Spongiform encephalopathies refer to a group of brain diseases where the brain tissue becomes spongy, affecting its normal functioning. Full definition
Other prion diseases include scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease in deer, elk and moose, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle. (sciencedaily.com)
The disease is part of a group known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, which includes mad cow and a few other rare diseases. (sciencedaily.com)
Peter Smith, head of the government's Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Council (SEAC) thinks the single positive result offers «limited reassurance», because most people alive in the UK today ate potentially infected meat products before the first measures against BSE were introduced in 1988. (newscientist.com)