A case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as “mad cow disease” and potentially fatal to humans, has been identified in the carcass of a cow in the Netherlands, the Dutch government said on Wednesday. The eight-year-old animal was affected by an “atypical” variant of the disease.
The “classic” form of the disease is transmitted by animal meal contained in livestock feed, in the event that it is contaminated by one or more carcasses of diseased animals.
The “atypical” form, which would pose a minor risk to humans, occurs sporadically in older animals. The Netherlands reported the last case of the “atypical” variant in 2011.
13 head of cattle will be slaughtered
This bovine disease can cause in humans, through ingestion of meat or offal, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal neurodegenerative syndrome. The Dutch services have isolated the farm in question, in the province of South Holland, but whose exact location has not been made public, and are looking for the source of the infection, the minister said.
Any cattle that have been in contact with the sick cow or shared the same feed are tested, culled and their carcass destroyed, according to the same source.
“A total of 13 head of cattle have been found, they will be slaughtered and tested,” according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Mad cow disease first emerged in Britain in the 1980s and has spread to many countries in Europe and the rest of the world, causing a crisis in the beef industry.
Source: BFM TV
