Two people have died in Spain from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), the human form of mad cow disease, according to health department authorities.
Mad cow disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, first emerged in Britain in the 1980s and has been found in herds in several European and other countries. Scientists believe it is transmitted through infected meat and bone meal fed to cattle and may cause vCJD in humans.
The health department said these were not the first vCJD deaths in Spain but did not give details.