According to the Minister of Agriculture, Sevinate Pinto, there were 133 cases of BSE, or ‘mad cow disease’ as it is otherwise known, detected in Portugal last year. This is an increase of 86 cases compared to 2002. In a separate development, a group of Italian scientists from the Neurology Department in the University of Verona have discovered a ‘new’ form of BSE, known as Creutzfeld Jakob’s, in humans.