BSE cases down by 40% per year

THE NUMBER of BSE cases in domestic cattle continues to fall steeply, according to a report from DEFRA.

The report, A Progress Report on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies in Great Britain, said cases are falling at a rate of about 40% per year.

The document outlines the measures which have been taken to protect public health during 2003.

It also explains that these controls are continuing to have an important effect.

DEFRA‘s application for the UK‘s High BSE Risk Status classification to be downgraded to moderate risk was a key step in seeking to re-open markets for exports, it added.

Junior DEFRA minister Ben Bradshaw said the government continued to make “substantial progress” in the fight against BSE.

“The UK‘s application to the European Commission to be classified as a moderate BSE risk is evidence that our strategy and control measures are effective.

“Nevertheless, the discovery of BSE in both the USA and Canada during 2003 serves to highlight that we can never be complacent.”