Czech vets are investigating the possibility of the fifteenth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a seven-year-old cow from an East Bohemian farm of the Czech Republic.

"We expect the result of a control test on Wednesday," Josef Duben, spokesman for the State Veterinary Administration SVS, said. The test is expected to confirm the presence of the disease. The vets say the farm in Lubna near the East Bohemian town of Policka will, consequently, have to put down and test about 45 cows.

More than 650,000 beef animals have been tested for BSE since the beginning of 2001. The first Czech BSE case was detected in June 2001. Vets then ordered tests on all slaughtered beef animals older than 30 months.

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