Mad Cow Disease: A Case Study

Statement of problem Mad Cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is a transmissible disease in cattle, which may be spread to humans through slaughtered meat. It attacks the brain and causes a change in behavior, dementia, and eventually death. This is called the Crutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) (WebMD, n.d.). With confirmed Mad Cow disease, it is necessary to destroy (burn) all animals that may have been near the infection, the disease is marked by rapdid mental deterioration, usually within a few months, and most people laps into a coma. This disease is not curable, however, treatments focus on keeping the person as comfortable and healthy as possible.

How it developed

How the disease first occurred is not certain.

These principles are used by public health professionals and public information officers to provide information that helps individuals, stakeholders, and entire communities make the best possible decisions for themselves and their loved ones (Emergency, 2015).

There are a number of ways risk communication occurs, however, experts often deliver risks, especially health risks, to the general public through media. So through various media outlets, government agencies and personnel, experts, and journalist are able to provide information to the general public about the nature of risks. The definition of risk communication is the process of exchanges about how best to assess and manage risks among academics, regulatory practitioners, interest groups, and in this case scenario, the general public (Powell & Leiss, 1997, p. 33).

As more cows in the UK and across Europe were discovered to be infected, and that they had to be destroyed, Mad Cow issue appeared in the news in the United States and around the world. In order to make the issue of Mad Cow disease more dramatic and an issue of importance to Americans, the media placed Mad Cow disease as a possible threat to the U.S. beef supply. Some media outlets such as Newsweek wrote, “BSE has crossed the ocean and is now into our markets and

Newsweek and other media outlets worked hard to spread fear for this disease across the country, dramatized the issue in the hope of attracting more readers, even though there were no reason to believe that Americans were at any serious risk. Although the U.S. media had already delivered a huge among of coverage of Mad Cow disease as the European epidemic disclosed, once the U.S. discovered its own case of BSE, Mad Cow disease was essentially old news. Few topics are able to remain interesting and newsworthy for long periods of time. Even catastrophes such as hurricanes or floods only capture the attention of audiences for a brief