Apr 9 2008
According to Health officials in Spain two people have died from mad cow disease and these are not the country's first victims.
Authorities say two people have died from the human form of mad cow disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), in Castilla-Leon central Spain, a 41 year old three months ago and a 26 year old last week.
The disease was first discovered in humans in 1995 and is thought to be transmitted in infected meat and bone; the only other case of a death in the country from vCJD was in Madrid, in 2005.
Authorities are treating the incidents seriously and say there is the possibility that other cases of vCJD may occur.
The President of Spain's Veterinary College, Juan Jose Badiola, says the human consumption of beef in Spain is safe as Spanish slaughterhouses are subject to strict regulations imposed by authorities in Spain and the European Union.
In a public statement, Badiola explained that the disease can take up to ten years to appear so the cases are not the result of a current contamination and the public should not be alarmed.
An investigation of the cases in Castilla-Leon is currently underway which will examine a wide array of factors including whether the victims travelled abroad, or had a blood transfusion at some stage.
Badiola says as the disease usually infects people under 40 it was unusual for a 41 year-old to become ill with vCJD and also that the two people died at such close dates.
Badiola says Spain and France share similar eating and social habits and there have been three deaths in France from vCJD.
In Spain 700 heads of cattle became infected with mad cow disease by the end of 2007, compared to 1,500 in France.