Countries ban US beef imports as mad cow disease case confirmed

THE discovery of the first case of mad cow disease in the US has led to over 30 countries banning US beef imports, dealing a massive blow to the multi-billion dollar industry that directly employs one million people.

US health officials were scrambling to trace the case to its source after a British veterinary laboratory confirmed that the infected cow had bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Brain specimens from the Holstein dairy cow from a meat packing firm in the northwestern state of Washington tested positive for BSE at a USDA lab in Iowa. But the US Department of Agriculture sent specimens to a veterinary lab in Britain for confirmation.