Legislation banning the use of proteins derived from mammalian tissues for feeding ruminant animals was introduced at the EU level in June 1994. In view of the link established between BSE and cattle feed containing ruminant-derived protein,2 a ban on the feeding of animal protein to ruminants was introduced in Ireland in 1990 (the initial feed ban). No definitive source of infection with the BSE agent could be attributed in this case. It was identified with classical BSE at an authorised knackery as part of Ireland’s targeted active surveillance programme for BSE. The BSE case in Ireland in 2015 was a BARB case born in 2010. The framework focuses on confirmation and discrimination, estimating the date and location of exposure, and determining the method/source of exposure. It is recommended that the framework and questionnaire are used concurrently: the framework provides structure and focus, whereas the questionnaire (with 135 questions) aids data collection. In this study, we present an epidemiological framework and BSE investigation questionnaire to aid the investigation of suspect BSE cases, and illustrate its application during the investigation of a BSE case in Ireland in 2015. The European Food Safety Authority recently recommended the collection of a predefined set of epidemiological data from BSE suspects and confirmed BSE cases to aid future investigations. Epidemiological investigation of these cases has proved challenging.
In several EU member states, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases have been identified in cattle born after the reinforced ban (BARB cases), for reasons that are not entirely clear. Using an epidemiological framework and bovine spon.