OTMS
18. Conclusions
18.4 What needs to be done
As XIXth century scientists noted, what is needed (at that time for scrapie and now for BSE as well) is a practical, sensitive, reliable and cheap test to identify infection at an early stage of incubation in an infected animal. This would enable a culling programme to be initiated ahead of the disease, instead of behind it, as at present. Present evidence indicates that BSE in cattle can be eliminated and if this is so, the disease could probably be eradicated from the world. This should be the aim in the next decade. The possible occurrence of BSE in other food animal species, notably small ruminants, should be investigated with due speed and diligence in flocks and herds where scrapie exists. In order to do this rapid molecular testing, that should be developed to give equivalent results to biological strain typing, should be employed. Alternative uses for mammalian MBM and tallow from risk sources should be developed that are environmentally friendly and cost effective. Plant-derived substitutes for animal protein that can be consistently grown in Europe should be developed. A close watching brief should be maintained on the human population to detect early occurrences of vCJD in populations without the disease and to detect significant changes in incidence in counties with the disease.
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