BPSIs
BPSIs, or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathies, are a group of fatal, neurodegenerative diseases that affect cattle. They are part of a larger family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which also include scrapie in sheep and goats, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. The causative agents are believed to be prions, which are misfolded proteins that can induce other normal proteins to misfold, leading to their accumulation in the brain. This accumulation causes the characteristic spongiform or "spongy" appearance of brain tissue, with the formation of vacuoles and neuronal loss.
The most well-known BPSIs is commonly referred to as "mad cow disease." It was first identified in
The clinical signs of BPSIs in cattle can include changes in temperament, such as nervousness or aggression,