Understanding ‘Mad Cow Disease’ or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)?

Mad Cow Disease or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was in the news again this January 2022.

A customer of ours reached out to find out if Mad Cow Disease could affect dogs. As such, we thought we’d share short research we did into BSE and expanded the research to include cats.

Mad Cow Disease or BSE is a fatal disease that affects cattle who eat feed mixed with the rendered remains of infected meat products. Basically, cows which are herbivores are fed bones, blood, and meat products, which could result in damages to the central nervous system of the cow and eventually death. The concern arises from the possibility of these prions transferring from infected cattle to other animals, including pets like dogs and cats, if they consume contaminated meat or by-products.

In this article, we will explore the potential risks of Mad Cow Disease in pets, how it affects dogs and cats, and provide tips on how to protect your pet from prion diseases like BSE.

The Practice of Feeding Meat Products to Herbivorous Cows: Reasons and Risks

Mad Cow Disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE) is a prion disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle. Prions are misfolded proteins that cause normal proteins in the brain to misfold as well, leading to irreversible damage and a spongy appearance in the brain. Another way to explain a prion is that it is an abnormal form of a normally harmless protein. Infected cows show symptoms like abnormal behavior, loss of coordination, and muscle tremors.

Cows get BSE when they are fed feed mixed with the rendered remains of infected meat products. The practice started in the UK, when the price of soy rose high. As a result, farmers who used to use soy in feeds switched to animal by-products, which would otherwise have been thrown out. The issue occurs if a prion from an infected animal makes it into the animal feed.

Prion diseases are highly resistant to conventional methods of sterilization, such as heat or chemicals, and can remain infectious in animal products.

Can Dogs get Mad Cow Disease?

NO. While Mad Cow Disease is primarily a concern for humans and cattle, there have been discussions around whether prion diseases can spread to dogs. The risk is generally considered to be very low, but it is not entirely non-existent.

A research paper published in 2020, shows that “the amino acid residue at position 163 of canine cellular prion protein (PrPC ) is a major determinant of the exceptional resistance of the canidae family to prion infection.”1 Basically, dogs do not get Mad Cow Disease or BSE.

Can Cats get Mad Cow Disease?

YES. Cats can get their own version of this disease called Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy. Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy (FSE) is a prion disease similar to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) that affects cats. Cats can acquire FSE primarily through consuming infected meat from other animals that carry prions, just like cows can get BSE. Cats, especially those that are allowed to hunt outdoors, could potentially contract prion diseases by eating infected wildlife. Animals such as deer or sheep can carry prions.

The symptoms of Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy (FSE) include behavioral changes, uncoordinated movements, tremors, seizures, vision loss, weakness, and progressive neurological decline leading to death.

If you suspect that your cat may be showing signs of neurological disease, it’s crucial to seek immediate veterinary care for a proper diagnosis and to rule out other treatable conditions.

How to Protect Your Dog or Cat from Mad Cow Disease

The FDA in the USA and Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has banned the use of high-risk parts (brain, spinal cords) of cattle in feed. However, there was a loop hole where sheep and other ruminants could be fed to cattle but this still caused diseased cows.

Cooking does not kill the prion for BSE. As we explained earlier, this is because the prion is an abnormal form of a normally harmless protein.

The only way to get rid of BSE is to make sure the diseased animal is destroyed completely and not reused in feed.

Dog owners have a lot less to worry about than cat owners. We’d still suggest that if you feed beef, you feed grass-fed and finished if you can afford it. (Tip: you can filter in each category of pet food on our website for Grass-fed.)

More importantly, ask your pet food manufacturer to source from farms that can prove that their feed do not contain rendered meats. You have the power to make change by sending emails to your pet food manufacturer so that they are more transparent about their sourcing.

References

1. https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1096/fj.201902646R
2. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/all-about-bse-mad-cow-disease#:~:text=Cats%20are%20the%20only%20common,found%20to%20have%20this%20disease.
3. https://inspection.canada.ca/animal-health/terrestrial-animals/diseases/reportable/bovine-spongiform-encephalopathy/safeguards/eng/1363896195473/1363896681768
4. https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/china-philippines-halt-canadian-beef-imports-after-discovery-of-atypical-bse-case-1.5735729
5. https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/cctp-638-yy326/claims-and-facts/are-cows-eating-dead-cows-as-feed/
6. https://www.cdc.gov/prions/bse/feed-ban.html