Italy's Farm Minister Mr Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio today warned more cases of mad cow disease could be uncovered after Italy said it had detected its first suspected case since 1994.
"We are a country that imports many animals, so we cannot exclude finding cases of (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) BSE", Mr Pecoraro Scanio told the daily La Stampa.
Yesterday officials they had found what appeared to be the first case of BSE in Italy since 1994 on a farm near Brescia, in the northern Lombardy region. It was not immediately clear whether the animal was Italian-born or imported.
Italy's Health Ministry said initial tests on the suspect animal had given doubtful results and the case had been passed to the national animal health institute in Turin. Final results are expected on Tuesday.
The test was part of obligatory BSE tests on all cattle over 30 months introduced to comply with tough new European Union rules.
Mr Pecoraro Scanio said if the test proved a definite case of BSE the government would take action, including checking to see if meat-based animal feed had been used.
Italy banned meat-based animal feed, which experts blame for BSE, in 1994. In November this year, following an increase in BSE cases in Europe, it banned the feed for all herbivores.
The suspect cow was raised on a farm in the village of Pontevico. The farm, with a herd of some 150 dairy cows, was cordoned-off by police late on Saturday.
The ministry said it was the first case of suspected BSE detected among Italian cattle, while the magistrate who cordoned-off the farm was quoted in the media as saying the animal was born and raised on the farm.
But Mr Pecoraro Scanio said the cow appears to be an animal imported from abroad and then registered in Italy.
Two confirmed cases of BSE were detected in Italy in 1994 involving imported British cattle. Both animals were destroyed.
Reuters