Poland has detected its first case of mad cow disease near its southern border with Slovakia.
News reports quote Chief Polish Veterinary Officer Piotr Kolodziej as saying there is no cause for panic because tests have been conducted and the infected cow has been isolated. Remaining cows in the herd have been taken off the market.
Mr. Kolodziej said the infected nine-year-old cow was the first positive case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy – or BSE – in more than 100,000 checks throughout Poland.
It is believed that the human equivalent of mad cow disease, a new variant of the brain-wasting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, may be transmitted to humans who eat infected beef. (voa)
