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bovine spongiform encephalopathy
noun
: a fatal prion disease of cattle that affects the nervous system, resembles or is identical to scrapie of sheep and goats, and is probably transmitted by infected tissue in food
—abbreviation BSE
called also mad cow disease
Examples of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the 1980s, concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy — or mad cow disease — took hold across Europe, when cases of the incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle began to appear.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
The exports were suspended in November after a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, was discovered by Irish veterinary officials.
—Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 17 Jan. 2024
Food safety officials in Britain had assured consumers that bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, could not be transmitted to humans by eating beef from sick cows.
—Andrew Curry, Discover Magazine, 13 Mar. 2013
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease comes from exposure to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), most often through consumption of infected cattle.
—William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 9 June 2022
The official name of mad cow disease is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
—Cnn Editorial Research, CNN, 30 May 2021
It’s a prion disease with similarities to mad cow disease, which is scientifically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
—Anton L. Delgado, The Arizona Republic, 29 May 2021
The disease is part of a group called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, the most famous of which is bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease.
—Jim Robbins, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2020
And in 1989, the government banned imports of beef and lamb from regions, including Britain, affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as mad cow disease.
—David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2020
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Word History
First Known Use
1987, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was
in 1987
Dictionary Entries Near bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Cite this Entry
“Bovine spongiform encephalopathy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bovine%20spongiform%20encephalopathy. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Medical Definition
bovine spongiform encephalopathy
noun
: a fatal prion disease of cattle that affects the nervous system, resembles or is identical with scrapie of sheep and goats, and is probably transmitted by infected tissue in food
—abbreviation BSE
called also mad cow disease
More from Merriam-Webster on bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bovine spongiform encephalopathy
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