Rare case of mad cow disease confirmed on uk farm

MAD COW DISEASE HAS BEEN DETECTED ON AN ESSEX FARM AS AUTHORITIES FORCED TO 'HUMANELY CULL' THE INFECTED ANIMAL 11:21, 20 May 2025 A single case of mad cow disease has been

confirmed on a farm in Essex, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said. The government said the animal had been humanely culled after the case of atypical Bovine Spongiform

Encephalopathy (BSE) was detected. The agency said there was no risk to public health or food safety as the cow was not destined to enter the food chain. Unlike 'classical' BSE,

which is linked to contaminated feed, atypical BSE is a non-contagious disease in cows. Chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: "A single case of atypical BSE has been

confirmed on a farm in Essex. "The animal died on farm and was tested as part of our strict routine controls and surveillance regime. "Atypical BSE is distinct from classical BSE

and is a spontaneously and sporadically occurring, non-contagious disease which is believed to occur at a very low level in all cattle populations. "This is proof that our surveillance

system for detecting and containing this type of disease is working." Dr James Cooper, Deputy Director of Food Policy at the Food Standards Agency said: "There is no food safety

risk. There are strict controls in place to protect consumers from the risk of BSE, including controls on animal feed, and removal of the parts of cattle most likely to carry BSE

infectivity. "Consumers can be reassured that these important protection measures remain in place and that Food Standards Agency Official Veterinarians and Meat Hygiene Inspectors

working in all abattoirs in England will continue to ensure that the safety of consumers remains the top priority." Commonly known as mad cow disease, BSE is a fatal brain disease in

cows that is caused by a prion, an infectious protein. Millions of cattle were culled in the UK in the 1990s during a BSE epidemic. There was a peak of 100,000 confirmed cases in 1992/93 and

it is estimated that around 180,000 cows were affected and around 4.4 million cows were killed. Scientists believe BSE may have been caused by feeding cattle meat-and-bone food that

contained prion-infected products from cows or sheep. Article continues below The first two cases of BSE were identified in cows in 1986 in the UK. There is strong evidence to suggest the

outbreak spread throughout the country when infected feed was given to young calves.