Although Osterhaus had been in the media since 1978 (on the death of dogs at the world dog show), his story really begins in 1985 with Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE). In the early years, no one believed BSE could become a human pathogen; 'people said it was just scrapie' (Osterhaus 6 March 2008). 6 However, Osterhaus suspected it could indeed become a human pathogen, and in 1988 he pursued it to the EU policymaking arena with backing from his director. As chairman of the EEC Scientific Veterinary Committee he acted cautiously. Nevertheless, he met with scepticism, since pointing out the possible public health dangers went against the grain of policymakers. He did not refrain from setting policy machinery in motion, and a proposal for legislation on the various dangers of BSE was issued almost monthly. In his opinion, this had its effect on policy processes (Osterhaus 29 July 2008).