NARA (Kyodo) An eight-year-old Holstein cow has tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy during an inspection at a meat-distribution center in Nara Prefecture, the prefecture said Tuesday.
If confirmed in further examinations, it will be the 13th case of mad cow disease in Japan, following a case confirmed earlier this month in Kumamoto Prefecture.
The animal has been slaughtered and its meat will not be released on the market, prefectural officials said.
The prefecture will send samples of meat to a governmental infectious disease research institute for further examination, they said.