NR AXNL
AU Green,A.; Toovey,L.; Drummond,D.; Chong,A.; Foster,J.; Goldmann,W.; Hunter,N.
TI A Search for Atypical Scrapies in The NPU Sheep Brain Archive
QU International Conference - Prion 2007 (26.-28.9.2007) Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK - Book of Abstracts: Epidemiology, Risk Assessment and Transmission P04.110
IA http://www.prion2007.com/pdf/Prion Book of Abstracts.pdf
PT Konferenz-Poster
AB There is currently a major concern that new forms of scrapie have been isolated in sheep throughout the UK and Europe during the last few years. The case in Norway in 1998 (Nor98), and other "atypical scrapie" forms, appear to affect genotypes of sheep previously regarded as resistant to classical scrapie. With the current breeding programs aimed at increasing the incidence of resistant genotypes, are these genuinely new and emerging forms of TSE in sheep or are they of much older history and simply being detected now due to the vastly increased levels of surveillance currently in use. To establish whether these atypical forms are newly emerging, this project will take advantage of the large archive of natural scrapie samples available to the NPU-Roslin. Our archive contains around 2000 brain samples from sheep of various ages not only from NPU's Cheviot and Suffolk flocks but also from a range of sites from across the UK, and importantly dates back to the early 1960s. One case has already been isolated in the archive - an animal that died in 1989 in a flock in Scotland ("Nor98-like sheep scrapie in the United Kingdom in 1989" Bruce, M. E., et al. Veterinary Record 2007), while another case has recently been identified within our own NPU Cheviot flock (unpublished data). This prompted the archive search and brings into effect genotyping (establishing which samples were the most at risk from atypical forms of scrapie); Western blotting (using the P4 antibody which identifies the Nor98-like 12kD PrPres band); and the Biorad TeSeE detection kit (which is able to detect atypical forms of scrapie). The aim of this study is to provide an indication as to the frequency of occurrence of atypical scrapie in the UK at dates earlier than those currently published. The presence of a Nor98-like form isolated in 1989 already lends weight to the hypothesis that atypical scrapie has been present for longer than previously thought. Results to date will be reported upon.
AD A. Green, L. Toovey, D. Drummond, A. Chong, J. Foster, W. Goldmann, N. Hunter, Neuropathogenesis Unit, UK
SP englisch
PO Schottland