ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

**Scrapie**
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Scrapie is a communicable, slowly fatal brain disease (encephalopathy) affecting sheep and to a lesser extent goats. It is characterized by the formation of cavities in nerve cells and manifests itself through behavioral and gait disorders.

**Etiology**
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The scrapie agent is considered an infectious prion, a misfolded protein that causes the disease. Prions are part of the group of unconventional transmissible agents (NCTAs) and are referred to as "pathogenic prions".

**History**
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Scrapie was first diagnosed in Britain and Europe in 1732, when it appeared in goats and sheep on an English farm. In 1936, two French veterinarians, Jean Cuillé and Paul-Louis Chelle, established that the disease was caused by an unconventional agent present in the brain and marrow of sick animals.

**Transmission**
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Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Kuru in humans. The transfer of the pathogen to bovine animals is considered to be the cause of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

**Clinical Signs**
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The clinical signs of scrapie include behavioral disorders, such as scratching and rubbing against surfaces due to severe itching, and gait disorders.

**Epidemiology**
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In 2015, there were eleven confirmed scrapie cases in Germany. The highest number of cases (43) since 1990 was observed in 2004.

**Classification**
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Scrapie is a notifiable disease, classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). It belongs to the group of unconventional transmissible agents (NCTAs), which includes prions.