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It has been confirmed that a fourth cow in Japan is infected with BSE. The country, which is about to co-host the football World Cup, has been testing all cows slaughtered for meat since October last year, after the first case came to light in September. All the infected animals were born within weeks of each other in 1996, and three out of the four cases, including the latest, occurred in dairy farms on the island of Hokkaido. Contaminated feed is thought to be the cause of the outbreak. The resulting slump in meat sales has already cost the country $1.5 billion.