November 14, 2005

Netherlands has second mad cow case for 2005

The Netherlands discovered a new case mad cow disease in a five-year old cow on a farm in Gulpen, in the southern province of Limburg, the Agriculture Ministry said on Nov 11.

This was the second mad cow case this year and the 79th since the outbreak in 1997.

The cow was slaughtered on Nov 2, with the first test on Nov 3 turning positive and a second test on Nov 10 confirming the initial results. Eight other animals that were thought to be at risk were also killed, the ministry said.

In May, a 26-year-old Dutch woman stricken with the human variant of mad cow, or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, died, thus becoming the country's first victim of the illness.

About 150 cases of the human form of the illness have been reported around the world, mostly in Britain, but also in France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Canada and the US.

The Netherlands is one of the world's biggest meat and dairy exporters.