ANOTHER CASE OF MAD COW DETECTED

A new case of mad cow disease has been detected in the Balearics, the second in just the past five days.
The latest case was confirmed yesterday by the Balearic Ministry for Agriculture and takes the total number of cases of mad cow in the region to 15.
The new case was again detected in Minorca, on a farm in Ferreries which has a 135-head strong herd of cattle.
When the case was detected has not been revealed, but the results of tests carried out at the laboratories testing for mad cow in Spain in Madrid and Alicante confirmed traces of mad cow disease. The infected cow was nearly five years old and her two calves along with 12 other cows on the farm may have to be slaughtered.
For the time being, all the cattle on the farm in question have been put in quarantine, in accordance with the European Union and Agriculture Ministry regulations on mad cow. Balearic Agriculture Ministry sources said yesterday that there is no cause for alarm. A spokesperson explained that, because of the regular and extremely strict inspections being constantly carried out across the Balearics, cases are being detected “that's the whole idea, to keep a close check on the situation.” What is more, all deaths of cattle are automatically inspected by government vets.
Minorca was one of the regions worst hit by the mad cow outbreak in 2001, but the first case this week was detected on a cattle farm in Majorca.
Balearic government spokesperson Joan Flaquer repeated yesterday that there is no need for consumers to be concerned about eating Balearic beef.
He reminded the public in the wake of the 2001 outbreak, not only in Spain but across Europe, strict new controls of Balearic produce were introduced and they are still in force. However, of the 15 Balearics cases, just three correspond to Majorca, the rest have been found in Minorca.