Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in Cattle

It is a neurological disease in which affected animals show signs that include; changes in mental state, abnormalities of posture and movement and of sensation. The clinical disease usually lasts for several weeks and it is invariably progressive and fatal.

BSE has been a notifiable disease by law since 1988. If you suspect a case of BSE in your herd, contact your local Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) office:

• North Wales: 01286 674144
• South Wales: 01267 245400 (Night line: 07000 780144)

who can advise you of the procedures for notification, disposal and compensation.

BSE Testing

BSE testing replaced the Over Thirty Month (OTM) rule on 7 November 2005.  This means that all cattle born after 31 July 1996 are able to enter the food chain.  All OTM cattle can be slaughtered, subject to testing for BSE, at an OTM approved abattoir only.  However, all cattle born pre August 1996 are permanently excluded from the food and feed chain.

The Transmissible Spongiform (TSE) (Wales) Regulations 2006

The TSE (Wales) Regulations 2002 provided the powers to administer and enforce Regulation (EC) 999/2001 concerning the prevention, control and eradication of TSE’s.

There have been a number of amendments made to legislation which led to new regulations, the TSE (Wales) Regulations 2006, coming into force in March 2006. The 2006 Regulations include:

• Feed control updates
• Provisions to make it an offence to send cattle born before August 1996 to a slaughterhouse for human consumption
• Abattoir occupiers must sample 24-30 month bovine animals and retain carcases until the receipt of test results
• 24-30 month bovine animals must be tested if they are subject to emergency slaughter and compensation may be limited
• OTM and 24-30 month animal owners are able to appeal against a decision to withhold compensation.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in goats

On the 28 January 2005 the European Commission announced a confirmed case of BSE in a French goat slaughtered in 2002. This is the first time BSE has been found under natural conditions in any animal other then cattle.

On 8 February 2005, the UK government announced a suspect case of BSE in a goat slaughtered in the UK in 1990. This case has not been confirmed and is currently undergoing further scientific investigation.

However, these cases do need to be put in context. The UK introduced a full ban on feeding potentially BSE infected feed to farmed animals in 1996 and it came into force across Europe in 2001. This could explain how these animals could have got BSE. Few, if any, pre 1996 goats are likely to be alive today. On the basis of the current evidence, the Food Standards Agency is not advising people against eating goat meat or products, including dairy products.

In order to ensure the highest level of consumer protection and to evaluate the possible prevalence of BSE and scrapie in goats, EC Regulation 214/2005 of 9 February 2005 requires increased testing of goats for TSE's.  The UK is required to test:

• All goats slaughtered for human consumption aged over 18 months
• 1000 fallen goats aged over 18 months

As a result, it is now a legal requirement to report any goat aged over 18 months which dies or is found dead on farm or in transport by telephoning the following FREEPHONE service on 0800 525890 (7 days a week).

The carcass will be collected free of charge and tested for TSEs.  Owners must ensure that the goat is tagged or tattooed with their herd and an individual animal number.

For further information click on the following links:

Food Standards Agency: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Goats - your questions answered (external link)

Food Standards Agency: news archive items on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in goats (external link)
 

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in sheep

Sheep have been experimentally infected with BSE indicating a theoretical possibility that some sheep could have contracted BSE through consumption of contaminated feed prior to July 1988 ban on ruminant protein in ruminant feed, in the same way as cattle which contracted BSE. However, the volumes of feed concerned and the inclusion rates for MBM in sheep feed were significantly lower than those for cattle.

Could BSE be present in the national flock?

Scrapie and BSE are both Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). It was thought that because scrapie can mask the symptoms of BSE, that sheep may have contracted BSE from contaminated animal feed and that it could have spread. However sheep with scrapie are culled and are not permitted to enter the food chain.

The theoretical possibility that BSE might be present in the national flock and that it might persist through natural routes in a similar way to scrapie has always been acknowledged.  This was one of the main reasons for the launch of the National Scrapie Plan (NSP) in 2001, which aims to eradicate all TSEs from the national flock.

Until recently it was not possible to distinguish between scrapie, which is transmissible between animals, and BSE. However new tests have been able to distinguish between the two. Extensive surveillance has not detected BSE in the national flock.

The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) statement of January 2006 advises that although the risk remains theoretical, it is highly unlikely that BSE will occur naturally in sheep.

The Food Standards Agency is not advising against the consumption of sheep meat.

Are we monitoring sheep for the presence of BSE?

All scrapie positive samples that are submitted to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) are tested for the presence of BSE. To date the VLA have tested all scrapie positive samples dating back to 1998 and have not detecting any BSE-like results. This is over 2,700 samples.

Research includes looking for the presence of BSE in sheep in the national flock; transmission studies; diagnostic test development; investigation of atypical cases of scrapie; epidemiology of TSEs in sheep and the role of host genetics in resistance and susceptibility to scrapie. Two large pathogenesis studies of BSE in sheep are underway. This programme aims to address the complex scientific question as to whether BSE may be present in the national sheep flock. It will also help to assess the risks, should evidence of the disease be found. The programme is kept under review.

Sheep or goats that are suspected of having any spongiform encephalopathy do not enter the human food chain. Suspects are compulsorily slaughtered and the meat destroyed (with compensation paid to the owner).

For more information on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in sheep, please see the statement from SEAC 2006 (external link)