1.   In fact, they say, one sign that a dairy cow has been infected by the disease is that it can no longer produce milk.

2.   It infected more cows, whose remains were fed back into the animal-cannibal system, and an epidemic was born.

3.   It is believed that aberrant proteins associated with the disease infect cows when they are fed meal containing parts of sheep with a similar illness.

4.   So the faster cows died, the faster more cows were infected.

5.   A second round of tests, which was completed Tuesday, confirmed the results of initial tests showing the cow was infected.

6.   A subsequent scientific test confirmed that the cow was infected, officials said.

7.   Authorities are investigating how the cow became infected with the brain-wasting disease, which is formally known as BSE, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

8.   The animal feed ban is a precaution to keep BSE from spreading should a U.S. cow ever become infected.

9.   The South African government on Wednesday was investigating a press report from Saudi Arabia that said South African cows are infected with disease.

10.   The suicide was announced by the prefectural government of Hokkaido, where a government-appointed panel of experts on Monday confirmed a fourth cow had been infected.