A case of BSE - so-called mad cow disease - has been confirmed at a farm in Aberdeenshire. BBC Scotland understands the "isolated" case involves a beef herd in the Huntly area. Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said a movement ban was now in place on the unnamed farm. Investigations are under way to identify the origin of the disease - the first in Scotland in 10 years - which was found after an animal died. The case involving a five-year-old animal was identified before entering the human food chain. Four others from the herd were being destroyed as a precaution. That was discovered following routine tests carried out when a farm animal dies. Protecting consumers Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas said: "I would urge any farmer who has concerns to seek veterinary advice." She added: "While it is too early to tell where the disease came from in this case, its detection is proof that our surveillance system is doing its job. "We are working closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to answer this question." Andrew McCornick, president of NFU Scotland, said: "It is disappointing to learn of this BSE case within the Aberdeenshire area." He added: "Whilst we lose our negligible risk status, it is not unexpected to see a new case and demonstrates the efficacy of the surveillance measures in place. This simply brings us back in line with the rest of Great Britain, reverting back to where we were 18 months ago. "When Scotland applied for BSE negligible risk status it was with the full knowledge that there was every possibility of a sporadic case of BSE emerging as has been the case in France and Ireland." Ian McWatt, director of operations in Food Standards Scotland, said that there were strict rules in place to protect consumers from the risk of BSE, including controls on animal feed. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a brain disorder in cattle that can be transmitted to humans who eat infected meat. Mad cow disease - as it is more commonly known, because of the animals' erratic behaviour and movements - destroys their brains by eating away the nerve tissue. The first recorded case in the UK was in 1986. The disease spread rapidly among herds. About 180,000 cattle were infected and 4.4 million slaughtered in order to eradicate the disease. There was nationwide alarm following the confirmation of the first deaths caused by transmission of BSE to humans in 1996. At the time there were fears that hundreds of thousands of people might die as a result of eating infected beef. As it turned out 178 people have died of the human form of mad cow disease, known as Variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD). It is believed that these individuals were genetically more sensitive to succumbing to the disease than the wider population. Since then, cattle are closely monitored for signs of the disease and it seems that, in this instance, the surveillance system has worked well. The cause is not known at this stage. But if it is an isolated case there is very little if any risk to human health. BSE in cattle in the UK is largely over but there is still the odd detected case - one in 2014, two in 2015 and now one in 2018. It is too early to say if this case is significant. Source
