Mad cow disease in Japan

Officials in Japan have confirmed the country’s first case of mad cow disease in cattle specifically raised to provide meat , Kyodo News agency reported today.

A 14-year-old female cow among cattle bred for food in the southern city of Nagasaki was confirmed to have been infected with the disease, Kyodo News agency reported, quoting health ministry officials.

Japan previously has confirmed 23 cases of the disease, the latest in a five-year-old Holstein announced on Wednesday, but they have involved cattle bred to produce milk.