Bovine spastic paresis: etiological hypotheses

Bovine spastic paresis (BSP) is a rare and little-known disease of cattle. The etiology remains unknown. A pathogenesis close to the sub-acute transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) has repeatedly been advanced. In order to confirm an infectious origin, intra- and inter-species transmission studies are proposed. A positive result would bring a major advance in knowledge.