§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date his scientists first reported to him their view that the occurrence of feline spongiform encephalopathy was causally linked with the epidemic of BSE. [19438]
§ Mrs. BrowningThis was first reported in 1993 and recorded in the report of the chief veterinary officer— "Animal Health—1993", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. It stated that the uniformity of the lesion profile in feline spongiform encephalopathy— FSE—complements the results of primary transmission of FSE and BSE to mice, in which similarities suggest that FSE is the result of exposure of cats to the BSE pathogen prior to September 1990 when statutory controls were introduced.