Mad cow disease detected at farm in Britain for first time in three years

Case of mad cow disease found on farm in Scotland. Photo / 123RF

All livestock on an Aberdeenshire farm will be destroyed after a case of mad cow disease was identified, the first in Britain since 2015.

A movement ban has been put on the estate in Huntley, 40 miles from Aberdeen, to prevent the disease spreading further, after one dead cow was diagnosed during routine testing.

The Scottish Government said no infected meat has entered the food chain but said it had initiated its response plan and said an investigation has been launched to find out how the animal became infected. It is the first case in Scotland since 2009.

North east MSP Peter Chapman, of the Scottish Conservatives, described the infection as "very concerning".

"We need to know all about the animal, where it's been, where its offspring are, and offer as many reassurances as we possibly can that this is a one-off instance."

Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas said the government was working closely with Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to find out how the cow became infected.

"I would urge any farmer who has concerns to immediately seek veterinary advice," she said.

A Whitehall source told The Telegraph that it is believed to be an isolated case and that rigorous testing of livestock at abattoirs meant that the "food chain is incredibly well protected", adding that there are "incredibly robust inspection measures in place".

Asked whether the discovery of BSE would lead to increase checks at border crossings, they said it was highly unlikely as the UK was already under a "controlled scenario" due to previous outbreaks.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as 'mad cow disease' is a deadly brain condition in cattle that is caused by infection with prions.

Prions are infectious proteins with abnormal shapes and once they enter the brain they cause extensive brain damage. There is no cure.

BSE originally occurred in UK cattle through the feeding of infected meat and bone meal. And during the UK outbreak in the 1980s and early 1990s, it is estimated that up to half a million cattle may have been infected in this way.

Cows are now fed a strict vegan diet to avoid infection, but BSE can sometimes also occur sporadically in the cattle population – causing a disease known as atypical BSE, which has been the cause of the most recent outbreaks in Britain.

In rare cases, BSE can be passed between people and animals by eating contaminated meat, causing the disease variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Since the CJD outbreak in Britain in 1996 there have been 178 cases diagnosed in Britain and no new cases since 2016. Animal tissues where the BSE prion proteins are concentrated such as the brain, spinal cord and spleen are now banned from the human food chain.

Prof Neil Mabbott, Personal Chair in Immunopathology at The Roslin Institute & Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, said: "While the identification of a new case of BSE in Scottish cattle is worrying, the measures that remain in place in the UK should ensure that there is no risk to the public.

"Clearly urgent research is now required to identify the potential source and characteristics of the BSE in this outbreak."

UK Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss, said: "While it is too early to tell how this animal became infected, this detection shows that the surveillance system is doing its job.

"As it has been made clear, there is no risk to food safety or human health in any part of the UK."

This article originally appeared on the Daily Telegraph.