Up to 800 cows may have to be put down after 7th BSE case

Up to 800 cows may have to be put down in connection with the seventh confirmed case of BSE in the Czech Republic. The last cow found to be infected was from a farm in northeast Bohemia and what appears to be significant for vets is that the animal was born in the year 2,000 i.e. much later that the previously detected cases. Regional vets and the State Veterinary Office are now debating the final number of animals which will have to be put down. "We want to keep the number as low as possible without taking any risks" a spokesman said. Czech vets have tested more than 450, 000 animals for BSE to date. The public appears to have faith in the applied safety measures since beef consumption has not dropped on the news of the last two positive cases of BSE.