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Biology Question 101 – NEET-UG 2026

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Mad cow disease is caused by ____.

Diseases can be caused by various pathogens including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and non-living infectious agents.

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Ninja Strategy•Agent Classification

Recognize that Mad Cow Disease is a unique type of neurodegenerative disease caused by a specific non-viral, non-bacterial, non-fungal infectious agent, which points directly to prions.

Step 1: Identify the Disease✦ Active

Mad cow disease is the common name for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a progressive, fatal neurological disease of cattle.

Step 2: Recall the Causative Agent○ Expand

BSE, like other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, is caused by prions. Prions are abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins called prion proteins that are found most abundantly in the brain.

💡 Teacher's Secret Hint

Prions are unique as they are infectious agents composed solely of protein, lacking nucleic acids.

Step 3: Evaluate the Options○ Expand

Comparing this information with the given options: (1) Prions: This is the correct causative agent for Mad Cow Disease. (2) Viroids: These are infectious RNA molecules that primarily infect plants. (3) Aspergillus sp.: This is a genus of fungi, some species of which can cause fungal infections (aspergillosis) in humans and animals. (4) Mycoplasma sp.: This is a genus of bacteria that lack a cell wall and can cause various diseases in animals and humans.

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