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

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 Panama, i.e. the likelihood of the presence of one or more cattle being infected with BSE, pre-clinically as well as clinically, in Panama. This scientific report addresses the GBR of Panama as assessed in 2005 based on data covering the period 1980-2003. Although the stability of the system was very unstable in Panama from 1980 until 2000 and unstable between 2001 and 2003, the occurrence of an internal challenge is considered highly unlikely due to the negligible external challenge over the entire period (1980 –2003). The risk that BSE-infected cattle entered processing in Panama, and were at least partly rendered for feed, due to imported cattle from BSE-risk countries has been negligible throughout the considered period. Also probability that BSE contaminated material entered the cattle system is seen as being negligible. EFSA concludes that the current GBR level of PANAMA is I i.e. it is highly unlikely that domestic cattle are (clinically or pre-clinically) infected with the BSE-agent. In view of the unstable system at present, any non-negligible external challenge would lead to an increase of the GBR.