February 28, 2005

Japan confirms its 15th case of mad cow disease

Japan has confirmed its 15th case of mad cow disease, the government said Saturday.

The 102-month old cow from a ranch in northern Hokkaido prefecture has tested positive for the fatal brain-wasting disease, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.

The finding confirms the results from preliminary tests conducted on the animal earlier this week.

Eating beef from a diseased cow is thought to cause the fatal human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.