Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 2/7/2005

**GAIN Report Number:** E35023

E35023

**EU-25**

**Livestock and Products**

**BSE/TSE Situation in the EU-25 - update**

**2005**

**Approved by:**

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

U.S. Mission to the European Union

**Prepared by:**

Yvan Polet

**Report Highlights:**

This report focuses on recent BSE/TSE events and legislation in the EU.
A first case of BSE was recently confirmed in a French goat, which was
slaughtered in 2002. As a result the European Commission has adopted new
legislation with relation to TSE and scrapie in ovine and caprine herds,
as well as imposing trade restrictions on live animals, ova and semen of
goats and sheep.

This report also offers an update on the BSE situation in the EU for
2004.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Brussels USEU \[BE2\]

\[E3\]

# BSE in goats

On January 28, 2005, the European Commission announced in a press
release "[Case of BSE in a goat confirmed: Commission extends testing
programme](http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/105&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr)",
that BSE had been confirmed in a goat, which was slaughtered in France
in 2002. While TSE and scrapie have been found more frequently, this is
the first case of a small ruminant, which reportedly had been infected
with BSE, out of 140 thousand goats and one million sheep tested. More
background info is available in a Q&A document
"[MEMO/05/29](http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/29&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en)".
On January 31, 2005, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), asked for
scientific advise by EC's DG SANCO, published a "Statement on the
assessment of safety with respect to the consumption of goat meat and
goat meat products in relation to BSE/TSE" at
<http://www.efsa.eu.int/science/biohaz/biohaz_documents/787/efsa_statement_bse-goat_28012005_en1.pdf>.
While EFSA concludes that current preventive measures are sufficient to
ensure the safety of goat and sheep products, its Scientific Panel on
Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) recognizes that more information is needed
to assess the quantitative risk associated with the consumption of goat
meat and goat meat products.

The EC announced that it will step up its security measures for sheep
and goat products, but it is unclear what the impact will be on the
trade in sheep/goats and their products.

# Recent BSE/TSE related legislation

While European [Regulation (EC) N°
999/2001](http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32001R0999&model=guichett)
of 22 May 2001, laying down rules for the prevention, control and
eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE),
remains the centerpiece of BSE/TSE legislation. Several new amendments
were made to it in 2004. The most important amendments were:

-   [EC 876/2004 of 29 April
    2004](http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2004/l_162/l_16220040430en00520053.pdf)
    Amendment of EC 999/2001 -- trade in ovine and caprine animals for
    breeding, which sets new rules for the trade in goats and sheep,
    with the exception of sheep of the ARR/ARR prion protein genotype,
    which are exempted.

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-   [EC 1471/2004 of 18 August
    2004](http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R1471:EN:HTML)
    Amendment of EC 999/2001 -- introducing requirements for the import
    of cervid products from Canada and the United States. This
    regulation imposes the removal of Specific Risk Materials (SRM) from
    all cervid meats exported to the EU and limits exports of wild game
    to areas free of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from January 1, 2005.

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```
-   [EC 1492/2004 of 23 August
    2004](http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R1492:EN:HTML)
    Amendment of EC 999/2001 -- modification of eradication measures for
    bovine, ovine and caprine animals, trade and import conditions for
    semen and embryos of ovine and caprine animals and the list of
    specified risk materials. This regulation under certain conditions
    allows for the exemption of culling all animals of the cohort of a
    bovine infected with BSE, as well as setting rules for ovine and
    caprine herds, in which BSE is identified and the a movement
    restriction on herds identified with or suspected of having scrapie,
    until the results of further investigation are available. The
    regulation also restricts trade of live animals, ova and semen of
    goats and sheep, with the exception of sheep of the ARR/ARR prion
    protein genotype, which are exempted, starting January 1, 2005.
    Furthermore, the regulation redefines the list of SRM to be removed
    from bovines.

Other new regulations lifted trade restrictions on Portuguese exports of
beef products, which had been in place since November 1998, as the BSE
situation in Portugal was improving.

A comprehensive [Chronological
list](http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/biosafety/bse/chronological_list_en.pdf)
of BSE/TSE legislation in the EU has been compiled and published on the
EU website.

**Evolution of BSE in the EU-25**

BSE cases in the European Union (EU) continued to decrease to about 830
cases in 2004, from 1369 cases in 2003. Except for Germany, which had a
small increase from 54 BSE infected cows in 2003 to 59 in 2004, all
EU-15 member states identified fewer cases, with the United Kingdom
dropping from 612 cases to 322 cases. In the New Member States (NMS),
the situation is mixed, although the overall number of BSE cases is much
lower. 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://www.useu.be/agri/srm.html>.

  -------------------------------------------- ----------- --------- ----------- ------- --------- --------
  **Number of reported cases of BSE**                                                              

                                                           2002                  2003              2004

  Austria                                                  0                     0                 ..

  Belgium                                                  38                    15                11

  Czech Republic                                           2                     4                 7

  Denmark                                                  3                     2                 1

  Finland                                                  0                     0                 ..

  France                                                   239                   137               54

  Germany                                                  106                   54                65

  Greece                                                   0                     0                 ..

  Ireland                                                  333                   183               126

  Italy                                                    38                    29                7

  Netherlands                                              24                    19                6

  Poland                                                   5                     11                1

  Portugal                                                 86                    133               92

  Slovakia                                                 6                     2                 7

  Slovenia                                                 1                     1                 2

  Spain                                                    127                   167               131

  United Kingdom                                           1,144                 612               322

  **Total BSE cases**                          **2,152**             **1,369**           **832**   

  UK data are preliminar                                                                           

  .. Negligible                                                                                    

  Source: OIE, completed with data from FAS                                                        
  offices in member states                                                                         
  -------------------------------------------- ----------- --------- ----------- ------- --------- --------

**Visit our website:** our website
**[www.useu.be/agri/usda.html]{.underline}** provides a broad range of
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**E-mail**: AgUSEUBrussels@usda.gov

**Related reports from FAS EU:**

EU

  ------------ ---------------------------------------- --------------------
  **Report**   **Title**                                **Date Released**

  E35019       Approved Lists of Animal Product         2/1/05
               Establishments                           

  E35018       Livestock semi-annual                    1/31/05

  E35017       Poultry Semi-annual                      1/31/05

  E34089       Animal Welfare Legislation in the EU -   11/16/04
               Update                                   
  ------------ ---------------------------------------- --------------------

Czech Republic

+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **R     | **Title**                             | **Date Released** |
| eport** |                                       |                   |
+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+
| EZ4027  | # Cz                                  | 11/23/04          |
|         | ech Authorities Confirm 15th BSE Case |                   |
+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+

Germany

  ------------ ---------------------------------------- --------------------
  **Report**   **Title**                                **Date Released**

  GM5006       BSE in Germany - Update Covering 2004    1/26/05
  ------------ ---------------------------------------- --------------------

Ireland

+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **R     | **Title**                             | **Date Released** |
| eport** |                                       |                   |
+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+
| EI4008  | # Second case of varian               | 11/17/04          |
|         | t Creuzfeld-Jakob disease discovered  |                   |
+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+

Slovakia

+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **R     | **Title**                             | **Date Released** |
| eport** |                                       |                   |
+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+
| LO4016  | # Slov                                | 11/23/04          |
|         | ak Authorities Confirm 20th BSE Case  |                   |
+---------+---------------------------------------+-------------------+

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