Mad Cow Disease
'Mad Cow Disease' (MCD), officially called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, is the cause of one of the most infamous cases of food poisoning throughout history. MCD is transferred to humans who consume food contaminated by an infected cow. In humans it's called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and is an incurable and ultimately fatal brain disease.
In 1996, the first variant case of CJD was reported in the UK, which was linked to the death in the previous year of 19-year-old Stephen Churchill. As of 2012, CJD has been responsible for the tragic deaths of 176 people in the UK and 49 people elsewhere in the world.
Although the first cow in the UK reportedly died from MCD in early 1985, it wasn't until late 1986 that authorities began to realise the size of the problem. MCD is reported to have killed approximately 179,000 cattle in the UK, with another 4.4 million destroyed as a precaution.
Many countries banned importing British beef on the grounds that it wasn't safe. Since the outbreak, other provisions have been put in place to prevent further cases from occurring. Mad Cow Disease had far-reaching results, both in the UK and abroad. It changed the way UK surgery and blood donations were carried out, as well as many of the UK's farming laws. Despite these changes though, MCD still remains a persistent food safety concern.
