A case of classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, has been confirmed in a cow on a farm in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

The Scottish Government disclosed this in a statement published on its website on Wednesday, noting that precautionary movement restrictions had been imposed on the affected animal’s offspring and cohort.

BSE is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain and nervous system of cattle.

Infected cattle typically develop symptoms several years after exposure. These may include nervousness, aggression, anxiety, difficulty walking or standing, tremors, reduced milk production and weight loss despite having a normal appetite.

The disease is fatal once clinical signs emerge, and there is currently no established treatment or vaccine.

The government said investigations by the Animal and Plant Health Agency were ongoing to determine the origin of the infection.

It stated that the case was detected through routine BSE surveillance and existing control measures.

The Scottish Government said the affected animal did not enter the human food chain and that Food Standards Scotland had confirmed there was no risk to human health from the isolated case.

It said the affected animal’s cohorts, including its offspring, had been traced and isolated and would be destroyed in line with legal requirements.

Under Scotland’s surveillance programme, all cattle aged over four years that die on farms are routinely tested for BSE.

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said authorities responded quickly after the case was confirmed, describing the swift detection as evidence that the country’s surveillance system was working effectively.

He also commended the animal’s owner for promptly reporting the case, saying the action helped authorities identify and isolate the affected animal and minimise the potential impact on the wider agricultural sector.

Meanwhile, strict controls remain in place to protect consumers, including the removal of specified risk materials such as the brain, skull and spinal column from cattle carcasses intended for human consumption.

The UK experienced a major BSE outbreak during the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in the culling of millions of cattle. The outbreak was also linked to more than 170 human deaths from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.