PARIS, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The World Organization for Animal Health said Wednesday that mad cow disease has been found for the first time in a goat in natural settings.
The finding, if confirmed, suggests the deadly agent, known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, may be more widespread than previously thought. Humans can contract a fatal brain illness from eating meat products contaminated with the mad cow pathogen.
The WOAH, located in Paris and known by its French initials OIE, said the goat was slaughtered in France in 2002 when it was 2.5 years old.
To distinguish whether the infectious agent was mad cow or scrapie (a similar disease that occurs in sheep), French authorities injected a sample of the pathogen into transgenic mice. The mice developed characteristics associated with mad cow disease, Isabelle Chmitelin, deputy director general of the French Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Rural Affairs, reported to the OIE.
The OIE said further studies still need to be carried out to determine the exact nature of the pathogen.
The goat appeared to be the only infected animal in a herd of 600, but all of the animals have been destroyed.
