State officials were concerned over the weekend that four more cows may be at risk of being infected with mad cow disease, after one cow on a farm in Nord-Trøndelag first fell under suspicion.
Test results were pending, but the officials at food protection agency Mattilsynet said they were treating their suspicions as if the one cow did indeed have the disease. That means that four other animals at a total of five farms in Nord-Trøndelag, Sør-Trøndelag and Oppland may be infected based on the animal feed supplied at the farms. The disease often is transmitted via feed, reported news bureau NTB.
“We’re taking this seriously and are handling this as if our suspicions have already been confirmed,” Solfrid Åmdal of Mattilsynet told NTB.
The first suspicions arose after routine testing. Sick animals don’t directly infect other animals or people, but the illness can be transferred to humans through meat production.
newsinenglish.no staff
