TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES AND THEIR REGULATORY CONSEQUENCES

Mad cow crisis (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) had many consequence s on the regulatory framework in several fields. It is now obvious tha t the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy is transmissible to ma n, provoking a new condition which differs from the sporadic form of C reutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) called variant or new variant (vCJD). T his paper tries to review the most important new findings in the scien tific field of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and summarize s the main regulatory consequences for cattle rearing, nutrition and p harmaceutical industry both in the human and the veterinary sectors in Belgium and in the European Union.