The causative agent of mad-cow disease is a-
- Virus
- Bacterium
- Prion
- Worm
Answer
(3) Prion
Solution
As per NCERT, prions are infectious agents consisting of abnormally folded protein, similar in size to viruses.
⇒ They cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly called mad cow disease, in cattle, and its analogous variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) in humans.
∴ The causative agent of mad-cow disease is a prion.
Answer: (3)