Control of TSEs (including BSE and scrapie)

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) are a family of diseases occurring in man and animals and are characterised by a degeneration of brain tissue giving a sponge-like appearance leading to death The family includes diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) and Kuru in humans, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, Scrapie in small ruminants (sheep and goats), Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in cervids and Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy (TME) in minks. The commonly accepted cause of the TSE diseases is a transmissible agent called a prion (PrPres), which is an abnormal form of a protein.

The link address is: http://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/biosafety/food_borne_diseases/tse_bse_en