February 1989 Southwood report published. March 1990 European Commission bans British exports to the Continent of cattle over six months old. May 1990 Agriculture Minister, John Gummer, notoriously fed his daughter a beefburger in front of the cameras to demonstrate that beef was safe to eat. The number of cattle slaughtered as a result of the disease reaches 100,000. Like BSE, first diagnosed in 1986, it is a poorly understood condition that attacks the brain, leaving it full of holes like a bath sponge.
Victims display symptoms of dementia, becoming unsteady and confused and losing their memory.
As the brain degenerates, they decline to a state where they cannot walk, talk or look after themselves. There is no known cure.