Mad Cow Disease confirmed on UK farm after 1990s outbreak led to culling of millions of cattle

A CASE of Mad Cow Disease case has been confirmed on a UK farm, officials say. The deadly disease – known as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) – is a progressive brain sickness that can’t be treated. A Mad Cow Disease case has been reported in Scotland Credit: Getty The case was reported in Dumfries and Galloway Credit: Alamy The terrifying illness ravaged Britain’s cattle herds in the 1990s and led to millions of cows being slaughtered. The latest case was confirmed in Dumfries and Galloway. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The Scottish government said precautionary measures are in place on the cow’s offspring and its cohort. People can get infected by the human form of the illness, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, by eating the meat of a contaminated animal. Dumfries and Galloway is known for its cattle – with the region home to its own distinct breed the Belted Galloway, or “beltie”. Food Standards Scotland said the infected animal has not entered the human food chain and there is no wider risk. Local authorities are investigating the case, which was found due during regular BSE surveillance. Mad Cow Disease once wreaked havoc across Britain in the 1990s as it tore through farms and even caused people to become infected. Most read in The Sun Over 184,000 cows in the UK died from BSE and over 4.4 million cattle were slaughtered to stop the disease from spreading. It also caused cases of the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. Another case of Mad Cow Disease was reported on a farm in Essex last year. And a separate case was reported in Somerset in September 2021. Prior to that, a case of BSE was reported at a farm in Aberdeenshire in October 2018 – the first case of the disease in three years in the UK and the first confirmed in Scotland since 2008. Previously, a dead cow with the disease was discovered in Wales in 2015. More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us on TikTok @TheSun. 1 comment1