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Rupert sheep found with brain-wasting disease
RUPERT, Idaho (AP)--A case of the brain-wasting disease, scrapie, was found in a Rupert, Idaho sheep flock, but officials are controlling the disease through slaughter tracebacks and quarantine, said Idaho state veterinarian, Clarence Siroky.
Siroky said the discovery presents no valid concern for food safety.
The disease was found in an ewe in mid-December and the flock was quarantined upon further testing. Officials found the infected ewe through routine testing.
Meat from slaughtered sheep is not allowed into the food chain until the animal's brain is examined and found to be uninfected. The brain from all sheep more than 2 years of age is retrieved during slaughter and examined. If found to be infected, the animal is traced back to the flock of origin and further tests are done.
Genetic testing can detect whether an animal is susceptible to the disease, Siroky said. Veterinarians determine gene patterns, and those with susceptibility to scrapie are slaughtered, for which producers are compensated.
Siroky said the Rupert sheep producer will test all lambs this year.
Scrapie is the sheep version of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. It was first described in the 18th century.
"It appears to be not transmissible to people and not the same as BSE," he said.
Scrapie is transmitted through placental fluid, while BSE is transmitted through contaminated feed.
BSE is believed to have spread when cows ate feed contaminated initially with scrapie and then with BSE-tainted cow tissue.
Date: 2/24/05
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