The European Union summary report on surveillance for the presence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in 2024

This report presents results of surveillance on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in bovines, sheep, goats, cervids and other species, and genotyping in sheep and goats, carried out in 2024 by 27 EU Member States (EU27, MS), the UK (in respect of Northern Ireland, (XI)) and 8 non-EU reporting countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Türkiye. In total, 980,624 bovines were tested by EU27 and XI (+3.4% compared to 2023), with 3 atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases reported (2 H-type: 1 in France, 1 in Ireland; 1 L-type in Poland); and 41,397 bovines by 8 non-EU reporting countries with no BSE cases reported. Four additional BSE cases were reported by the UK (1 classical and 1 H-type), the USA (1 L-type), Brazil (1 H-type). In total, 277,064 sheep were tested in EU27 and XI (-2.7% compared to 2023). In sheep, 458 scrapie cases were reported by 14 MS and XI: 380 classical scrapie (CS) by 6 MS (139 index cases (IC)) with genotypes of susceptible groups in 98.9% of the cases; 78 atypical scrapie (AS) (78 IC) by 13 MS. In non-EU reporting countries 25,337 sheep were tested, with Iceland reporting 61 CS and 2 AS cases, and Norway 9 AS cases. Random genotyping was reported by five MS and susceptible genotypes accounted for 7.8%. In goats, out of 93,960 tested (-8.5% compared to 2023), 71 cases of scrapie were reported, all from EU27 and XI: 65 CS (14 IC) by five MS and 6 AS (6 IC) by three MS. None of the genotyped cases in goats carried polymorphisms at codon 146 and 222. In total, 1761 cervids were tested for chronic wasting disease by 9 MS, none tested positive. Norway tested 10,932 cervids with 2 European moose positive, Serbia tested 186 animals and Iceland 96 animals.