Evidence of scrapie transmission to sheep via goat milk.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies confirmed that classical scrapie can be transmitted via milk in sheep. The current study aimed to investigate whether scrapie can also be transmitted via goat milk using in vivo (new-born lambs fed milk from scrapie-affected goats due to the unavailability of goat kids from guaranteed scrapie-free herds) and in vitro methods (serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification [sPMCA] on milk samples). RESULTS: In an initial pilot study, new-born lambs of two different prion protein gene (PRNP) genotypes (six VRQ/VRQ and five ARQ/ARQ) were orally challenged with 5 g brain homogenate from two scrapie-affected goats to determine susceptibility of sheep to goat scrapie. All sheep challenged with goat scrapie brain became infected based on the immunohistochemical detection of disease-associated PrP (PrP(sc)) in lymphoid tissue, with an ARQ/ARQ sheep being the first to succumb. Subsequent feeding of milk to eight pairs of new-born ARQ/ARQ lambs, with each pair receiving milk from a different scrapie-affected goat, resulted in scrapie in the six pairs that received the largest volume of milk (38-87 litres per lamb), whereas two pairs fed 8-9 litres per lamb, and an environmental control group raised on sheep milk from healthy ewes, did not show evidence of infection when culled at up to 1882 days of age. Infection in those 12 milk recipients occurred regardless of the clinical status, PrP(sc) distribution, caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus infection status and PRNP polymorphisms at codon 142 (II or IM) of the donor goats, but survival time was influenced by PRNP polymorphisms at codon 141. Serial PMCA applied to a total of 32 milk samples (four each from the eight donor goats collected throughout lactation) detected PrP(sc) in one sample each from two goats. CONCLUSIONS: The scrapie agent was present in the milk from infected goats and was able to transmit to susceptible species even at early preclinical stage of infection, when PrP(sc) was undetectable in the brain of the donor goats. Serial PMCA as a PrP(sc) detection method to assess the risk of scrapie transmission via milk in goats proved inefficient compared to the bioassay.

Circulation of prions within dust on a scrapie affected farm.

Prion diseases are fatal neurological disorders that affect humans and animals. Scrapie of sheep/goats and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) of deer/elk are contagious prion diseases where environmental reservoirs have a direct link to the transmission of disease. Using protein misfolding cyclic amplification we demonstrate that scrapie PrP(Sc) can be detected within circulating dusts that are present on a farm that is naturally contaminated with sheep scrapie. The presence of infectious scrapie within airborne dusts may represent a possible route of infection and illustrates the difficulties that may be associated with the effective decontamination of such scrapie affected premises.

Evidence of effective scrapie transmission via colostrum and milk in sheep.

BACKGROUND: Evidence for scrapie transmission from VRQ/VRQ ewes to lambs via milk was first reported in 2008 but in that study there were concerns that lateral transmission may have contributed to the high transmission rate observed since five control lambs housed with the milk recipients also became infected. This report provides further information obtained from two follow-up studies, one where milk recipients were housed separately after milk consumption to confirm the validity of the high scrapie transmission rate via milk and the second to assess any difference in infectivity from colostrum and subsequent milk. Protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) was also used to detect prion protein in milk samples as a comparison with the infectivity data and extended to milk samples from ewes without a VRQ allele. RESULTS: Seven pairs of lambs fed colostrum and milk individually from seven scrapie-affected sheep (pre-clinical or clinical) presented with disease-associated prion protein, PrPd, in rectal lymphoid tissue at 4-5 months of age. Five further pairs of lambs fed either colostrum or subsequent milk from five pre-clinical scrapie-affected sheep equally presented with PrPd in lymphoid tissue by 9 months of age. Nine sheep were lost due to intercurrent diseases but all remaining milk or colostrum recipients, including those in the original study with the lateral transmission controls, developed clinical signs of scrapie from 19 months of age and scrapie was confirmed by brain examination. Unexposed control sheep totalling 19 across all three studies showed no evidence of infection.Scrapie PrP was amplified repeatedly by PMCA in all tested milk samples from scrapie-affected VRQ/VRQ sheep, and in one scrapie-affected ARQ/ARQ sheep. By contrast, milk samples from five VRQ/VRQ and 11 ARQ/ARQ scrapie-free sheep did not have detectable scrapie PrP on repeated tests. CONCLUSIONS: Feeding of milk from scrapie-affected sheep results in a high transmission rate in VRQ/VRQ sheep and both colostrum and milk transmit scrapie. Detection of scrapie prion protein in individual milk samples from scrapie-affected ewes confirms PMCA as a valuable in vitro test.

The evaluation of exposure risks for natural transmission of scrapie within an infected flock.

