§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent studies on the transmissibility of BSE she has commissioned; and if she will make a statement. [53129]
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§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 29 April 2002]: Within the past 12 months, DEFRA has commissioned two studies investigating BSE transmission. One is using transgenic mice to assess the relative transmissibility of sheep BSE (and sheep scrapie) and cattle BSE to humans. The second study is following the natural spread of BSE from experimentally infected sheep within a breeding flock to establish whether BSE can transmit to TSE free animals and establish itself within the flock.
In addition to these projects, one study, which is about to begin, will investigate what effect the age at which sheep are experimentally infected with BSE has on the disease. The Department is also funding a study, under way for the past six years, to assess the possibility of maternal transmission of BSE in sheep.
Within the past year, no further studies have been commissioned to investigate BSE transmission in cattle.