June 23, 2006

Holland sees second victim diagnosed with mad cow disease

A second person in Holland has been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob (vCJD) disease, the human variant of the mad cow disease, Dutch health authorities said Thursday (Jun 22). 

The last victim, a 26-year-old Dutch woman, died from the disease last year.

The Dutch Institute for Health and Environment (RIVM) did not disclose any further details but said in a statement that the person most probably got infected by eating contaminated meat products.

The fatal and incurable disease has claimed over 150 victims around the world, mostly in Britain, but also in France, Ireland, and the United States.

The Netherlands has imposed stricter restrictions on blood donation over concerns that the disease could have been transmitted over blood transfusions.

Mad cow disease first emerged in Britain in the 1980s and forced the destruction of millions of cattle.

The Netherlands is one of the world's biggest exporters of meat and dairy products and its livestock sector has undergone major transformation in the last few years. Most of its animals are now raised on industrial-sized farms.