[DavidG]

Originally posted by capnq:

quote:

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Where did the very first, original case of BSE come from?

ISTR that it came from sheep.

But that justs pushes the question back to where the first sheep got it.

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From CBC website

Scientists originally thought BSE made its way into cattle through feed made from sheep offal (guts, basically). The sheep were infected with a similar condition called scrapie, and researchers thought that by eating feed made from sheep that had scrapie, the cows developed BSE.

But in October 2000, at the British BSE Inquiry, it was concluded that though the conditions are similar, BSE likely didn't originate when cattle dined on sheep with scrapie.

Instead, it was concluded that BSE is a new disease, possibly arising from a mutation in one cow's genes.

The assumption is that the remains of this one cow was used in cattle feed, thus starting the infection of Britain's herds.