How do humans become infected with vCJD?
It is believed that vCJD results from contact with prions in tissues of cattle with BSE. Prions are proteins that are normal in their molecular makeup but abnormal in their shape, like springs that have been bent out of configuration. These prions in turn distort normal proteins in human brain and nerve cells. Only minuscule amounts of prion-tainted tissues are required in order to transmit the disease. Prions concentrate in the brain and spinal cord, but also have been found in blood and muscle tissue.
