BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : SEPTEMBER 11, 2000 ISSUE
SPECIAL REPORT Mad Cow Disease Called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, it has spread from England to several European countries ORIGINS BSE first appeared in Great Britain in the early 1980s. HOW IT SPREADS Animals develop the disease by eating feed contaminated with infectious proteins called prions. Slowly, malformed prions proliferate, turning the brain to mush. AT RISK Cows, sheep, deer, humans, and cats can develop forms of the disease. DAMAGE Since 1996, mad cow has cost Britain more than $6 billion. Over 4 million British cattle have been slaughtered, and more than 90 cases of the human version of the disease have been reported. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _					RELATED ITEMS Bio Invasion PHOTO: A. Marmoreum: African Tick TABLE: Foot & Mouth Disease TABLE: Borders Grow More Permeable CHART: Ag Products Stream In TABLE: Mad Cow Disease TABLE: West Nile Encephalitis CHART: What's at Stake TABLE: Exotic Newcastle Disease TABLE: A Plethora of Pathogens INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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