A series of monthly reports on the measures being taken over BSE within the United Kingdom are being published by MAFF, starting with a 37-page report for the month to the end of April 2000. The report contains similar material to the current BSE Enforcement Bulletin produced by MAFF, with additional material on, for example, port inspection results, and with graphs and tables giving longer-term historical figures. A continuing decline in the observed cases of BSE is reported in official tables. The following figures are given for the period to Mid April 2000. The dates refer to the year when the animal was first suspected of harbouring the disease, and the figures are for animals finally confirmed as having the disease.
Recent figures are still provisional.
Whether these cases occurred because the ban was insufficiently enforced, or because maternal transmission is perpetuating the disease or because there are other agents which are not yet controlled is not known. Scrapie Data on scrapie in sheep and goats have been collected since the disease became notifiable in 1993. Not all cases were confirmed until compulsory slaughter legislation was introduced in 1998. Interpretation of trends may therefore be unreliable.