March 4, 2005

Spain reported 12 mad cow cases since January
 

12 cases of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), have been reported in Spain in the past two months of 2005.

Among these cases, six were found in Lugo, Palencia and Pontevedra, with two in each place. The rest were reported in Asturias, Coruna, Guadalajara, the Balearic Islands, Leon and Zamora.

As of Thursday, a total of 527 cases have been reported in Spain since November 2000, when the first two BSE cases were discovered in the country.

2004 saw an 18 per cent decrease with only 137 cases reported, compared with 167 cases in 2003.