MOSCOW, August 06. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s veterinary watchdog (Rosselkhoznadzor) on Wednesday has banned the import into Russia of cattle, beef, meat-meal, bone tankage and dried blood from Romania due to an outbreak of the mad cow disease (spongiform encephalopathy) in that country.

Rosselkhoznadzor has also imposed restrictions on the import on bone-in beef, by-products and processed animal proteins used as animal feed, as well as fodders, containing such proteins, its press service said.

The ban does not apply to dairy proteins and proteins from fish processing and fodders from these ingredients.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (the mad cow disease) causes irreversible lethal changes in the brain of infected cattle. The incubation period is from 30 months to eight years. The mad cow disease is dangerous for people and may be transmitted by eating meat of the infected animals.