pain detects a case of atypical mad cow disease, WOAH says

On Friday, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) reported that Spain had identified atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a dead cow in Galicia's northwest.

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According to information provided by Spanish authorities, the disease, also known as mad cow disease, was discovered following the euthanasia of a 22-year-old cow due to symptoms unrelated to BSE. This was reported by the Paris-based WOAH.

According to Galicia's regional health service's website, the isolated case "didn't enter the food chain, so didn't represent any risk for public health or require any preventive health measure."

The Netherlands recently discovered a case of the old-age variant of mad cow disease.

The other variant of mad cow disease, the traditional and dreaded type of infection, is typically brought on by contaminated animal feed. In contrast, the atypical case occurs sporadically and spontaneously in older cows.

In the 1990s, cattle herds in Britain and other European nations experienced a widespread outbreak of mad cow disease. Sometimes unusual cases are found, which can cause temporary trade restrictions.