Public summary of meeting on
12th January 1998

The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) met on 12 January 1998 at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Tolworth.

The Committee conducted its regular review of research findings and the epidemiological information on BSE and nvCJD.

The number of cases of BSE continues to decline in line with predictions about the decay of the epidemic.

The total number of nvCJD cases in the UK remains at 23.

The Committee reviewed the processing and use of milk. In particular they considered the relevance of recent research publications implicating lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of TSEs. The Committee noted that there was no evidence of infectivity in spleen or lymph nodes of cattle infected with BSE, that only low numbers of lymphocytes were left in milk after processing by the dairy and that the incidence of BSE in the UK continued to decline. No changes were made to the previous advice on the safety of milk.

The Committee examined the practice of feeding fishmeal to farmed fish. They concluded that the practice did not constitute intra-species recycling because there was more than one species involved and the material was not being sourced from farmed fish and therefore was not being recycled within the same population. They saw no reason to prohibit the practice.

The Committee considered the use and disposal of bovine blood. They concluded there was no significant risk associated with disposal of bovine blood on agricultural land and saw no reason to change current advice.

The Committee considered options for disposal of animal excreta from experimentally infected cattle. They noted that for a period of one month all waste from animals which had been orally challenged would be incinerated. They agreed that other excreta could be composted and used as fertiliser on agricultural land at the experimental farms of the institutes concerned. They recommended that detailed records of disposal should be kept.

The Committee considered the use of bovine bone charcoal for water filtration. They noted that the sources of the bone were countries which had no reported cases of BSE and that the production method included heating to 1000oC. Consequently they concluded that the practice could continue since it represented no risk to human health from TSEs.

The Committee considered a further draft of the guidance on TSE agents: safe working and the prevention of infection, prepared by the joint ACDP/SEAC working group.

SEAC
January 1998