BSE-test numbers of some German Laender and in total

Roland Heynkes, 16 January 2004

Between the 6th of December 2000 and the 28th of April 2001 in Germany altogether roughly 733.000 slaughter animals have been tested for BSE. In 2001 and from January to April 2002 in Germany the following BSE screening tests were carried out:

Of the 125 BSE cases of the year 2001 there were 50, of the first 45 BSE cases of the year 2002 there were 17 cases identified during the official meat inspection of slaughtered cattle. The other cases were detected within the frame of the epidemiological monitoring program, in diseased animals or in fallen stock.

From the 6.12.2000 until the end of August 2002 in Baden-Württemberg 32.332 fallen (9 positive), 135 culled or emergency-slaughtered cattle, 8 bovines with clinical BSE symptoms, 3 bovines with clinical BSE-suspicion (2 positive), 753.283 regularly slaughtered (14 positive), as well as 653 catlle within the frame of herd or cohort cullings were tested. 8 of the 23 animals which tested positive originated from other Federal Laender, whereas 1 cattle originating from Baden-Württemberg tested positive in another Federal Land. Of the regularly slaughtered and tested cattle, however, 1.142 in the year 2000, 69.795 in the year 2001 and 71.942 in the year 2002 were under the age limit for the tests (30 months until the 30rd of January, 2001 or 24 months starting the 31st of January 2001).

From the 6 December 2000 unto the end of October 2002 a total of 1.488.210 BSE tests were carried out in Bayern in apparently healthy slaughter animals. From October 2000 to the end of September 2002 roughly 92.000 bovines have been inspected that had died or been killed due to an illness or injury.
Roughly one third of the bavarian BSE cases were detected by screening tests in apparently healthy slaughter cattle. BSE was detected in the last tenth of the incubation period - the screening test reacts first in this late stage - in 0,0037% (18/482000) of the tested slaughter cattle and in 0,097%(37/38000) of the culled or fallen cattle. Nevertheless it does not make sense to round down 0,0037 to 0,003 and 0,097 to 0,09 as the Bavarian Ministry for Consumer Protection did, nor not to take into account the low sensitivity of the tests and the age at slaughter which is at most times much too low for successful BSE-testing, and to conclude from these figures that the risk for the consumer would be low. Such a statement would at least require knowledge of the minimal lethal dosis for humans. Bavaria has - and this is really to be praised - initiated a BSE-risk analysis for Bavaria. With this task was charged - not to anyone's surprise - the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in München which unfortunately is totally inexperienced in BSE matters. The bavarian search for the causes and risks of BSE will thus appear only convincing if the Ludwig-Maximilians-University made the data which were provided for its investigation also accessible to independent and especially more experienced experts. According to information obtained by phone this seems to be planned within the framework of newly designed BSE information website on the Internet.

In Brandenburg screening tests for BSE have been carried out by both State Veterinary and Food Laboratories in Frankfurt/Oder and Potsdam in all over 30-month-old resp. over 24-month-old slaughter cattle starting December 4th, 2000. According to Brandenburg officials between the 4th of December 2000 and the 30th of September 2001 these tests have been carried out in 23.497 slaughter cattle and 14.449 other cattle. These figures seem unusual as they imply that in Brandenburg in 2001 only 3 out of 5 over 2-year-old bovines were regularly slaughtered while the other 2 were destroyed. For this the EU program for exceptional support measures for the beef market might have been responsible. Until the end of 2001 in Brandenburg more than 46.000 BSE-Tests were carried out.

In Hamburg since January 2001 less than 24 months old cattle are tested, too, according to a voluntary agreement by the local meat industry.

Hessen has begun testing of fallen stock and older slaughter cattle for BSE with screening tests in the end of November 2000. On the 6th of December 2000 the screening tests for BSE were implemented for slaughter cattle and it was scheduled from the beginning to test all cattle that were at least 24 months old. By the 21st of February 2001 in Hessen roughly 5.700 screening tests had been carried out. By the 20th of April 2001 in Hessen 6 false positive und 1 confirmed BSE-case had been found. From November 2000 until September 2002 in the State Veterinary Laboratory in Gießen altogether 76.700 rapid tests for BSE were carried out.

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern by the 3rd of August 2001 a total of 65.948 BSE-Tests had been carried out in the State Veterinary and Food Investigation Laboratory in Rostock. Thereby 2 BSE-infected animals had been detected.

Nordrhein-Westfalen tested in its State Veterinary Laboratories between the 6th of December 2000 and the 2nd of March 2001 38.681 slaughter cattle for BSE. Of those 17.587 animals were less than 30 months old. For slaughter cattle over 30 months the number of tests was 21.094. By the beginning of July in Nordhein-Westfalen ca. 175.000 slaughter cattle and 13.000 heads of fallen stock, cattle subject to casualty slaughter or culled cattle had been tested for BSE. It is probable, however, that these figures give only the number of tests carried out in the State Veterinary Laboratories.

According to Rheinland-Pfalz investigations for BSE have been implemented for cattle, sheep and goats already since 1991. This is hard to believe, as in sheep and goats one would at best have looked for signs of scrapie. Since the 6th of December 2000 also screening tests for BSE are carried out. By the 22nd of June 2001 roughly 37.000 screening tests had been carried out in Rheinland-Pfalz. A sufficiently detailed statistic separating slaughter cattle, fallen stock and cattle culled or subject to casualty slaughter or at least data showing the age distribution of tested animals is not laid open to the public by Rheinland-Pfalz. Press spokesman Kram wrote to me in the arrogant bureaucratic style which has not everywhere been put out of use:
Dear Mr Heynkes,
my press announcements are addressing the media. Detailed information are therefore not necessary. Should you need specific information for scientific or research purposes please write to us officially and confirm your request. In this case you will eventually be given assistance.
Of course he did not even think of forwarding an address to which the required official letter should be sent.

Sachsen tested only 30.000 cattle for BSE until the 14th of August 2001.

In Sachsen-Anhalt from the 20th of November 2000 until the 19th January 2001 a total of 2.043 animals were tested for BSE. Of those 500 were slaughter animals and 1.543 risk animals (culled or fallen stock).

By the 20th of July 2001 in Schleswig-Holstein ca. 114.000 screening tests for BSE had been carried out in slaughter animals.

(Translation by Ingrid Schütt-Abraham)

Copyright Roland Heynkes, 21 July 2001

BSE case numbers
Homepage
Startseite