Mad cow disease back
Deadly BSE is discovered on farm in first case since 2015
Cows in 1996 A FARM is on lockdown after a cow was found infected with deadly BSE.
Investigators in Huntly, 38 miles from Aberdeen, are trying to establish the source of the disease.
An outbreak 30 years ago led to millions of cattle being slaughtered and the deaths of more than 200 people from the human variant CreutzfeldtJakob disease.
Officials yesterday insisted BSE had not entered the food chain and there was no risk to human health, but a movement ban has been placed on the farm’s animals.
Scotland’s Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas said: “While it is too early to tell where the disease came from in this case, its detection is proof that our surveillance system is doing its job.”
Until yesterday, there had been five UK cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy since 2012, the last in 2015.
It is linked to giving cows feed with protein from other cows or sheep, banned in 1989.