Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler called this week for intensified research into BSE

Date: 10/10/1996

to fill “major gaps” in knowledge of the disease. Drawing on data from a group of scientists led by Zürich-based Professor Charles Weissmann, Fischler called for research to concentrate on seven priorities. Among other things, efforts will be made to determine definitively whether BSE can be transmitted to humans, and to find a test and a possible cure for the disease. Meanwhile, the UK this week formally requested that the ban on exports from grass-fed herds be lifted.