Scrapie. Notifiable disease. Fatal disease in the nervous system of cattle, unknown before 1985. Microscopic holes appear in the brain giving a spongiform appearance, but with little inflammation. Can spread from one animal to another: sheep, goats, deer, mules, mink, hamsters, mice, pigs and monkeys. Cause: not a virus. Animals itch and scrape themselves against trees or posts for relief. May spread from animals to humans, with brain infection after the character of polio.
Symptoms. (Human). Speech impairment, short-term-memory-loss, difficulty in controlling body movements. Zinc deficiency.
Treatment. Hospitalisation.
Suggested treatment for human infection, unproven.
Tinctures. Echinacea 5; Black Cohosh 3; Yarrow 2; Senna leaf 1.2-3 teaspoons in water (or cup hot Yarrow tea) 3-4 times daily. For headache: Gelsemium.
Supplement: Zinc.
To be treated by a general medical practitioner or hospital specialist. ... bovine spongiform encephalopathy
A disease of the neurological system caused by a PRION. Spongy degeneration of the BRAIN occurs with progressive DEMENTIA. Known examples of the disorder in humans are CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD) and KURU. Among animals, scrapie in sheep and BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY (BSE) are caused by slow viruses. The latter has occurred as an outbreak in cattle over the past decade or so, probably as a result of cattle being fed processed o?al from infected animals. Some people have developed a form of CJD from eating infected beef.... spongiform encephalopathy
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