Japan Confirms 12th Mad Cow Case

TOKYO, Sept 13 (AFP) - Japan confirmed its 12th case of mad cow disease on Monday, dealing another setback to its reeling beef industry.
A 62-month-old Holstein dairy cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease) after being slaughtered on Friday, the Health and Welfare Ministry said.
It added that the carcass of the animal, born and raised in Kumamoto prefecture some 900 kilometers (558 miles) west of Tokyo, would be destroyed and the area sterilised.
"The Holstein will be destroyed shortly while we have already taken measures to sterilise the area," a ministry official said.
It was the first confirmation since March this year when the government announced the nation's 11th case of the disease.
Japan, the only country in Asia to have confirmed BSE, uncovered its first case in September 2001 and shortly afterwards introduced measures to screen every cow slaughtered for consumption.