Rare case of mad cow disease confirmed in Dumfries and Galloway as investigations continue

Rare case of mad cow disease confirmed in Dumfries and Galloway as investigations continue The Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) case was identified as a result of intensive BSE surveillance and stringent control measures - the owners of the affected animals are working with authorities on next steps A case of classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as Mad Cow Disease, has been confirmed on a UK farm. The case has been confirmed in Dumfries and Galloway and precautionary movement restrictions have been put in place on the offspring of the animal and its ‘cohort’ at the impacted premises. Further investigations to identify the origin of the disease are ongoing. This is standard procedure for a confirmed case of classical BSE. The case was identified as a result of 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. The owners of the affected animals are working with authorities on next steps. Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said: "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. 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. "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." The Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) is investigating the source of the disease. All animals over four years of age that die on farm are routinely tested for BSE under Scotland’s comprehensive surveillance system. While the disease is not directly transmitted from animal to animal, its cohorts including offspring, have been traced and isolated, and will be destroyed in line with legal requirements. In addition to the measures in place for fallen stock and animal feed, there is a strict control regime to protect consumers. This includes the removal of specified risk material such as the spinal column, brain and skull from carcasses destined for human consumption. UK has experienced deadly outbreaks in the past Strict controls across the UK were introduced to protect the public after BSE was connected to a fatal brain condition called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) - which is the human form of the disease. It has been reported that humans cannot transmit the disease to each other. Ten people were known to have contracted vCJD in the UK in 1996. British teenager Matthew Parker, 19, tragically passed away from the disease, which was linked to eating meat infected with BSE in 1997. Teenager Claire McVey, 15, was a vegetarian but was allowed to eat beef burgers with her friends in 1996, the same year as when cases were first spotted in humans. Three years later she was diagnosed with the degenerative disease and she sadly died in the year 2000. Her mum Annie, from Devon, said she first noticed something was wrong when her daughter developed depression. As her condition worsened, Claire lost her balance, felt very weak and couldn’t walk. Annie previously said: “When I heard about BSE being passed on to humans I was horrified. I wasn’t going to risk my children’s health so I immediately stopped Claire and her brother from eating all meat. What I didn’t know was that it was already too late.”