Targeted surveillance to assess the presence of BSE in the age risk population of cattle slaughtered in Bursa, Turkey: preliminary results of an immunohistochemical detection study for the 2004-2005 period.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a member of the transmissible spongiform encepahlopathies, has been a notifiable disease in Turkey since 1997. In 2002, the BSE status of Turkey was assessed by the EU Scientific Steering Committee as "it is likely but not confirmed". This study presents the results of a targeted surveillance study to assess the presence of BSE in the age risk population of Bursa, Turkey. In the assessment procedure, the immunohistochemical detection of protease-resistant prion protein (PrP-Sc) was aimed at and applied to 420 brain tissues of cattle slaughtered in Bursa at an age of 30-months and older. None of the samples were positive for BSE.