France Reports Fourth 'Mad Cow' Case For 2000

PARIS: The French agriculture ministry announced a new case of mad cow disease in western France on Jan. 24. The cow was born in 1995 and was destroyed this weekend along with a herd of 91 cows, the ministry said. So far, four cases have been reported in 2000. The ministry claims that effective measures disabling food infection were taken in 1996 and, because the incubation period of the disease is five years, it should no longer appear after 2001. France's bovine livestock consists of 21 million cows. Mad cow disease is one of many recent food quality issues that are threatening trade among European countries, and between Europe and the U.S.