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Animal Health

Scrapie Disease Information

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National Scrapie Eradication Program

The revised Scrapie Flock Certification Program is now in effect.

>> Learn more information

Scrapie Disease


spacerSheep Narrated Video
The Clinical Signs of Scrapie
Total Runtime 7:41 Windows Media Player

Sheep scrapie Hopping Gait Video
Total Runtime 14 Seconds Windows Media Player
Infected Sheep Video of Infected Sheep
Total Runtime 9 Minutes Windows Media Player		 Goat Image Gait Problems Video Total Runtime 15 Seconds
Difficulty Eating Video Total Runtime 14 Seconds
Nibbling Video Total Runtime 42 Seconds
   

Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats.  It is among a number of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE).  Infected flocks that contain a high percentage of susceptible animals can experience significant production losses.  Over a period of several years the number of infected animals increases, and the age at onset of clinical signs decreases making these flocks economically unviable.  Animals sold from infected flocks spread scrapie to other flocks.

The presence of scrapie in the United States also prevents the export of breeding stock, semen, and embryos to many other countries.  TSEs are the subject of increased attention and concern because of the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, the link between BSE and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in people, and feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) in cats in Europe. See Factsheet for more detail.

Producer/Owner Information provided by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture and the American Sheep Industry Association.

  • Eradicate Scrapie - is a national scrapie educational initiative that provides information for producers and owners of sheep on scrapie and the new identification requirements for sheep and goats provided by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture.
  • Scrapie Guide presented by the American Sheep Industry Association
  • American Sheep Industry Association Scrapie Newsletter
  • Brochure with basic information on scrapie including a summary of clinical signs, ID requirements, prevention strategies and how to report a suspect animal. (pdf 7.51mb)

Notification to Buyers of Animals from Infected and Source Flocks

Scrapie Eradication Uniform Methods and Rules (pdf 159kb)

National Scrapie Surveillance Plan (pdf 343kb)

Scrapie Free Flock Certification Program NEW Information

Scrapie in Sheep and Goats; Interstate Movement Restrictions and Indemnity Program; Final Rule (txt) (pdf 261kb)

Scrapie Ovine Slaughter Surveiliance (SOSS) (pdf 369kb) - The objective of the SOSS was to estimate the national and regional prevalence of scrapie in mature sheep. The study was released in March 2004.

Learn About Nor98-Like Scrapie in the U.S. (pdf 77kb)

Information for Zoos and Registered Exhibitors (pdf 29kb)

 

More Information on Scrapie Disease
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Last Modified: June 26, 2013