Volume 3: The Early Years, 1986-88
6. Notification of the ruminant feed ban to other countries
Brief on BSE prepared for importing countries

6.28 On 11 October 1988 Mr Meldrum responded to a request for information on BSE from the Director of Veterinary Services in Cyprus. ¹ Mr Meldrum apologised for the delay in responding saying that since his 'staff were in the process of preparing brief outlines for importing countries, including extracts from a paper to be submitted for publication, it was decided that a slight delay was preferable in order to provide a more complete picture'. Mr Meldrum provided a question-and-answer brief, a document summarising the clinical signs of BSE and copies of the 'rather limited published material on BSE'. The question-and-answer brief included the following relevant information:

2.

Q. Is BSE associated with feed?

A. BSE has characteristics of an extended common source epidemic that is suspected to be associated with feed.

4

Q. Is a slow virus likely to have been involved?

A. Scrapie, or a scrapie-like agent, is suspected to have been transmitted from sheep to cattle through feeding of ruminant protein in feed fed to cattle and more particularly to calves.

8.

Q. What action is Britain taking to prevent the spread of disease onto new farms?

A. The disease is notifiable. Animals suspected of being affected are placed under movement restriction, and slaughtered after observation if believed to be affected. The carcasses of infected animals are destroyed . . . Whilst investigations take place into the inactivation of the agent in ruminant feed there is a prohibition on the feeding to ruminants of any protein derived from ruminants.

10.

Q. Recommended international control measures?

A. On the basis of present knowledge in countries where scrapie occurs, ensure that ruminant protein is not included in cattle feed. When time/temperature standards which will render the product safe have been established, ruminant protein processed to that standard could be used once more for feeding to susceptible species. ²