France’s agriculture ministry confirmed on Thursday that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, had been discovered in the northeastern region of Ardennes. The suspected case, found in a five-year-old cow, was identified last week during a test carried out on cattle older than 48 months after slaughter. The farm ministry said there was no risk to human health as all parts of the cow susceptible to being infected must be removed by slaughter houses.