title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy: an overview.
abstract: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a novel disease of cattle first described in 1986, has now reached epidemic proportion in Great Britain with about 500 cases a week. The clinical, epidemiological, and pathological characteristics of BSE are described. Moreover, the etiopathogenetic mechanisms of spongiform encephalopathies are reviewed. Legislative measures to prevent the spread of BSE in Italy and in other EEC countries and to minimize the theoretical risk to man are reported.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Medicina Veterinaria, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Agrimi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Guardo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pocchiari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016643:Encephalopathy, Bovine Spongiform / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005062:European Union; D007558:Italy