Question

What are the steps involved in the transmission of Mad Cow's disease from cows to humans?

a) Ingestion of contaminated meat, prion conversion in the digestive system, transmission to the brain
b) Direct contact with infected cows, airborne transmission, neurological infiltration
c) Prion inhalation, bloodborne transmission, brain infection
d) Injection of prion-infected serum, gastrointestinal absorption, nervous system invasion

Answer 1

Mad Cow's disease is transmitted to humans by eating contaminated beef from cows with BSE, where misfolded prions cause fatal brain degeneration.

Step-by-step explanation:

The steps involved in the transmission of Mad Cow's disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), from cows to humans are essentially as follows:

1. Ingestion of contaminated meat, nervous tissue, or internal organs from cattle infected with BSE.
2. The ingested prion proteins induce the conversion of normally folded prion proteins in the human digestive system into the misfolded form that is characteristic of prion diseases.
3. These misfolded prions are then transmitted to the brain, leading to neurological degeneration and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative symptoms.

This process aligns most closely with option (a) provided in the question.