Mad Cow Disease Case Found on Golan Heights: Lab Test

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, June 05, 2002

Mad Cow Disease Case Found on Golan Heights: Lab Test

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Laboratory tests on a cow that died Monday on the Golan Heights revealed Tuesday that the animal had contracted Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, Israeli media reported.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli Agriculture Ministry said that there was no fear that other cows were affected and the disease wasspreading, citing that tests for the disease have been continuouslyconducted on cattle since Britain's mad cow disease epidemic in 1996.

The ministry has already asked the treasury for 30-50 million shekels (6.15-10.25 million U.S. dollars) to cope with the problem.

Israel will stop selling to the Palestinian National Authority all beef of 30-month-old or older cows in an effort to ensure that infected meat does not reach the Palestinian areas, the ministry said.

Israeli and Palestinian agricultural officials are expected to meet in the coming days to discuss how to prevent the spread of thedisease, the report said.

The Israeli Veterinary Service began preparations on Monday to implement stand-by plans in the event that the cow was diagnosed tohave contracted the disease, which could lead to an epidemic in thecountry.

The service will take a number of immediate steps.

Since all cases of the disease have been found in connection with cows of over 30 months old, such cows will be considered the at-risk population.

Every cow over that age sent to slaughter will also be held for 24 hours for lab tests to determine if it is infected or not.

Experts believe that the human form of the disease, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and potentially deadly, are transmitted by eating meat from infected animals.

Some 80 people have died of the disease since the mid-1990s, mostly in Britain.

BSE is a nervous system disorder caused by a protein that destroys brain cells. Affected cows show symptoms of nervousness, confusion and poor coordination. It is believed to be transmitted to humans when they eat the infected beef.

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