BACKGROUND: Although the epidemiology of scrapie has been broadly understood for many years, attempts to introduce voluntary or compulsory controls to eradicate the disease have frequently failed. Lack of precision in defining the risk factors on farm has been one of the challenges to designing control strategies. This study attempted to define which parts of the annual flock management cycle represented the greatest risk of infection to naive lambs exposed to the farm environment at different times. RESULTS: In VRQ/VRQ lambs exposed to infected sheep at pasture or during lambing, and exposed to the buildings in which lambing took place, the attack rate was high and survival times were short. Where exposure was to pasture alone the number of sheep affected in each experimental group was reduced, and survival times were longer and related to length of exposure. CONCLUSION: At the flock level, eradication and control strategies for scrapie must take into account the need to decontaminate buildings used for lambing, and to reduce (or prevent) the exposure of lambs to infected sheep, especially in the later stages of incubation, and at lambing. The potential for environmental contamination from pasture should also be considered. Genotype selection may still prove to be the only viable tool to prevent infection from contaminated pasture, reduce environmental contamination and limit direct transmission from sheep to sheep.

Atypical scrapie in sheep from a UK research flock which is free from classical scrapie.

BACKGROUND: In the wake of the epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy the British government established a flock of sheep from which scrapie-free animals are supplied to laboratories for research. Three breeds of sheep carrying a variety of different genotypes associated with scrapie susceptibility/resistance were imported in 1998 and 2001 from New Zealand, a country regarded as free from scrapie. They are kept in a purpose-built Sheep Unit under strict disease security and are monitored clinically and post mortem for evidence of scrapie. It is emphasised that atypical scrapie, as distinct from classical scrapie, has been recognised only relatively recently and differs from classical scrapie in its clinical, neuropathological and biochemical features. Most cases are detected in apparently healthy sheep by post mortem examination. RESULTS: The occurrence of atypical scrapie in three sheep in (or derived from) the Sheep Unit is reported. Significant features of the affected sheep included their relatively high ages (6 y 1 mo, 7 y 9 mo, 9 y 7 mo respectively), their breed (all Cheviots) and their similar PRNP genotypes (AFRQ/AFRQ, AFRQ/ALRQ, and AFRQ/AFRQ, respectively). Two of the three sheep showed no clinical signs prior to death but all were confirmed as having atypical scrapie by immunohistochemistry and Western immunoblotting. Results of epidemiological investigations are presented and possible aetiologies of the cases are discussed. CONCLUSION: By process of exclusion, a likely explanation for the three cases of atypical scrapie is that they arose spontaneously and were not infected from an exterior source. If correct, this raises challenging issues for countries which are currently regarded as free from scrapie. It would mean that atypical scrapie is liable to occur in flocks worldwide, especially in older sheep of susceptible genotypes. To state confidently that both the classical and atypical forms of scrapie are absent from a population it is necessary for active surveillance to have taken place.

Evidence of scrapie transmission via milk.

BACKGROUND: The risk of scrapie infection increases with increased duration and proximity of contact between sheep at lambing. Scrapie infectivity has not been detected in milk but cellular prion protein, the precursor of disease-associated prion protein PrPd, has been found in milk from ruminants. To determine whether milk is able to transmit scrapie, 18 lambs with a prion protein genotype associated with high susceptibility to scrapie (VRQ/VRQ) were fed milk from twelve scrapie-affected ewes of the same genotype, and 15 VRQ/VRQ sheep reared on scrapie-free dams served as controls. RESULTS: Three lambs fed milk from scrapie-affected ewes were culled due to intercurrent diseases at 43, 44 and 105 days of age respectively, and PrPd was detected in the distal ileum of the first two lambs, whilst PrPd was not found in lymphoreticular tissues in the third lamb. A control lamb, housed in a separate pen and culled at 38 days of age, was also negative for PrPd in a range of tissues. Samples of recto-anal mucosa associated lymphoid tissue collected from the remaining 15 live lambs at seven months of age (between five to seven months after mixing) were positive for PrPd in the scrapie milk recipients, whereas PrPd was not detected in the remaining 14 controls at that time. A subsequent sample collected from control lambs revealed PrPd accumulation in two of five lambs eight months after mixing with scrapie milk recipients suggestive of an early stage of infection via lateral transmission. By contrast, the control sheep housed in the same building but not mixed with the scrapie milk recipients were still negative for PrPd. CONCLUSION: The presence of PrPd in distal ileum and rectal mucosa indicates transmission of scrapie from ewe to lamb via milk (or colostrum) although it is not yet clear if such cases would go on to develop clinical disease. The high level of infection in scrapie-milk recipients revealed by rectal mucosal testing at approximately seven months of age may be enhanced or supplemented by intra-recipient infection as these lambs were mixed together after feeding with milk from scrapie-affected ewes and we also observed lateral transmission from these animals to lambs weaned from scrapie-free ewes.

Experimental transmission of atypical scrapie to sheep.

