Health and agricultural authorities in Scotland have confirmed a case of classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, commonly called mad cow disease, in a cow at a farm in Dumfries and Galloway.
The Scottish Government said on Wednesday that restrictions had been introduced to prevent the movement of cattle connected to the affected animal, including its offspring and other animals in the same cohort.
The disease is a fatal condition that damages the brain and nervous system of cattle. Animals carrying BSE may not develop noticeable symptoms until several years after infection.
Signs of the disease can include abnormal behaviour, nervousness, aggression, difficulty walking, tremors, reduced milk production and weight loss even when the animal continues eating normally.
There is currently no cure or vaccine for the disease, and cattle that develop clinical symptoms eventually die.
Investigators from the Animal and Plant Health Agency are now working to determine how the infection occurred.
The Scottish Government said, “A case of classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) has been confirmed in a cow on a farm in Dumfries and Galloway.
“Precautionary movement restrictions have been put in place on the offspring of the animal and its ‘cohort’ at the impacted premises. This is standard procedure for a confirmed case of classical BSE.
“The case was identified as a result of our routine though intensive BSE surveillance and stringent control measures that are in place. The animal did not enter the human food chain and Food Standards Scotland have confirmed there is no risk to human health as a result of this isolated case.”
Authorities said cattle linked to the infected animal had been identified and separated, while the affected animals will be disposed of in line with legal requirements.
The government also noted that cattle older than four years that die on farms are routinely tested for BSE as part of Scotland’s surveillance programme.
Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said the relevant agencies responded immediately after the diagnosis and took steps to protect the wider farming sector.
“Following confirmation of a case of classical BSE in Dumfries and Galloway, the Scottish Government and other agencies acted swiftly and decisively to protect the agriculture sector,” he said.
According to Fairlie, the discovery of the case through surveillance showed that the system designed to detect BSE was functioning effectively.
“The fact we identified this isolated case so quickly is clear proof that our surveillance system for detecting this type of disease is working effectively,” he said.
He praised the animal’s owner for notifying authorities quickly, saying the prompt report helped officials contain the situation.
“I want to thank the animal’s owner for their diligence. Their swift action allowed us to identify and isolate the case immediately, minimising its impact on the wider industry,” Fairlie said.
The Scottish Government said food safety measures would continue to be enforced, including the removal of high-risk parts such as the brain, skull and spinal cord from cattle slaughtered for human consumption.
Britain suffered a major BSE crisis in the 1980s and 1990s, during which millions of cattle were slaughtered. The outbreak was later linked to more than 170 human deaths from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.