The authorities in Italy have found the first suspected case of BSE in an Italian-born cow but insist consumers are not at risk. The only two previous cases six years ago were in cows imported from Britain.
Health authorities have sealed off the farm and ordered all milk produced there to be destroyed. Until now, Italy had been one of the few countries in Europe not to have reported any home grown cases. Two government laboratories in the north of Italy, where most of the country's dairy farms are located, have carried out about 600 random tests so far, all of which were negative.
And in Austria, the authorities are trying to confirm if a 'BSE-infected' cow slaughtered in Germany came from an Austrian farm. This is the first suspected case of BSE in the Austrian herd.
