20.05.2025 16:51
A case of 'mad cow disease' has been identified on a farm in the Essex region of England. The UK Animal and Plant Health Agency announced that the cow showing symptoms of the disease was humanely euthanized and diagnosed with 'atypical BSE.' Experts state that there is no need for public health concerns since the animal did not enter the food chain. This is only one of four atypical BSE cases detected in England in the last 10 years.
```html
A case of "mad cow disease" has been detected on a farm in Essex, England. This disease, officially known as "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy" (BSE), caused a major crisis in England in the 1990s, resulting in the culling of millions of animals.
According to a statement from the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency, a cow showing symptoms of the disease was culled under humane conditions, and tests confirmed a diagnosis of "atypical BSE." Experts emphasize that there is no need for public health concerns, as the animal did not enter the food chain.
Chief Veterinary Officer for England, Christine Middlemiss, stated in her remarks regarding the issue, "This case is evidence that our system for detecting and controlling the disease is working."
There are significant differences between "atypical BSE" and the "classical BSE" that caused the outbreak in the 1990s. Experts indicate that the atypical type is a condition that can occur spontaneously, is non-infectious, and is seen at very low levels in all cattle populations. Classical BSE, on the other hand, spreads through contaminated feed.
During the outbreak in the 1990s, more than 184,000 cows died from BSE in England, and over 4.4 million cattle were culled to prevent the spread of the disease. This outbreak also led to fatal cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
Professor of Immunopathology Neil Mabbott noted that only 4 atypical BSE cases have been detected in England in the last 10 years and that no vCJD cases have been seen in humans since the 1990s, indicating that the measures taken have been effective.
Dr. James Cooper from the Food Standards Agency also emphasized that consumers are safe: "Very strict measures are in place to protect consumers, from animal feed controls to the removal of risky cattle parts from the food chain."
Before this latest case, the most recent detection of a mad cow case in England was in Somerset in 2021. One case was also seen in Scotland in 2018 and one in Wales in 2015.
Experts state that due to strict monitoring and control systems in place today, the likelihood of BSE causing a crisis like it did in the 1990s is very low.
```