Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 3/20/2006

**GAIN Report Number:** E36049

E36049

**EU-25**

**Livestock and Products**

######## BSE/TSE situation in the EU-25 - update on 2005

**2006**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Norval E. Francis

U.S. Mission to the EU

**Prepared by:**

Yvan Polet

**Report Highlights:**

European BSE cases further decreased by 40 percent to about 500 cases in
2005. This favorable development led the EC to adopt its TSE Roadmap in
July of 2005, with the aim of softening restrictions and reduce BSE/TSE
testing costs. One of the goals is to harmonize the EU BSE
classification of countries with OIE classification. With the UK number
of BSE cases having decreased dramatically over the past years, the OTMS
was ended in November 2005 and the lifting of EU ban on British cattle
and beef exports was approved in March 2006. After the finding of BSE in
a French goat last year, suspicion of BSE in three sheep will lead to a
significant increase in testing of sheep for TSE\'s in the coming six
months.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Brussels USEU \[BE2\]

\[E3\]

**Number of BSE cases in the EU-25 down again in 2005 by more than 40
percent.**

BSE cases in the European Union (EU) continued to decrease to about 500
cases in 2005, from 869 cases in 2004 and 1369 cases in 2003. EU-15
member states identified fewer BSE cases, while in the New Member States
(NMS), the situation is mixed but with numbers of BSE cases remaining
low. More background information on the BSE/TSE situation in the EU can
be found at the Commission website at
<http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/biosafety/bse/index_en.htm> or on
the USEU website at <http://useu.usmission.gov/agri/>.

  ------------------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
  **Country/Year**   **2001**   **2002**   **2003**   **2004**   **2005**

  Austria\*          1          0          0          0          1 

  Belgium            46         38         15         11         2 

  Czech Republic     2          2          4          7          8

  Denmark            6          3          2          1          1

  Finland\*          1          0          0          0          0 

  France             274        239        137        54         31

  Germany            125        106        54         65         32

  Greece\*           1          0          0          0          0

  Ireland            246        333        183        126        69

  Italy\*            48         38         29         7          8

  Luxembourg         0          1          0          0          1

  Netherlands\*      20         24         19         6          2

  Poland\*           0          4          5          11         18

  Portugal\*         110        86         133        92         37

  Slovakia           5          6          2          7          1

  Slovenia\*         1          1          1          2          1

  Spain\*            82         127        167        137        75

  Sweden             0          0          0          0          0

  Switzerland        42         24         21         3          3

  United Kingdom     1202       1144       611        343        225
  ------------------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------

\* Data as of 31 October 2005. Slovenia - Data as of 24/08/2005. Spain -
Data as of 19/10/2005.

Sources: OIE, European Commission.

# TSE Roadmap outlines EC DGSanco BSE/TSE policy for the next decade

On July 15, 2005 EC DGSANCO published its "The TSE Roadmap[^1]". This
document lists

possible amendments to the current BSE legislation. Also see [GAIN
E35164](http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200508/146130644.pdf).

*Amendments in the short and medium term (2005-2009)* are in the fields
of:

-Age requirements for removal of Specified Risk Material (SRM) to be
raised. This has been addressed in [Commission Regulation (EC) No
1974/2005](http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_317/l_31720051203en00040008.pdf)
of 2 December 2005

-Feed Ban: the need to abandon the zero-tolerance and a relaxation of
the fishmeal ban. This has been addressed in [Commission Regulation (EC)
No
1292/2005](http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_205/l_20520050806en00030011.pdf)

of 5 August 2005.

-Monitoring Programs: reducing the number of BSE testing in line with
epidemiological considerations.

-Categorization of countries according to their BSE risk based on OIE
categorization rules.

-Review of culling policy with regard to TSE's in small ruminants.

-Cohort culling in bovine animals.

-Restrictions on UK beef exports to be lifted.

*Amendments in the long-term (2009-2014)* include:

-A gradual decrease in the level of surveillance to a level in line with
OIE recommendations.

-A complete revision of the need for the removal of SRM's

-The introduction of a system of certification of herds

Regular updates on the European BSE/TSE situation can be found on our
website at

<http://useu.usmission.gov/agri/srm.html>.

###### 

# End to United Kingdom's special BSE situation: end of Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) and lifting of EU ban on UK beef exports.

On 15 September 2005, the UK Government announced that the OTM rule
would be replaced. Subsequently, on 7 November 2005 a system of BSE
testing for OTM cattle was introduced. Cattle born or reared in the UK
before 1 August 1996 remain excluded from the food chain. The OTMS was
replaced by the Older Cattle Disposal Scheme (OCDS),which provides an
outlet for cattle born or reared in the UK before 1 August 1996. The
OCDS replaced the OTMS on 23 January 2006. More details are available at
the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
website <http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/otm/index.html>.

In its March 7-8, 2006 meeting, the EC Standing Committee on the Food
Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) unanimously agreed to lift the ban on
British beef and live cattle exports. DGSanco officials expect that the
publication in the Official Journal of the proposal should take another
6 weeks, after which the lifting of the UK export ban should become
effective.

