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Evaluation of tests for the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in bovines

The European Commission, DG XXIV, has published a call for expressions of interest, also open to entities from non-EU Member States, to participate in a programme for the evaluation of tests for the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in bovines. A first ev...

The European Commission, DG XXIV, has published a call for expressions of interest, also open to entities from non-EU Member States, to participate in a programme for the evaluation of tests for the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in bovines. A first evaluation programme will be run as soon as possible after the deadline of the call. However the evaluation programme may be cancelled or delayed if sample tissues or appropriate test material cannot be made available in due time or in sufficient amounts. The European Commission is aware that rapid post-mortem tests for the diagnosis of BSE are at advanced stages of development in a number of laboratories. They therefore wish to begin trials to determine the capabilities of such tests, due to their potential widespread application, and in light of the urgency of the matter. These trials will concentrate mainly on determining the sensitivity and specificity of the tests in positive and negative samples. The outcome may contribute to the test being approved for use in the European Union. The objectives of this call are the identification, selection and evaluation of tests, produced by private or public institutions or legal bodies or individuals, that may be suitable for inclusion in a programme for the evaluation of tests for the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in bovines. These tests or methods should be in an operational phase of development (preparatory research largely finished), should have the capacity to be industrialized, and should at least provide reliable information on the presence or absence of TSE infectivity in bovine animals (either in-vivo or post-mortem testing). Research laboratories or private or public institutions that claim to have such a test and that are willing to participate in the evaluation programme, are invited to express their interest and to submit a technical dossier supporting their claim. For further information and documents related to the call, please contact: European Commission DG XXIV - Consumer Policy Mr. P. Wagstaffe Unit B/3 232 rue Belliard B-1049 Brussels Fax +32-2-2996299