The New Scientist had good news last week, reporting on the latest official figures from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which show BSE has almost been eradicated – just 25 years after it was discovered.
In 2010, just 10 cases of BSE were recorded in the UK, and of the cattle slaughtered for human consumption, none were found to have BSE. This is a huge reduction in cases compared to the peak in 1992, where 37,280 cases were reported in the UK in that one year.
The article hails the eradication of BSE as a ‘triumph for science’. Chris Higgins, Chair of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, is quoted saying: ‘it’s a great success story for science, for scientific advice to government and for the measures governments put in place to stop it spreading’. And I agree, if our government vets hadn’t quickly identified how BSE was being spread from animal to animal, the controls to ban the use of meat and bonemeal in animal feed wouldn’t have been implemented, and this is what ultimately broke the cycle of infection. Of course, the Food Standards Agency has played an important role in ensuring these controls were being operated fully.
But what does this mean for controls in the UK now? Is it now an appropriate time to relax some of the strict TSE controls?
In July 2010, the European Commission published its TSE Road Map 2, which outlines where changes to TSE-related controls could be made. As a first step, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health will be considering whether to allow the relaxation of the current age that healthy cattle, being slaughtered for human consumption, must be tested for BSE – from 48 months to 72 months. The Agency’s Board will then discuss this in May to consider whether this is something that should be applied in the UK. But what is essential to remember as we have these discussions is that even as the perceived risk is reduced, both human and animal health must take priority and any changes must be backed by evidence.
From where we started in the mid-80s with an unknown quantity, research has taught us a lot more about the science of TSEs – what they are and the potential for them to spread, and this, together with more effective on-farm surveillance, puts us in a strong position to prevent a similar situation arising in the future.
The New Scientist concludes with the salient point that ‘as unprecedented pressure is put on the environment it is clear new diseases will emerge. We must remain vigilant… we must always expect the unexpected’. And this is something we need to remember, if BSE has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t be complacent.