Volume 3: The Early Years, 1986-88
6. Notification of the ruminant feed ban to other countries
BSE is reported to the OIE and in further published articles

6.12 A General Session of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) was held from 16 to 20 May 1988. Mr Meldrum records in a statement to the Inquiry that:

The CVO, Mr Rees, made a short report to the Annual Meeting of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), which is the animal health equivalent of the World Health Organisation, held in Paris in May 1988 and a short description of the disease appeared in the report of that meeting. ¹

6.13 In his statement to the Inquiry, Mr Kevin Taylor of MAFF gave the following description of the Office International des Epizooties:

The Office International des Epizooties (OIE) is an international organisation which collects and disseminates information about animal diseases to its members, and recommends conditions under which animals and animal products may be safely traded. It is based in Paris and some 150 countries are members. OIE plays a pivotal role in disseminating information about old and new diseases worldwide, and the UK is an active member and supporter of the organisation. The leaflet at M11/Tab 6 gives a brief overview of OIE organisation and activities. The International Committee of OIE, comprising the CVOs or their nominees from all member countries, meets in General Session in Paris in May every year, to discuss technical issues, hear reports from specialist commissions, and consider proposed additions or amendments to the International Animal Health Code (which sets out recommended trading conditions). During the General Session each country gives information about its animal health status: much of the information is submitted in advance in codified and tabulated form, but there is also a tour-de-table in which the written information is confirmed or updated, and in which additional comment may be made by delegates about important developments in the past year. Member countries are also members of Regional Commissions which meet biennially to consider items of regional importance. ²

6.14 The leaflet referred to by Mr Taylor is entitled 'OIE: brief overview' and includes the following:

As the world organisation for animal health, the main objectives of the OIE are to:

inform Governments of the occurrence and course of animal diseases throughout the world, and of ways to control these diseases

co-ordinate, at the international level, studies devoted to the surveillance and control of animal diseases

harmonise regulations for trade in animals and animal products among Member Countries. ³

6.15 On 30 April 1988 Dr K L Morgan published an article in the Veterinary Record ⁴ which discussed evidence relating to the transfer, via the oral route, of spongiform encephalopathies such as kuru and scrapie. It also discussed evidence relating to the ability of the scrapie agent to survive certain rendering procedures. It concluded:

A possible role for meat and bone meal in the transmission of this novel disease remains to be proven. In the meantime it may be expedient to ensure that the valuable recycling and social function carried out by meat renderers involves high temperature processing (above 140º C for one hour). Because of the low profit margins involved and the competition from subsidised products such as rape seed, it may be necessary to provide public money to support this.

6.16 On 14 May 1988 the SVS published a 'disease update' on BSE in the Veterinary Record. As to the cause, the article made no particular reference to infected MBM but said:

As yet the cause of the condition remains unknown . . .

While there is undoubtedly a genetic component of BSE, it is not simply an inherited disease. In a small proportion of incidents there is a family relationship between affected individuals both within and between herds. However, the sudden appearance of the disease in the national herd, the affection of several breeds and crossbreeds, and the absence of a common ancestor or small group of ancestors supports, more strongly, a predominantly environmental cause. ⁵

6.17 In June 1988 two articles were published in the Veterinary Record announcing the Government's intention to introduce the ruminant feed ban and to make BSE a notifiable disease. ⁶ The article entitled 'MAFF moves on BSE' included the following:

And while the causative agent of BSE has yet to be confirmed the circumstantial evidence linking the disease to a scrapie-like agent is considerable. Further, the possibility that such an agent might be transmitted by ingesting infected material, as suggested by Morgan (VR, April 30, p 445), seems strong enough for the Ministry of Agriculture to have added a rider to the notifiable disease order banning the feeding to cattle of rations containing animal protein of ruminant origin.

The ministry's action will facilitate the work of identifying the causal agent. It will also reassure the industry and its customers that the UK is determined to maintain the health status of its national herd by taking effective measures, even when the incidence of a problem is as low as that of BSE.

The second article, entitled 'MAFF - BSE to be made a notifiable disease', included the following:

BOVINE spongiform encephalopathy has been declared a notifiable disease by the Ministry of Agriculture. A statutory order will be made before the end of June.

Under the order the feeding to cattle of rations containing animal protein of ruminant origin will be suspended until December 31, 1988. This follows epidemiological investigations into the disease which suggest an environmental agent as well as some genetic factor is involved.