(2) The Scientific Steering Committee issued an opinion on 7 and 8 November 2002 on the safety of necrophagous birds being possible transmitters of TSEs.

(7) The Scientific Committee on Medicinal Products and Medical Devices has adopted an opinion on the use of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) risk materials for the manufacture of implantable medical devices, which recommends that manufacturers of these devices that utilise animal tissues or derivatives be required, as an essential part of the risk management, to fully justify the use of these tissues in the context of the benefits to patients and of the comparison with alternative materials.

So far, however, there is no conclusive scientific evidence for the transmission of vCJD by blood, as recently reiterated by the Scientific Steering Committee in its opinion of 26/27 October 2000 on the Houston et al paper in the Lancet of 16 September 2000 on the transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) by blood transfusion in sheep.

(4) Whereas the Scientific Steering Committee adopted an opinion on safety of gleatine on 26 and 27 March 1998 which was updated on 18 and 19 February 1999; whereas this opinion addresses the questions under which conditions of sourcing of the material and/or of type of material used and/or production process gelatine destined for human consumption can be considered free of bovine spongiform encephalapathy (BSE) infectivity; whereas in this opinion, the Scientific Steering Committee distinguishes the recommended measures between different categories of geographical risk; w ...[+++]hereas a final implementation can only follow after classification of countries and regions; whereas on 21 May 1999, at the general session of the International Office of Epizootics (IOE) Committee, a proposal of the IOE International Animal health Code Commission concerning the criteria for the determination of the BSE status of a country or zone was adopted; whereas in accordance to the procedure laid down in Commission Recommendation 98/477/EC(6), concerning information necessary to support applications for the evaluation of the epidemiological status of countries with respect to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, certain Member States and third countries submitted data necessary to allow assessment of their geographical risk; whereas, considering recent development of the IOE Code on BSE, pending the above scientific assessment and the subsequent decision making, the entry into force of rules for the production of gelatine derived from ruminant bones should be suspended until Community legislation concerning classification of countries or regions as regards their BSE status is applicable; whereas the Commission will initiate the procedure for the entry into force of rules for the production of gelatine derived from ruminant bones without delay after the adoption of Community legislation concerning classification of countries or regions as regards their BSE status;

(1) Whereas new information has been published in the United Kingdom further supporting the hypothesis that exposure to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent is linked to the new variant of Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (CJD) in humans; whereas on 16 September 1997 the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) of the United Kingdom concluded that recent research provided compelling new evidence that the agent which causes BSE is identical to the agent which causes the new variant of CJD in humans; whereas on 18 Sept ...[+++]ember 1997 the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) concluded that the BSE agent should now be classified as a human pathogen;

RESEARCH ON BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES (BSE) AND RELATED HUMAN DISEASES - COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS "WHEREAS the Council, in its Conclusions of 14 May 1996, stated that the issue of TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies) constitutes a problem in the field of public health and considered it necessary that all appropriate measures be taken to eliminate the risk of possible transmission of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), WH ...[+++]EREAS only scientific research can provide rational, valid answers to the numerous questions this pathology continues to pose, and guide governments on the decisions they will have to take, WHEREAS cooperation at Community level between national research teams can bring about real progress in knowledge in this area, and the Community dimension can consolidate the various methodologies, contribute to the use of harmonized criteria and facilitate a wider multi-disciplinary approach, The Council: - CONSIDERS it necessary that cooperation and coordination of research efforts and exchange of information in this field be significantly improved and CALLS UPON the Commission to take the necessary measures to this end; - INVITES the Commission to continue to provide updated information on the research efforts undertaken under the fourth framework programme and, in particular, to give an account of recent calls for proposals concerning bovine transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and possible links with neuro-degenerative diseases in humans; - CALLS UPON the Commission to reinforce its research activities on topics in this field, - covering both basic and applied biology and human and animal health aspects, as well as diagnostic aspects, - in particular within the LIFE SCIENCES programmes; - AGREES to reexamine this question at the next meeting of the Research Council (5 December 96) on the basis of a communication from the Commission, taking into account ongoing research activities, including work underway and planned in Member Stat ...