OSLO: Belarus has banned livestock imports from Norway due to a mad cow disease, the Veterinary and Food Control Department of the Agriculture and Food Ministry told BelTA.
The World Organization for Animal Health reported on the case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease – BelTA) in Norway,” the department said.
In this regard Belarus has introduced temporary restrictions on the import of Norwegian pedigree, commercial and slaughter cattle, sheep and goats, wild, zoo and circus susceptible animals, and also meat and meat products made from these animals, hides, hoofs, fodder and feed supplements containing ruminant DNA.
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, from 30 months to 8 years. The disease is easily transmitted to human beings by eating food contaminated with the brain, spinal cord or digestive tract of infected carcasses. In humans, it is known as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease.