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What Do You Know About Mad Cow Disease?

By Psyche Pascual
CONSUMER HEALTH INTERACTIVE

After health officials discovered a cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in Washington state, many consumers became concerned about the safety of America's beef. Is it necessary to stop eating beef entirely, or are there ways you can have your burger and eat it too? Find out what you know about mad cow disease.


1. Eating only dairy products and boneless cuts of beef is a good way to reduce your risk of getting mad cow disease.

True
False

2. People infected with mad cow disease suffer from which of the following symptoms?

a. Vertigo
b. Blurred vision
c. Dementia
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

3. Health officials have found that the human form of mad cow disease, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), only afflicts the very old.

True
False

4. Mad cow disease was believed to have spread to other species by what means?

a. Bacteria found in grain
b. Birds carrying the virus
c. Diseased animal parts used in cattle feed
d. All of the above

5. Your greatest risk of getting mad cow disease is through eating which of the following?

a. Liver
b. Cow brains
c. Beef ribs
d. Cheese

6. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the risk of acquiring the human form of mad cow disease is low. How many servings of beef would you have to eat to risk getting the disease?

a. 1 million
b. 100 million
c. 1 billion
d. 10 billion



First published Mar 24, 2004


Last updated Jul 24, 2007


Copyright © 2004 Consumer Health Interactive, a CVS Caremark company