Mad Cow Disease In Portugal

A dairy herd will be slaughtered after a case of mad cow disease was confirmed on a central Portugal farming cooperative.

The Lezirias Cooperative suspended shipments of milk and the herd of about 300 cows is earmarked for slaughter, the national Lusa news agency reported Tuesday.

Three cases of mad cow disease were confirmed Monday - including one at the Lezirias Cooperative - bringing the number of cases to 43 in Portugal. The others all have been in the northern part of the country.

In Britain, the cattle disease has been linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal human brain ailment.

The Portugese government has responded to mad cow disease by slaughtering more than 1,200 cows since May. Another 800 are to be killed.