While the EU is requiring routine BSE testing at slaughter for all
cattle above 30 months of age, Germany required routine BSE tests for
all cattle above 24 months of age. Cattle producers in Germany have been
complaining that the cost for this extra BSE testing put them at a
competitive disadvantage in Europe. This difference in testing
requirement could also create a problem for the resumption of UK beef
exports. Therefore, Germany has increased the age of mandatory BSE
testing to 30 months again starting in April 2006. See GAIN
[GM6004](http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200602/146176859.pdf).

# After BSE in goats, BSE to be discovered in sheep?

Three recent cases of "atypical" scrapie were found in sheep. After two
tests, test results from two sheep from France and one from Cyprus
offered insufficient evidence to definitively rule out BSE. As a result,
the European Commission has requested that samples from these three
sheep be sent to the Community Reference Laboratory (CRL) in Weybridge
(UK) for further biological testing. The third round of tests is now
expected to take between 12-18 months to complete.

In 2005 up to 10 000 tests per Member State were carried out in healthy
slaughtered sheep and as many again in fallen stock, depending on the
size of the sheep population. Over 1.5 million sheep and 410 000 goats
have been tested in the EU since April 2002. Testing will now be
increased further to 800,000 healthy slaughtered sheep in abattoirs and
140,000 dead sheep in rendering plants over the next six months.

Visit our website: our website
**[http://useu.usmission.gov/agri/]{.underline}**provides a broad range
of useful information on EU import rules, food laws, agriculture and
trade policy. It enables easy access to USEU reports, trade and other
practical information.

E-mail: AgUSEUBrussels@usda.gov

**Related reports from USEU Brussels with info on EU CAP Reforms**:

+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| *       | **Title**                                    | **Date      |
| *Report |                                              | Released**  |
| N       |                                              |             |
| umber** |                                              |             |
+=========+==============================================+=============+
| E36029  | [Impact of CAP reforms on EU support price   | February    |
|         | levels and market safety                     | 16,06       |
|         | nets](http://199                             |             |
|         | .129.102.239/GainFiles/200602/146176865.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| E36027  | [Impact of CAP Reform on the elimination of  | February 9, |
|         | EU export                                    | 06          |
|         | refunds](http://199                          |             |
|         | .129.102.239/GainFiles/200602/146176798.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| ##      | [Livestock --                                | February 1, |
|  E36014 | Semi-annual](http://199                      | 06          |
|         | .129.102.239/GainFiles/200602/146176707.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| E35229  | [EU Approves €185 Million to Fight Animal    | December    |
|         | Diseases in                                  | 05,05       |
|         | 2006 ](http://www.                           |             |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200512/146131678.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| E35182  | [EU Mid-Year 2005 BSE                        | Sep         |
|         | update](http://www.                          | tember14,05 |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200509/146130887.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| E35164  | [EU Directorate for Health and Consumer      | August 23,  |
|         | Protection presents its TSE                  | 05          |
|         | Roadmap](http://www.                         |             |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200508/146130644.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| SW6008  | [First Swedish BSE Case                      | March 06,   |
|         | Confirmed](http://www.                       | 06          |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200603/146187015.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| GM6004  | [Germany plans to adjust BSE testing age to  | February    |
|         | EU                                           | 17,06       |
|         | level](http://www.                           |             |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200602/146176859.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| GM6003  | [BSE in Germany - Update Covering            | January 27, |
|         | 2005 ](http://www.                           | 06          |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200601/146176673.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| DA5011  | [New BSE                                     | Sep         |
|         | Regulations ](http://www.                    | tember30,05 |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200509/146131069.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| DA5009  | [14th BSE case in                            | Sep         |
|         | Denmark](http://www.                         | tember19,05 |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200509/146130950.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| UK5022  | [UK BSE restrictions to be                   | Sep         |
|         | reduced](http://www.                         | tember19,05 |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200509/146130945.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| SI5006  | [Vet Authorities Confirm 6th Case of         | September   |
|         | BSE](http://www.                             | 8,05        |
|         | fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200509/146130808.pdf) |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
|         |                                              |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+
| These   |                                              |             |
| reports |                                              |             |
| can be  |                                              |             |
| a       |                                              |             |
| ccessed |                                              |             |
| through |                                              |             |
| our     |                                              |             |
| website |                                              |             |
| <http   |                                              |             |
| ://useu |                                              |             |
| .usmiss |                                              |             |
| ion.gov |                                              |             |
| /agri/> |                                              |             |
| or      |                                              |             |
| through |                                              |             |
| the FAS |                                              |             |
| website |                                              |             |
| <h      |                                              |             |
| ttp://w |                                              |             |
| ww.fas. |                                              |             |
| usda.go |                                              |             |
| v/scrip |                                              |             |
| tsw/att |                                              |             |
| acherep |                                              |             |
| /defaul |                                              |             |
| t.asp>. |                                              |             |
+---------+----------------------------------------------+-------------+

[^1]: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/biosafety/bse/roadmap_en.pdf