Case of mad cow disease in Netherlands is old age variant

A case of mad cow disease discovered on a farm in the Netherlands is the old age variant that is not dangerous to public health, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.

The infection was found in a dead cow on Jan 30 in the South Holland province of the Netherlands.

"Atypical cases of (mad cow disease) occur sporadically in older cows," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the last found case in the Netherlands dated back to 2011.

"Scientists believe that the atypical variants may arise spontaneously."

The other variant of mad cow disease, the classic type of infection, is usually caused by contaminated animal feed.

Widespread cases of mad cow disease hit cattle herds in Britain and other European countries in the 1990s. Atypical cases have occasionally been detected and can lead to temporary trade restrictions.