Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: implications for Australia

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epizootic developed in the Unite d Kingdom in the mid-1980s. Feeding practices in the cattle industry amplified the causative prion, and meat contaminated with BSE entered the market. Human consumption of prion-contaminated meat led to the new zoonosis - vari ant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). The UK BSE Inquiry published its report in October 2000; while praising pol icy decisions, it also documented failures in the execution of these polici es, specifically delays and lack of rigour. Australia is in an excellent position to maintain its BSE- and scrapie-free status, but widespread active surveillance of neural and non-neural tissue from all species of farmed quadrupeds is needed.