BACKGROUND: Active surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in small ruminants has been an EU regulatory requirement since 2002. A number of European countries have subsequently reported cases of atypical scrapie, similar to previously published cases from Norway, which have pathological and molecular features distinct from classical scrapie. Most cases have occurred singly in flocks, associated with genotypes considered to be more resistant to classical disease. Experimental transmissibility of such isolates has been reported in certain ovinised transgenic mice, but has not previously been reported in the natural host. Information on the transmissibility of this agent is vital to ensuring that disease control measures are effective and proportionate. RESULTS: This report presents the successful experimental transmission, in 378 days, of atypical scrapie to a recipient sheep of homologous genotype with preservation of the pathological and molecular characteristics of the donor. This isolate also transmitted to ovinised transgenic mice (Tg338) with a murine phenotype indistinguishable from that of Nor 98. CONCLUSION: This result strengthens the opinion that these cases result from a distinct strain of scrapie agent, which is potentially transmissible in the natural host under field conditions.

Persistence of ovine scrapie infectivity in a farm environment following cleaning and decontamination.

Scrapie of sheep/goats and chronic wasting disease of deer/elk are contagious prion diseases where environmental reservoirs are directly implicated in the transmission of disease. In this study, the effectiveness of recommended scrapie farm decontamination regimens was evaluated by a sheep bioassay using buildings naturally contaminated with scrapie. Pens within a farm building were treated with either 20,000 parts per million free chorine solution for one hour or were treated with the same but were followed by painting and full re-galvanisation or replacement of metalwork within the pen. Scrapie susceptible lambs of the PRNP genotype VRQ/VRQ were reared within these pens and their scrapie status was monitored by recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue. All animals became infected over an 18-month period, even in the pen that had been subject to the most stringent decontamination process. These data suggest that recommended current guidelines for the decontamination of farm buildings following outbreaks of scrapie do little to reduce the titre of infectious scrapie material and that environmental recontamination could also be an issue associated with these premises.

Objects in Contact with Classical Scrapie Sheep Act as a Reservoir for Scrapie Transmission.

Classical scrapie is an environmentally transmissible prion disease of sheep and goats. Prions can persist and remain potentially infectious in the environment for many years and thus pose a risk of infecting animals after re-stocking. In vitro studies using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) have suggested that objects on a scrapie-affected sheep farm could contribute to disease transmission. This in vivo study aimed to determine the role of field furniture (water troughs, feeding troughs, fencing, and other objects that sheep may rub against) used by a scrapie-infected sheep flock as a vector for disease transmission to scrapie-free lambs with the prion protein genotype VRQ/VRQ, which is associated with high susceptibility to classical scrapie. When the field furniture was placed in clean accommodation, sheep became infected when exposed to either a water trough (four out of five) or to objects used for rubbing (four out of seven). This field furniture had been used by the scrapie-infected flock 8 weeks earlier and had previously been shown to harbor scrapie prions by sPMCA. Sheep also became infected (20 out of 23) through exposure to contaminated field furniture placed within pasture not used by scrapie-infected sheep for 40 months, even though swabs from this furniture tested negative by PMCA. This infection rate decreased (1 out of 12) on the same paddock after replacement with clean field furniture. Twelve grazing sheep exposed to field furniture not in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for 18 months remained scrapie free. The findings of this study highlight the role of field furniture used by scrapie-infected sheep to act as a reservoir for disease re-introduction although infectivity declines considerably if the field furniture has not been in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for several months. PMCA may not be as sensitive as VRQ/VRQ sheep to test for environmental contamination.

Biosecurity strategies for conserving valuable livestock genetic resources.

The foot and mouth disease (FMD) epidemic in the UK in 2001 highlighted the threat of infectious diseases to rare and valuable livestock and stimulated a renewed interest in biosecurity and conservation. However, not all diseases resemble FMD: their transmission routes and pathological effects vary greatly, so biosecurity strategies must take this into account. Realism is also needed as to which diseases to exclude and which will have to be tolerated. The aim should be to minimise disease generally and to exclude those diseases that threaten the existence of livestock or preclude their national or international movement. Achieving this requires a team effort, bearing in mind the livestock species involved, the farming system ('open' or 'closed') and the premises. Effective biosecurity demands that practically every aspect of farm life is controlled, including movements of people, vehicles, equipment, food, manure, animal carcasses and wildlife. Above all, biosecurity strategies must cover the disease risks associated with moving the livestock themselves and this will require quarantine if adult or juvenile animals are imported into the herd or flock. The present paper emphasises the important role that reproductive technologies, such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer, can have in biosecurity strategies because they offer much safer ways for getting new genetic materials into herds/flocks than bringing in live animals. Embryo transfer is especially safe when the sanitary protocols promoted by the International Embryo Transfer Society and advocated by the Office International des Epizooties (the 'World Organisation for Animal Health') are used. Embryo transfer can also allow the full genetic complement to be salvaged from infected animals. Cryobanking of genetic materials, especially embryos, is another valuable biosecurity strategy because it enables their storage for conservation in the face of contingencies, such as epidemic disease and other catastrophes.