Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), only affects cattle, but has been linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. There are no known methods to cure vCJD or any other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), although research is ongoing to find potential treatments.

Current treatments for vCJD are entirely palliative (pain-relief related). The goal of this treatment is to make the patient as comfortable as possible. Pain medications are used as necessary. Bed-bound patients may be fed artificially (e.g., feeding tubes) and may receive intravenous fluids. Catheters may be used to drain urine and healthcare workers regularly shift the patient’s position to prevent bedsores.

No methods have been developed to detect the infectious agents of BSE in food. When present, the infectious agents (prions) are very difficult to destroy. Standard cooking or irradiation techniques, which can kill most viruses and bacteria, are not effective. Because contaminated food cannot be made safe, prevention relies on avoiding contaminated meat and meat byproducts. This includes halting the spread of BSE among cattle.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has instituted and enforced many restrictions on the American cattle industry in an attempt to keep BSE out of the United States. For example, APHIS has prohibited the import of live cattle and other ruminants (animals that chew the cud) and most ruminant products and byproducts from countries where BSE is common, including the entirety of Europe. APHIS also conducts surveillance for BSE, such as the testing of “downer” animals (animals that, due to weakness or illness, are not able to stand on their own).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has prohibited the feeding of meat and meat byproducts of other mammals to all ruminants, including cattle. Air-injection stunning has also been prohibited. This is a humane method of slaughter, but may contaminate parts of cattle used for food with potentially contaminated brain tissue.

The FDA has also prohibited many cattle products from being used in human cosmetics and foods, including dietary supplements. Prohibited cattle products include:

• Material from organs of cattle 30 months of age or older
  
  
• Small intestine and tonsils of all cattle, regardless of age
  
  
• All materials from “downer” cattle
  
  
• All materials not inspected and passed for human consumption
  
  
• Mechanically separated beef (which may spread contamination)

To lessen the risk of exposure to BSE-contaminated meat, consumers may choose low-risk beef products such as cuts of beef muscle or whole muscle meats. In addition, consumers may wish to confirm that the beef they are purchasing comes from cattle not fed any animal byproducts, in accordance with FDA standards.

Some stores may even ensure the beef they sell comes from cattle slaughtered before the age of 30 months. This is just below the shortest incubation time required for infectious prions to develop in infected cattle. According to the FDA, the incubation period for BSE to develop in cattle is between three and eight years. Thus, cattle slaughtered before they are three years of age are not likely to have developed BSE.

Casual contact with a person with vCJD does not spread vCJD, but contact with certain infected body tissues (e.g., brain tissues, spinal fluids) can. Contact with these materials from an infected person should be avoided. For example, direct superficial contact (e.g., kissing or touching the face) with the body of an autopsied vCJD patient is not advised. The same risk of infection is not present if the body has not been autopsied.

One woman in the United Kingdom may have become infected with vCJD via a contaminated blood transfusion. In response to this incident, the FDA and American Red Cross have also instituted restrictions on donating blood to help prevent the spread of vCJD. For example, people who have lived for more than three months in a country or countries where BSE is common cannot donate blood in the United States.