Brussels, 07/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission's research centre is currently evaluating five new rapid post mortem BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) tests and tests for other transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) among animals. Selected in response to a world-wide call for expressions of interest, these new tests being examined are produced by the following research and development units.
A complement to the CEA test already approved (marketed under the test name Biorad) has also been chosen, as it can make a distinction between BSE and "scrapy".
The evaluation procedure is similar to the one used last year for the three tests currently on the market, which have led to the detection of a higher rate of incidence in France, and the first cases of mad cow in Germany and Spain. The only difference resides in the smaller number of samples being examined. In this evaluation, special importance is being granted to the ability of the tests to distinguish between the different types of TSEs, ability that is still at an early stage of development, but of which some of the tests proposed are capable.
The evaluation is being undertaken by the Directorate General "Health and Consumer Protection" of the Commission in collaboration with the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) in Geel (Belgium), laboratory that forms part of the Unions' Joint Research Centre (JRC). The need to improve the fight against TSE and the Community decision means that Member States must proceed with rapid BSE screening tests from 1 January 2001 on all cattle at risk of over thirty months, then, in July 2001 on cattle over thirty months entering the food chain, rendering the increase in reliable tests essential.
The Commission is also preparing reference standards to proceed, towards the end of May 2001 (as soon as national screening programmes have been launched in all Member States), with the evaluation of the technical performances of all Union laboratories monitoring these epizooties.