Written question asked by David Hinchliffe (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 March 1997. It was answered by Baroness Browning (Conservative) on Monday, 10 March 1997 on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Question: What proposals he has for the use of the chemiluminescent tests for the identification of cattle with BSE.

Answer: Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for the use of the chemiluminescent tests for the identification of cattle with BSE; and if he will make a statement. [18034] Mrs. Browning: The test referred to is an ELISA-- enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay--test carried out on tissue collected post mortem. The test is reported to be able to distinguish between BSE affected and unaffected cattle which have been slaughtered as suspects, but many more samples will need to be tested comparability before it can be shown to be as accurate as the histopathological test currently used to diagnose BSE. We have no plans to substitute this test for our current method of diagnosis. There is no information available to determine whether this test is capable of identifying cattle infected with BSE but not yet showing clinical signs of disease and as far as is known tissues from such cattle have not been examined.

Secondary information