Annual report of the Scientific Network on BSE-TSE 2015

The EFSA Scientific Network on bovine spongiform encephalopathies and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (BSE-TSE) held its 10th meeting on 7 and 8 October 2015 in Parma. The meeting served as an opportunity to exchange scientific information on BSE-TSE related issues among EU Member States, countries from the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), EFSA, the European Commission and ad hoc participants. In this occasion, ad hoc representation included the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE), a scientific expert on genetic breeding for resistance to Classical scrapie in goats, and two scientific experts on human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). The topics discussed included an update on BSE-TSE-related activities at national and international level and results from recent TSE-related research projects and risk assessments in several EU countries. In addition, the investigations of recent Classical BSE cases, the monitoring and control of Classical scrapie in small ruminants, and the distribution and trends of vCJD cases in humans were also discussed.