La maladie des vaches folles et le nouveau variant de la maladie de Creutzfeldt-Jakob. ; Mad cow disease and the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

peer reviewed ; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) belong to a family of similar diseases under the name of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). It is demonstrated that the agent responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is also responsible for the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob in man. This contribution describes the main characteristics of the two diseases.