December 7, 2004

Another Mad Cow Case Discovered in Italy

A cow in southern Italy has tested positive for mad cow disease, increasing the number of cases detected in the country to 124 since testing began in 2001, according to the Health Ministry on Monday.

The ministry said analysis confirmed a positive result in an 8-year-old cow from a breeding farm in the countryside of Avellino.

The European Union requires tests on cattle older than 30 months destined for slaughter.

The disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, affects the brains of cattle and is incurable.

Two years ago, Italy reported its first case of the human form of the brain-wasting illness, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which experts believe is transmitted by eating meat from infected animals.