Mad cow disease symptoms in humans as case of illness detected on Scottish farm
An Ayrshire farm has been placed under alert after mad cow disease was detected in one of its cattle - but can humans catch it, and what do the symptoms look like?Mad cow disease is a fatal and progressive neurological condition when it comes to animals as it destroys their nervous system.
It's caused by an infection from an abnormal strain of protein called a prion and was first detected in the UK in the 1970s, according to WebMD.Food Standards Scotland have confirmed there is no risk to human health as a result of this isolated case, as the infected animal did not enter the food chain.
The human version of mad cow is known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), and although the risk to the public is low, it's important to be aware of the symptoms.People can contract vCJD through eating beef products with central nervous system tissue from cattle infected with mad cow disease - even if they were infected years ago.
Here's everything you need to know about the condition, including symptoms and how it can affect humans.When humans catch this disease however, it isn't called mad cow disease.
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