Draft regulation, the anti-BSE program will be extended…

The project was submitted for public consultation. It is a continuation of the BSE program of previous years. The goal is to detect every case of this disease in cattle in our country.

Mad cow disease or mad cow disease is an infectious disease caused by so-called prions. The disease was first diagnosed in 1986 in Great Britain. In the 1990s, an epidemic of mad cow disease spread in Western Europe, in which entire herds of cattle were slaughtered en masse, the losses amounting to millions of euros. In Poland, the first case was found in 2002.

The obligation to screen for and control BSE is a result of European Union legislation introduced in 2001. These tests include active and passive surveillance in order to detect every case of BSE in cattle herds.

Initially, BSE tests are performed on cattle that are usually slaughtered over the age of 30 months and on cattle from high-risk groups over 24 months of age. The rules have been relaxed over time, and as of January 1, 2018, animals undergoing normal slaughter have not been tested for BSE. Compliance with the test remains animals belonging to the risk group, animals of all ages and in cases where their behavior raises the suspicion of mad cow disease.

In Poland, as part of the program, cows over 48 months old are tested for BSE classified as at risk (eg, dead animals, necessarily slaughtered, exhibiting unusual symptoms during pre-mortem examination, including animals infected during Transport or in a slaughterhouse or killed to control an infectious animal disease.

BSE surveillance will be performed by a veterinary inspection.

The program is financed from the national budget and is co-financed with European Union funds. It consists of partial reimbursement of costs originally incurred from the national budget. Of the total estimated costs of the program, the Polish side will apply for compensation from the European Union up to 75%. owed cost. The total estimated costs of implementing the program will be about PLN 4.1 million (about PLN 1.4 million annually).

On May 25, 2017, Poland was recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as a country with a low risk of BSE. (PAP)

Author: Anna Wysoczańska

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