The United Kingdom has reported a case of classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in a breeding cow in Scotland.

The World Organisation for Animal Health issued a notice of the detection in the Ayrshire region, the fifth case of classical BSE to be discovered in the UK in the past ten years. The last case in the UK was discovered in 2021, and the last in Scotland in Aberdeenshire in 2018. The last case of atypical BSE, a spontaneously occurring form which has different characteristics to classical BSE, was in Cornwall in March 2023, with a prior case in 2015.

Movement restrictions were put in place at three sites following g the latest detection – the farm of the animal’s origin containing 206 head of cattle, and two nearby farms where cows had access to the same feed.

Monitoring for BSE has been an important part of the beef and dairy industries in the UK since the original crisis of 1986 when 180,000 cattle were infected and 4.4 million slaughtered in an attempt to eradicate the disease.

All cows four years or older that die on a farm are routinely tested for BSE, and sample testing is carried out on the broader cattle population at slaughter.

The World Organisation for Animal Health confirmed that meat from the infected animal did not enter the food chain.

The Scottish Government said movement restrictions were put in place as a precaution at impacted premises and covered animals which had been in contact with the infected cow.

The case was identified as a result of routine surveillance and control measures, officials said. Food Standards Scotland have confirmed there is no risk to human health as a result of what it called “this isolated case.”

Further investigations to identify the origin of the disease are ongoing in accordance with standard procedures for a confirmed case of classical BSE, the WOAH said.

Scotland’s agriculture minister Jim Fairlie said the fact the isolated case was identified so quickly was proof that the UK’s surveillance system for detecting this type of disease was working effectively.

“In addition to the measures we have in place for fallen stock and animal feed, there is a strict control regime to protect consumers. This includes the removal of specified risk material such as the spinal column, brain and skull from carcases destined for human consumption.”

Strict controls were introduced to protect consumers after BSE was linked to the fatal brain condition vCJD in humans. Authorities said that strict feed controls introduced in 1988 and strengthened in 1996 have meant that the incidence of BSE cases in the UK has been greatly reduced, with only (including this latest one in Ayrshire).

The last case of classical BSE in the UK was in Somerset in September 2021 and the last case of classical BSE in Scotland was in October 2018 in Aberdeenshire. The last case of atypical BSE, which has different characteristics to classical BSE, was in Cornwall in March 2023, with a prior case in 2015.