%0 Journal Article
%T Evidence of scrapie transmission via milk
%A Timm Konold
%A S Jo Moore
%A Susan J Bellworthy
%A Hugh A Simmons
%J BMC Veterinary Research
%D 2008
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1746-6148-4-14
%X 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.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.Scrapie is a neurological disease in sheep, which belongs to the group of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. The disease is usually confirmed by the detection of the disease-associated prion protein, PrPd, in lymphoreticular tissues and tissues of the central nervous system.Studies on the pathogenesis of natural scrapie in sheep have de
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-6148/4/14