Mad cow disease in goats
2005/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Researchers say that a goat who died in France in 2002 suffered from mad cow disease. In addition, in Britain they suspect that a goat who died in 1990 also had that disease. In fact, the study carried out after the confirmation of the French case has raised suspicions.
Researchers already suspected that sheep and goats could also have mad cow disease, as they ate infected cattle feed like cows before they knew what caused the disease. In addition, the only way to get infected in the cows is by eating the flesh of the deceased with the disease, but in the sheep and goats it is possible that the sufferer contaminates it. This explains the persistence of the disease to date, although it has been years since the manufacture of feed on the flesh of the dead was banned.
Also, sheep and goats are easier to transmit, since also in the muscles have prions causing the disease. On the contrary, prions concentrate mainly on the nervous system. Moreover, in goats and sheep it is difficult to identify the disease, as other symptoms such as scrapie or the typical terror of these animals are similar.
Given the risk that sheep and goats transmit the disease of mad cows, studies in the European Union began in 2002, and for now only these cases have occurred.
