A NEW case of mad cow disease has been discovered on a British beef farm.

There is not believed to be a threat to humans and a probe at the farm in Aberdeenshire has now been launched.

5 A new case of mad cow disease has been confirmed Credit: AP:Associated Press

This is the first case of the disease in three years in the UK and the first confirmed in Scotland since 2008, it is understood.

The last outbreak in Britain was in Wales in 2015 when the disease was discovered on a dead cow.

The UK death toll from BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) is currently at 177 since Stephen Churchill, 19, died of a fatal brain condition linked to mad cow disease in 1995.

Restrictions are in place at the farm in Scotland as an investigation into the outbreak continues.

5 Britain was gripped by mad cow disease in the 1990s with millions of cattle slaughtered Credit: Rex Features

5 A cow gripped by the disease struggles to stand up Credit: Rex Features

A Scottish Government statement said: “This is standard procedure for a confirmed case of classical BSE, which does not represent a threat to human health."

Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas said: "I would urge any farmer who has concerns to seek veterinary advice."

Panic gripped the UK in 1995 as more than four million cattle were slaughtered to stop the infection spreading.

More than 180,000 cattle were thought to have been struck down by the disease and the EU put a ban on importing British beef between 1996 and 2006.

5 Agriculture Minister John Selwyn Gummer feeds his daughter a burger in 1990 to insist they are safe Credit: PA:Press Association

How mad cow disease hit the British beef industry Mad cow disease was first reported in the UK in 1986 but took six years to peak - with almost 1,000 new cases per week. Brits began to fear eating burgers after a ban on the use of high risk offal for human consumption was introduced in 1989. But in 1990, Agriculture Minister John Selwyn Gummer fed his young daughter Cordelia a beefburger, to prove it was 'completely safe'. As the epidemic continued to grip Britain, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) was detected in humans and linked to BSE. This linked human disease caused the deaths of 176 Brits - starting with the tragic death of Stephen Churchill in 1995. The 19-year-old began hallucinating and after ten months, he needed care 24 hours-a-day, completely unable to walk or communicate. At the height of the epidemic in 1999, experts predicted that half a million people could die from the disease. More than 180,00 cows were infected and four million cattle were slaughtered. The European Union put a ban on importing British beef between 1996 and 2006 and the UK banned beef on the bone in 1997. A £30million public inquiry was launched in 1997 by Tony Blair and heard from family members who had lost loved ones to vCJD. The BSE Inquiry found failings - including how the government secretly handled the crisis and how they failed to make the best use of scientists.

Only one person has died from mad cow disease in Britain since 2012.

The outbreak could come as a blow to British farmers ahead of Brexit - with fears already growing no trade deal could kill the market.

Last year, there were fears that doing a post-Brexit trade deal with the US could lead to declines in food standards.

5 Four million cows were slaughtered in total Credit: Rex Features

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Warnings that Brits could be forced to eat chlorine-washed Turkey for Christmas in future if food rules were relaxed in order to strike a US-UK deal in future.

And it comes just months after British beef went back on the menu in China for the first time since the BSE crisis erupted 20 years ago.

America is also set to import British beef and lamb for the first time in 20 years - after branding the meat unfit for consumption and banning it from the market.

What you need to know about BSE BSE stands for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy - a disease which infects cows, attacks their central nervous system and is generally fatal. Symptoms typically include a lack of co-ordination and aggression, leading it to be known as mad cow disease. It is believed the disease can be passed to humans through the food chain - causing a fatal condition called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD). The outbreak in the late 1980s reached its peak in 1992/1993 with 100,000 confirmed cases. But there were two more recent cases in 2015. The latest case has not affected humans.

Cure CJD Campaign video explains what Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is and a possible new treatment