ERA BSE, Eradication of BSE: improving methods for detecting and managing genetic and environmental risks (EUPAHW 2024 call)

ERA BSE is a European research consortium on classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, coordinated by Fiona Houston at the University of Edinburgh and funded through the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare call of 2024 (national reference ANR-25-EUPA-0006). It asks why classical BSE still appears in cattle born after the strictest feed bans, whether classical BSE hides inside atypical scrapie and atypical BSE isolates, and how farm environments become contaminated and can be cleaned. It is an animal health programme with a public health motive, since classical BSE is the only prion disease known to have crossed to humans from livestock.

Key facts

  • The project is registered at the French funding agency as ERA BSE, ANR-25-EUPA-0006, under the EUPAHW2024 call "Promouvoir la Sante et le Bien-etre Animaux" 2025.
  • Fiona Houston of the University of Edinburgh coordinates; partners named are the University of Edinburgh, the Friedrich-Loeffler Institut, the VIM molecular virology and immunology unit, the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency and Institut Pasteur.
  • The duration is 36 months and the French agency contribution is 299,805 euro; start and end dates are not given.
  • The total funding quoted by the university is 1.25 million euro from the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare.
  • The abstract sets three study areas: genetic factors that help classical BSE persist, hidden classical BSE in atypical scrapie and atypical BSE isolates, and environmental contamination and decontamination.
  • Cases born after the reinforced feed ban are called BARB cases in the abstract, and their origin is treated as uncertain.
  • The genetic strand plans whole genome sequencing of BSE cases born after the feed ban against healthy cattle, with studies in genetically diverse mice.
  • The French partner is described by the university as INRAE, while the funding record names the VIM unit, which is the Jouy-en-Josas unit held under org-inrae-prion-jouy.
  • One work package is reported to aim at a PMCA and/or RT-QuIC method for classical BSE prions in environmental samples such as soil and farm surfaces; this comes from a search excerpt only.
  • Houston is quoted as saying surveillance should not be removed until the disease is better understood.
  • The German arm is hosted at the FLI Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases according to the title of the FLI project page, which was not opened.

Timeline

  1. 2025Project registered under the EUPAHW2024 call, reference ANR-25-EUPA-0006 (exact award date not stated).
  2. 2026Roslin Institute blog post announcing the project is listed with this date.
  3. 2026University of Edinburgh infectious diseases news article on the project is published; it mentions a BSE case in Dumfries and Galloway reported in August 2026.

People

Last checked 1 November 2026

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