Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 7, Number 1—February 2001
Perspective

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Background, Evolution, and Current Concerns

Paul Brown*Comments to Author , Robert G. Will†, Raymond Bradley‡, David M. Asher§, and Linda Detwiler¶
Author affiliations: *National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; †National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland; ‡Central Veterinary Laboratory, New Haw, Addlestone, UK; §Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland, USA; ¶Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Robbinsville, New Jersey, USA

Main Article

Appendix A

A. Measures taken to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to animals

European
Precautions Great Britaina  Uniona United States
BSE made a notifiable disease Jun 1988 Apr 1990 Nov 1987
BSE surveillance, with histologic examination of brains Jun 1988 May 1990 May 1990
Ban on ruminant protein in ruminant feed Jul 1988
Ban on export of UK cattle born before July 1988 feed ban Jul 1989
Ban on import of live ruminants and most ruminant products from all BSE countries Jul/Nov 1989
Ban on export of UK cattle >6 months of age Mar 1990
Ban on SBOb for use in animal nutrition; ban on export of SBO and feed containing SBO to EUc countries Sep 1990
High-risk waste to be rendered at 133°C/3 bar/20 min (or other approved procedure) Nov 1990
Ban on export of SBO and feed containing SBO to non-EU countries Jul 1991
Ban on MBMd from SBO in fertilizer Nov 1991
After Jan 1, 1995, rendering methods must sterilize BSE Jun 1994
Ban on mammalian MBM in ruminant feed Jul 1994
BSE surveillance includes immunohistologic features of brains Oct 1993
Ban on mammalian protein in ruminant feede Nov 1994 Aug 1997
Ban on import of live ruminants and most ruminant products (including meat products) from all countries of Europe Dec 1997
Immunologic testing for ruminant protein in animal feed Jul 1995
Mammalian MBM prohibited from all animal feed/fertilizer Mar/Apr 1996
Slaughtered cattle >30 months old (except certain beef cattle >42 months old) ruled unfit for animal use (hides for leather excluded) Mar 1996
Mammalian MBM and MBM-containing feed recalled Jun 1996
All mammalian waste to be rendered at 133°C/3 bar/20 min (or other approved procedure) Jul 1996
Cattle tracing system improved Sep 1998
Quarantine of 3 sheep flocks imported from Europe with possible exposure to BSE (4 animals die with atypical TSEf) Oct 1998
BSE surveillance of fallen stock (downer cows) is intensified Oct 1998
Proposal to eradicate scrapie is rejuvenated Nov 1999
Allow export of deboned beef from cattle >30 months old born after July 1996 Aug 1999
Prohibit use of animal protein, including MBM and blood meal (but excluding milk, or fish meal for nonruminants) in feed for any farmed animal species (effective January 1, 2001) Dec 2000
Prohibit importation of rendered protein and rendering wastes originating or processed in Europe Dec 2000

aIn Northern Ireland and Scotland, dates of implementation sometimes differed from those shown for England and Wales; in addition, individual European Union countries often adopted different measures on different dates.
bSBO = specified bovine offals (brain, spinal cord, thymus, tonsil, spleen, and intestines from cattle >6 months of age).
cEU = European Union.
dMBM = meat and bone meal (protein residue produced by rendering).
eSome exemptions, e.g., milk, blood, and gelatin.
fTSE = transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.

Main Article

Page created: March 23, 2011
Page updated: August 07, 2012
Page reviewed: August 07, 2012
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external