Scientific Report of the European Food Safety Authority on the Assessment of the Geographical BSE-Risk (GBR) of COSTA RICA

The European Food Safety Authority and its Scientific Expert Working Group on the Assessment of the Geographical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Risk (GBR) were asked by the European Commission (EC) to provide an up-to-date scientific report on the GBR in Costa Rica, i.e. the likelihood of the presence of one or more cattle being infected with BSE, pre-clinically as well as clinically, in Costa Rica. This scientific report addresses the GBR of Costa Rica as assessed in 2004 based on data covering the period 1980-2003. In the case of Costa Rica from 1991 to 1995 (first imports since 1993) an extremely unstable system was exposed to a low external challenge due to the import of live cattle from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico and the USA. No information is available on the origin, breed, age and final fate of these animals, therefore as a reasonable worst case assumption, it is assumed that should these animals have been slaughtered their animal by-products, including SRMs would have entered the rendering system. Therefore cattle imports to Costa Rica could have led to an internal challenge from 1996 onwards. In addition, a low external challenge occurred first in 1995, due to import of meat and bone meal (MBM) from Austria and Spain with an unknown destination. These conclusions are based on a worst case assumption as no information is provided in the country dossier on the imports of both live cattle and MBM excluding that they could have led to an internal challenge. In view of the above-described reflection the registered external challenges could have led to an internal challenge in Costa Rica from 1995 onwards. This internal challenge met an extremely unstable system. A risk that infectivity entered processing arose if infected cattle were slaughtered. These cattle might have been imported and already infected prior to export or might have been infected in Costa Rica due to feeding of infected MBM. This risk, arisen from about 1995 at the earliest, appears to be low. EFSA concludes that the current GBR level of Costa Rica is II i.e. it is unlikely but can not be excluded that domestic cattle are (clinically or pre-clinically) infected with the BSE-agent. Until the stability is increased, it can not be excluded that the GBR continues to grow, especially if external challenges are increasing.