New research has virtually eliminated the possibility that BSE can be passed through cattle via maternal transmission.
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Lead researcher Professor John Wilesmith, head of epidemiology at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, revealed that he is convinced that the only way for cattle to acquire the disease is through eating contaminated meat and bone meal (MBM). Around 13 cows have been born with BSE since August 1996; the date when all use of animal feedstuffs containing MBM was banned.
Wilesmith told BBC Radio: “I think the concern at the moment that we have is cross-contamination of feedstuffs which have been imported into Britain, and so there is still a possibility that one could get cross-contamination in the holds of ships and so on because MBM has been traded around the world and we know that a certain number of countries have [BSE].
“If maternal transmission is occurring, then we have no idea how, because everything we have looked at in terms of excretions and secretions from cows has all proved negative.”
The 12-year study of hundreds of cattle, commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, is due to be published in The Veterinary Record.
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By GlobalDataIt involved the controlled production of 587 embryos from 13 bulls and 167 cows, eight of the bulls had BSE and all of the cows were infected. The embryos were then implanted in 347 heifers, which had been imported from New Zealand to ensure they were not infected with the disease.
The process created 266 calves, 144 of which were born to a BSE-positive bull and a BSE-positive cow. They were all monitored, together with their surrogate mothers, for seven years before being slaughtered, at which point their brains showed no signs of BSE infection.
In eliminating the idea of a 9.6% statistical risk of maternal transmission, the research has shown that the slaughter of 11,443 offspring of BSE-infected cattle was in retrospect unnecessary.
Tim Miles, veterinary manager at the Meat and Livestock Commission, told the Daily Telegraph: “This is more reassurance for the consumer about the safety of beef.
“It means the offspring cull was in retrospect an unnecessary belt and braces operation, but at the time the science suggested we should slaughter offspring and it was a safe precaution to follow that advice.”
The agricultural industry has meanwhile welcomed the study, which should offer exports a convincing reason to call for the resumption of embryo trading, which was banned in March 1996.
