A slaughtered 21-month-old cow in Hiroshima Prefecture has been confirmed to be infected with mad cow disease, the health ministry said Tuesday. It is the ninth such case in Japan.
The Holstein bull was slaughtered Wednesday at a slaughterhouse in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. Tissue samples tested positive for the disease both in primary and in more detailed examinations at the Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, ministry officials said.
The bull was younger than any of the eight previously declared cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, said the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, which convened a panel of experts Tuesday afternoon to make a final determination on the latest case.