BSE and vCJD (Hansard, 2 May 2002)

§ Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

Although there is no direct evidence that the BSE prion is infectious to humans, obtaining such evidence could not be justified ethically as this would require humans to be inoculated with BSE. A judgment on the link between BSE and vCJD inevitably depends on an assessment of a range of clinical, pathological, epidemiological and laboratory based evidence. The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee considers that there is now convincing evidence that BSE is the cause of vCJD, although there remains uncertainty about the future number of cases and the mechanism of transmission of BSE to humans.

The association between BSE and variant vCJD has been discussed in a number of published scientific articles. Details of those of particular significance are as follows:

1. Will R. G., Ironside-Zeidler M., Cousens S. N., Estibeiro K., Alperovitch A., Poser S., Pocchiari M., Hofman A., Smith P. G. A new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in the UK. Lancet 1996, 347/9006, P921 -925.

2. Bruce M. E., Will R. G., Ironside J. W., McConnell I. D., Static. A., McCardle L., Chree A., Hope J., Birkett C., Cousens S., Fraser H., Bostock C. J. Transmissions to mice indicate that "new variant" CJD is caused by the BSE agent. Nature, 1997, 389 (6650), P498-501.

3. Collinge J., Sidle K. C. L., Meads J., Ironside J., Hill A. F. Molecular analysis of prion strain variation and the etiology of new variant CJD. Nature, 1996, 383, P685-690.

4. Lasmezas C. I., Deslys J. P., Demaimay R., Adjou K., Lamoury, F., Robain O., Ironside J., Hauw J. J., Court L., Dormont D. Experimental transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to macaques. Travaux Scientifiques Des Chercheurs Du Service De Sante Des Armees 0 (18), 1997, P123-124.

5. Will R. New variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. Biomedicine-Pharmacotherapy, 1999, 53, NI, Feb, P9-13.

6. Will R G., Knight R. S. E., Ward H. J., Ironside J. W. nvCJD; the critique that never was BMJ Letters Nov 2001, 323 (7317) P858–861.

The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, the independent expert group that advises the Government on all aspects of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, regularly reviews relevant published articles. The committee remains of the opinion that experimental results provide convincing evidence that the agent which causes vCJD in humans is the same as that which causes BSE in cattle.