Slovenia Confirms 6th BSE Case

WASHINGTON - Sep 8/05 - SNS -- The Austrian Federal Ministry of Health and Women notified the Slovenian Veterinary Administration of a confirmed case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a cow that was exported from Slovenia to Austria.

This is the sixth confirmed case of BSE in Slovenia since 2001. The infected cow was five years old and came from the area of Ljutomer in Slovenia.

Slaughterhouse officials suspected that the cow was infected after initial routine quick tests (prionics test) tested positive. The meat sample was then sent to the Austrian Veterinary Institute in Molding that confirmed the initial suspicions.

Immediately after the initial testing, the Slovenian Veterinary Administration ordered all calves from the infected cow to be slaughtered, initiated a farm quarantine, and stopped all trade of live and slaughtered animals from the farm where the infected animal originated.

In 1996, Slovenia banned the use of bone meal in feed and implemented other measures such as mandatory testing of all slaughtered bovine animals.