TEHRAN The United Nations said on Wednesday that at least 100 countries were at risk from mad cow disease and urged them to take tough action including a ban on feeding meat-based meal to cattle, sheep and goats.

"FAO estimates that between 1986-96 up to today, meat and bone meal (MBM) from Europe was exported to more than 100 countries," Jacques Diouf, director general of the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told Reuters.

"Around 100 countries imported live cattle. Some countries also reexported MBM to third countries," Diouf said in a written answer to Reuters questions on mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

"All countries which have imported cattle or meat and bone meal which originated from Western Europe, during and since the 1980s, can therefore be considered at risk from the disease," Diouf added.

"Regions which have imported sizeable quantities of meat meal from the UK during and since the 1980s include the Near East, Eastern Europe and Asia," said the director general, whose organization is best known for its drive to reduce world hunger.

BSE was first found in British herds in 1986.

Many scientists believe the use of MBM in cattle feed triggers the brain-wasting disease. The EU has banned the use of MBM in animal feed for six months from January 1.

Diouf advised countries at risk from mad cow disease to ban feeding MBM to cattle, sheep and goats.

The director general was asked by Reuters what advice he would give to countries outside Western Europe which are concerned about the possible threat of BSE.

"For countries which have imported animals and MBM from BSE-infected trading partners, FAO advises the adoption of a precautionary approach," he replied in a written response.

Meanwhile, AFP quoted local media as reporting two cases of mad cow disease have been detected in the northern Spanish region of Navarra

The new cases, the first in Navarra, raise the number of cows infected with BSE in Spain to 19.

Two new cases of mad cow disease have also been discovered in France, bringing to 23 the number of cases reported this year, the Agriculture Ministry announced Wednesday.

The latest discoveries bring to 265 the number of cattle found infected with BSE in France since the disease first appeared in 1991, the ministry added.