Annual Report of the Scientific Network on BSE‐TSE 2020

The EFSA Scientific Network on bovine spongiform encephalopathies and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (BSE‐TSE) held its 15thmeeting on 7‐8October 2020 as a web‐meeting. 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, EU candidate countries, EFSA, the European Commission and ad hoc participants. In this occasion, ad hoc representation included the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE).The topics discussed included:TSE activities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey, new evidence of the detection of scrapie in goats and the presence of multiple strains in goat scrapie isolates, update on the latest case of CWD in Norway and on the ongoing studies of CWD European isolates; the zoonotic potential of atypical strains of BSE and scrapie. Recent and ongoing the TSE EURL EFSA, OIE and EC activities on TSE were presented, as well as the preliminary results of the 2019 EU TSE summary report. EU candidate countries presented their TSE‐related activities.