This Summary, where possible, indicates dates and events that occurred on these dates:
1970's Probably the first English cattle were infected with BSE as a consequence of a gene mutation.
1985 - Mink in U.S. developed a form of TSE. These mink had been fed "downer" cattle carcasses.
December 1986 - English state veterinary service discovered a new animal disease (TSE) known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopatholitis or BSE and it caused irreversible "spongy" changes of the brains of cattle and was invariably fatal (public called it "mad cow disease").
1987 Four herds in England were infected with BSE.
December 1987 Ninety-five cases of BSE were reported on eighty farms in England. It was suspected that animals were infected by consuming meat and bone meal.
1988 Suspected that BSE was caused from consuming meat and bone meal contaminated with offal from scrapes infected sheep.
1986 to 1988 The BSE was not thought to be caused by recycling of cattle infected with BSE.
February 19, 1988 264 cases of BSE from 223 farms had been confirmed.
February 24, 1988 - Recommended that BSE should be a notifiable disease and that compulsory slaughter and compensation should be initiated.
May 1988 - Probation on feeding ruminant protein to ruminant animals. This was to take effect on July 18, 1988.
August 8, 1988 Compulsory slaughter of BSE suspect cattle was with 50% compensation if animals were shown to have BSE, and 100% if it could not be shown that they had BSE.
September, 1988 - Transmission to mice by intracerbral inoculation had been confirmed.
January, 1989 There were 2,296 cases of BSE on 1,742 farms in England.
1989 U.S. banded all beef products from U.K. The U.S. also traced all cattle (496) that were imported into the U.S. before the band. No cases of BSE were found.
February 9, 1989 - Theory was proposed that BSE was caused by Scrapes infected meat and bone meal and would not have any implication on human health, but advice was given to baby food manufacturers not to include in their products ruminant offal including the thymus.
February 27, 1989 - Research related to BSE was initiated.
November 13, 1989 - Specified Bovine Offal (SBO) was banned for human consumption from animals most likely considered to be infected. Tissue from the cattle aged under six months was exempt from the ban.
July 28, 1989 European Union banned the export of U.K. cattle born before July 18, 1988 and of offspring of infected or suspected females.
By the end of 1989 Ten thousand and ninety one cases of BSE had been confirmed in the United Kingdom.