New BSE prion discovered.

Italian scientists have confirmed that two cattle have been identified as carriers of a spontaneous form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that has so far not been discovered. A report the New Scientist says that the strain resembled a form of the human prion disease, sporadic CJD. This

Unlike CJD, which is caused by eating BSE-infected meat, sporadic CJD can occur spontaneously. However, scientific experts have cautioned that more cattle will have to be identified as carrying the new strain of the disease if the findings are going to have any significance. It's also possible that the two cows may have caught the disease by other means.

In BSE-infected cows, the prion deposits usually manifest themselves as spongy deposits, however the scientists from the University of Verona found that when they tested two cattle for BSE in an Italian abattoir at the end of 2003, the pattern of the disease on the brain was completely different.

It appeared in a different region of the brain and was also arranged in layers. The scientists have acknowledged that it could be the same BSE prion manifesting itself in a different way, but have also stated that it could be completely different. If this is the case, the team believes that this form of the disease could be widespread and it believes further medical investigations could identify a series of other carriers.

The scientific team has identified this form of cattle TSE as Bovine Amyloid Spongiform Encephalopathy (BASE).