Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Denmark reported its first case of scrapie, a lethal disease affecting sheep and goats which is related to mad cow disease.

A crippled animal in Kjellerup in Viborg County was confirmed to have died of an atypical form of scrapie last month, Preben Willeberg, Denmark's chief veterinary officer, said in a report to the World Organization for Animal Health. The report didn't say whether a sheep or goat was infected.

The animal was more than 10 years old and the source of its infection is unknown, according to the report, which was received by the Paris-based organization this week. Another 17 animals were susceptible to infection and the affected property has been quarantined, it said.

Scrapie is a degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system. Scientists believe that the feeding of rendered scrapie-infected livestock in the form of meatmeal to cattle in the U.K. in the late 1970s and 1980s caused the emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

The disease, also known as mad cow disease, has been linked with the fatal brain-wasting disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob, in humans.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vesna Poljak in Melbourne at vpoljak@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 11, 2006 18:38 EDT