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A case of BSE – called mad cow disease – has been confirmed on a farm in Aberdeenshire.
Secretary of the Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing, said that a movement ban was now in effect on the unidentified farm.
Investigations are underway to identify the origin of the disease – the first of its kind in Scotland in 10 years – discovered after the death of an animal.
The "isolated" case was identified before entering the human food chain.
There have been 16 cases in the UK since 2011, the last of which in 2015.
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Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas said: "I urge all farmers who have concerns to seek advice from a veterinarian."
She added, "Although it is too early to tell where the disease comes from in this case, its detection is proof that our surveillance system is doing its job.
"We are working closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to answer this question."
Andrew McCornick, president of NFU Scotland, said: "It is disappointing to learn this case of BSE in the Aberdeenshire area.
"Although we are losing our negligible risk status, it is not surprising to see a new case and demonstrate the effectiveness of the surveillance measures in place." This simply takes us back to the lineage of the rest of the Grande Britain, coming back to where we were 18 months ago.
"When Scotland asked for negligible BSE risk status, it was fully aware that it was possible that a sporadic case of BSE appears, as has been the case in France and Ireland. "
The crisis of BSE
By Pallab Ghosh, Scientific Correspondent
Unprecedented weather conditions have resulted in higher costs, such as higher prices for fodder and forage.
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a cattle brain disorder that can be transmitted to humans who consume infected meat.
Mad cow disease – as it is more commonly known because of the erratic behavior and movements of animals – destroys their brain by destroying nerve tissue.
The first case recorded in the United Kingdom dates back to 1986. The disease quickly spread among the herds. About 180,000 cattle were infected and 4.4 million people were slaughtered to eradicate the disease.
The first deaths caused by the transmission of BSE to humans in 1996 triggered a national alert. At the time, it was feared that hundreds of thousands of people would die from the ingestion of infected beef.
It turned out that 177 people died of the human form of mad cow disease, known as the variant of Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD). These people are thought to be genetically more susceptible to the disease than the general population.
Since then, cattle have been closely monitored for signs of the disease and it seems that in this case the surveillance system has worked well.
The cause is not known at this stage. But if it's an isolated case, the risk to human health is minimal or non-existent.
In the UK, BSE in cattle is largely over, but there is still one isolated case detected: one in 2014, two in 2015 and one in 2018. It is still too early to tell if this case is significant.
If it is a conventional or "typical" BSE, which represents the vast majority of observed cases, we must know if it is a very old animal infected for a long time. or if it is younger and there is always a source of infection on the farm, such as a contaminated food basket.
Ian McWatt, Director of Operations at Food Standards Scotland, said: "Strict controls are in place to protect consumers from BSE risk, including controls on feed and the removal of parts of livestock that are likely to be damaged. Be infected with BSE ".
In 2015, agriculture officials confirmed a case of BSE in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
The cow was found to have BSE following routine tests when an animal dies on a farm.
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