§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's response to the recommendations of the Food Standards Agency's report on BSE and Sheep, May 2002 concerning the development of a rapid diagnostic test for BSE in sheep. [64116]
§ Margaret BeckettThe report by the Food Standards Agency's Core Stakeholder Group is fully consistent with existing Government policy in this respect. The development of methods and tests that can distinguish between scrapie and sheep is a key focus for research.
Indeed, DEFRA has long recognised the need for a rapid test which can reliably distinguish a "BSE—like" strain of TSE agent from the strains known to represent traditional scrapie. For example, there are two different technologies being studied at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency which show some promise in this regard.
A modified version of the Western Blot is now being used (in addition to standard Histopathology and Immunohistochemistry) for statutory testing of all clinical scrapie suspects in GB and for retrospective testing of archived case material. So far, there have been no results which would suggest a "BSE-like" strain.
Work on differential testing is not limited to the UK. DEFRA also monitors and collaborates on research developments throughout the world. The European Commission's Scientific Steering Committee recently published a strategy to apply a common protocol for testing scrapie cases for BSE across Europe.