The Scottish Government

BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY(BSE)

INCIDENCE IN SCOTLAND - UK CATTLE HERD

Since the cattle disease Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (commonly known as Mad Cow Disease) was first identified in 1986 statistics have been gathered and collated in Scotland. The BSE statistics in this section are for Scotland only. The incidence of BSE in the UK can be found on the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)website at www.defra.gov.uk (animal health/bse/index) and statistics for other countries can be found on the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) website at www.oie.int/. If you require further information, please direct any telephone queries to the Scottish Executive in the first instance on 0131-244-6005.

BSE - CONFIRMED CASES IN SCOTLAND

* Passive surveillance is where cases are diagnosed on farm as a result of the appearance of clinical symptoms. BSE is a notifiable animal disease. By law, farmers and veterinary practitioners must report all suspect cases to the Executive.

* * Extensive active surveillance in Scotland commenced on 1 July 2001 in line with EU requirements. The figure of two shown for 2000 is the Scottish component of a sample survey conducted during that year of 10,032 cattle submitted across GB to the Over Thirty Month Slaughter Scheme.

Table 3 - BSE Scottish Region Summary -as at 29 November2004

(Both Passive and Active Surveillance)