June 6, 2005

Latest case of positive test for mad cow disease in Japan
 

According to a Hokkaido state official, a cow in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido tested positive for mad cow disease (BSE). Dairy officials have sent samples to two local university laboratories for more precise tests. Further details, such as the animal's age and whether it was a dairy or beef cow, were not immediately available.

This may be Japan's 20th case of the disease, official reports say.

Japan has found 19 animals infected with BSE since the first case was detected in 2001. Every slaughtered cow has since been checked by authorities before it enters the food supply.

Consuming meat from a BSE-infected infected animal is thought to cause the fatal brain-wasting variant, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, in humans.

In February, Japan confirmed its first case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease after the death of a man with symptoms of the disease.