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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Animal Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #178853
Title: DATA SHEET FOR SCRAPIE

Author
item Alverson, Janet

Submitted to: Animal Health and Production Compendium
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/4/2005
Publication Date: 4/20/2005
Citation: Alverson, J. 2005. Data sheet for scrapie. Animal Health and Production Compendium. Available: http://www.cabicompendium.org/ahpc/home.asp

Interpretive Summary: Scrapie is a fatal disease of sheep and goats characterized by degeneration of the nervous system. It is part of a group of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These diseases include forms that affect cattle, elk and deer, mink, and humans. The infectious agent is thought to be a prion, an agent smaller than the smallest known virus. Scrapie has a long history with the first descriptions dating back over two hundred and fifty years. Despite this long history, many factors of the disease are still not fully understood including a complete characterization of the infectious agent, how it is transmitted and how it causes disease. Recent evidence linking the human TSE to the cattle TSE (mad cow disease) has increased attention for all TSEs, including scrapie. There are many laboratories in several different countries actively conducting research on scrapie and other TSEs. There is no evidence to date that scrapie is a risk to human health.

Technical Abstract: Scrapie is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of sheep and goats. It is part of a group of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These diseases include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk and deer, transmissible mink encephalopathy, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. The infectious agent is thought to be a prion, an agent smaller than the smallest known virus. Scrapie has a long history with the first descriptions dating back over two hundred and fifty years. Despite this long history, many factors of the disease are still not fully understood including a complete characterization of the infectious agent, routes of transmission and pathogenesis. Recent evidence linking vCJD in humans to BSE in cattle has increased attention for all TSEs, including scrapie. There are many laboratories in several different countries actively conducting research on scrapie and other TSEs. There is no evidence to date that scrapie is a risk to human health.