Epidemiological Analysis of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (bse)

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, scrapie in sheep and goats, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans are known as prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), which cause neurodegenerative disorders. BSE was first reported in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1987, following which over 180,000 cases have been reported to date. BSE cases have been detected mainly in Europe. However, prevalence of BSE was recently confirmed in countries outside Europe, such as Israel, Japan, United States of America (USA), and Canada. BSE has become a worldwide issue that has affected the international trade of cattle, beef, and beef products. Adopting control or preventive measures against BSE based on risk assessment is recommended in all the countries. The World organisation for Animal Health (OIE) provides guidelines for risk assessment which is included in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (the Terrestrial Code). In this paper, the factors that may influence BSE risk are reviewed.