Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)

BSE Diagnostics

There is no live animal test for BSE. A section of the brain stem called the obex must be harvested for BSE testing. BSE test samples are screened with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test at a National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) laboratory approved by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL). Any test samples with inconclusive results are sent to NVSL for confirmation.

Approved BSE labs

BSE Confirmatory Tests Factsheet

Last Modified: April 19, 2012