cattle. BSE is part of a class of diseases called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). TSEs can cause spongy degeneration of the brain, severe neurological symptoms, and death. There is evidence that the human disease variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob is caused by the same agent that causes BSE. Because TSEs are infectious, it is crucial to food and livestock safety that animals sick with TSEs are not slaughtered for the purpose of feeding humans or other animals.

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