5. FUTURE AIMS

Argentina recognises that methods for the continuous monitoring and surveillance for the presence of scrapie are still being developed and fall short of the standards that will be expected in the future. Argentina has the aim of continuously developing its surveillance system for scrapie using the best practical and cost-effective methods available. These methods should be effective and be agreed internationally in order to assist authorities to classify countries according to their scrapie status. Argentina alongside New Zealand, Australia and some other countries that have an enviable reputation in regard to scrapie-freedom wishes to be in the forefront of these proposed advancements. To this end Argentina intends to develop its monitoring and surveillance programme as follows:

• Reinforce the PrP genotyping programme to establish the allelic variation within and between breeds and determine the relative frequency of susceptible and resistant individuals.

• The awareness programme will be reviewed, and if necessary, extended and modified to take account of the latest knowledge. The objective is to ensure that no sheep or goat farmer, zoo owner, customs officer, SENASA animal health employee, or veterinarian, now or in the future, will be ignorant of the clinical signs of scrapie.

• Consideration will be given to establishing or improving quarantine arrangements for imported sheep, goats and moufflon including the use of an embryo transfer barrier technique (Bradley, 1994, New Zealand, 1997). All imported sheep, goats or moufflon will be permanently identified as individuals on arrival and brains examined at death.

• Zoo owners will be informed of the need to monitor moufflon for the presence of scrapie though this is a rare occurrence even in the country (UK) where it has been reported.

• Consideration will be given to developing the tonsil test and also possibly the eyelid test for PrP in abattoir surveys and introducing such tests as part of the surveillance procedure when they become validated and when they are approved by the OIE.

• Concentrate feed prepared for ruminants will receive increasing scrutiny for the presence of mammalian MBM. Results are proposed to be made available to the OIE once tests are validated. Argentina wishes to be involved in any discussions relating to the international harmonisation of such tests.

Consideration will be given to amending the current ban on feeding ruminant protein to ruminant animals to a ban on feeding mammalian protein to ruminant animals.

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