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October 29, 2004 NDSU Creates Scrapie Research Flock North Dakota State University's Department of Animal and Range Sciences has created a scrapie research flock in response to results from initial research on eradicating the disease from sheep. This research flock’s creation is a direct result of NDSU's scrapie research initiative implemented in July 2003. NDSU is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service on the research. "NDSU has been a leader in scrapie research, and creation of this research flock will provide an environment for cutting-edge research that supports and gives direction to the sheep industry of North Dakota and nationally," says North Dakota State Veterinarian Susan Keller. Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the nervous systems and brains of goats and sheep. Scrapie is classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). The disease cannot be spread from sheep to cattle, and there is no evidence that people who consume sheep meat or milk or who work with sheep are at risk of contracting scrapie. The disease develops slowly and infected sheep may take years to show symptoms. Not all sheep are susceptible to scrapie. Sheep homozygous at codon 171 (QQ) for the Q allele are susceptible. Sheep homozygous at codon 171 (RR) for the R allele are resistant. Until recently, researchers thought that sheep heterozygous at codon 171 (QR) were resistant to scrapie. However, NDSU’s findings indicate that sheep heterozygous at 171 (QR) may be susceptible to scrapie if they have a valine (V) present at codon 136. The two alleles possible at codon 136 are A or V. To further complicate the issue, the V allele can be found only at codon 136 if a Q allele is present at codon 171. Most of the sheep in the scrapie research flock contain the amino acid valine at codon 136. "Valine-associated scrapie is quite common in Europe; in fact it is the predominant strain, unlike in the United States, where alanine-associated scrapie is dominant," says associate professor Charlie Stoltenow. "NDSU has the only valine-associated scrapie research flock identified in the United States. This research flock will allow NDSU to study the occurrence and transmission of scrapie in a controlled environment." Stoltenow is the Extension Service veterinarian for NDSU and the epidemiologist for the research project. He is one of several NDSU faculty who will study scrapie in cooperation with USDA scientists. Katherine O'Rourke, a microbiologist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Animal Disease Research Unit in Pullman, Wash., is a key collaborator on this project. Her research includes the study of scrapie transmission and the involvement of the placenta in transmission. O'Rourke is one of the world's leading experts on scrapie. She has been appointed as an adjunct faculty member at NDSU, which will allow her to work more closely with NDSU faculty members on the research and serve on graduate committees directing students working on scrapie. Other NDSU faculty involved in the research include geneticist Paul Berg, sheep researcher Bert Moore and reproductive physiologist Dale Redmer. "One of the greatest opportunities this research flock affords NDSU is the ability to study a TSE in its natural host in its natural environment,” says Redmer. “NDSU is one of the few research institutions in the world that can do this work." Redmer's research also focuses on the placenta and its involvement in possible transmission of scrapie from sheep to sheep. As part of the cooperative research agreement with the Agricultural Research Service, NDSU is keeping about 80 scrapie-susceptible sheep in a biosecure location. The scrapie research flock has a Post Exposure Monitoring and Management Plan Agreement approved by the state veterinarian and USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services.
### Source:
Charlie Stoltenow, (701) 231-7522, cstolten@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
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