Officials Announce Second ‘Mad Cow’ Case

Japanese officials announced that a second cow was infected with “mad cow” disease, the brain-wasting illness that has devastated herds in Europe but hadn’t been detected in Asia until a case in Japan two months ago.

The government sought to reassure consumers that the cow would be incinerated and that the inspection system was now working.

When the first diseased cow was discovered, government officials said it had been incinerated but in fact the cow had been processed into animal feed that was eventually discovered. The government’s mishandling of the case has contributed to a sweeping rejection of beef since September.