Commission requests analysis of research suggesting first case of BSE in a goat
The findings of a French research team that may point to the first ever instance of BSE in a goat has been submitted to an expert panel by the European Commission. While sheep and goats are known to contract transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), it usually takes the form of scrapie. The French team has, however, identified the presence of a TSE infection in a goat's brain which they say cannot be distinguished from BSE. Scientists have long regarded BSE in sheep and goats as theoretically possible, but it has never been detected. The expert panel at the Community Reference Laboratory in Weybridge, the UK, will now evaluate the scientific evidence in order to see whether it indicates the presence of BSE in the goat. Even if BSE is found, this does not present a risk to public health as neither the goat or its herd entered the food chain. The TSE was detected as part of an EU wide surveillance programme designed to detect suspicious TSE strains in small ruminants. Over 140,000 goats have been tested since April 2002. This particular goat appeared healthy when slaughtered in 2002 in France, and was randomly tested for TSEs. This was the only goat in a herd of 300 to be affected. The Commission is also forwarding the French research data to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Using the data and the conclusions of the Community Reference Laboratory, the EFSA will decide whether any update to its scientific risk assessment is needed in respect of goats.
Countries
France