TOKYO, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The Japanese government has confirmed finding a ninth cow infected with mad cow disease, the Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday.
A slaughtered 21-month-old cow in the southern Hiroshima region was diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare release said.
Japan's beef industry was badly hit after the first case emerged in September 2001. The deadly disease leads to brain-wasting, and can be transferred to humans if contaminated beef is eaten.
There has been no BSE-linked death report in Japan so far.
The Fukuyama city government incinerated the internal organs of the Holstein and temporarily shut down the facility where the animal was slaughtered.
The cow was the youngest diagnosed with the disease, breaking the record set last month when a 24-month-old cow was found infected.
The source of the outbreak has yet to be determined, the report said.
