Japan confirmed its 15th case of mad cow disease Saturday in an 8 1/2-year-old cow, underscoring concerns about older cattle being particularly at risk of the fatal brain-wasting illness which has kept Tokyo from lifting its ban on U.S. beef imports. The Agriculture Ministry said in a statement Saturday that tests at a state-run research center near Tokyo on a Holstein cow from Hobetsu in northern Hokkaido prefecture (state) had come up positive, confirming the findings of preliminary tests earlier this week.
