Comparative epidemiology of scrapie outbreaks in individual sheep flocks

Data recording the course of scrapie outbreaks in 4 sheep flocks (2 in Cheviot sheep and 2 in Suffolks) are compared. For each outbreak the data on scrapie incidence and sheep demography and pedigrees cover periods of years or decades. A key finding is that the incidence of clinical cases peaks in s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Epidemiology and infection 2002-06, Vol.128 (3), p.513-521
Main Authors: REDMAN, C. A., COEN, P. G., MATTHEWS, L., LEWIS, R. M., DINGWALL, W. S., FOSTER, J. D., CHASE-TOPPING, M. E., HUNTER, N., WOOLHOUSE, M. E. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Age Factors
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Demography
Disease outbreaks
Disease Outbreaks - veterinary
Disease transmission
Epidemiology
Female
Genotypes
Incidence
Infections
Life expectancy
Male
Medical sciences
Neurology
Pedigree
Scrapie - epidemiology
Scrapie - pathology
Seasons
Sex Factors
Sheep
Vertical disease transmission
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Summary:Data recording the course of scrapie outbreaks in 4 sheep flocks (2 in Cheviot sheep and 2 in Suffolks) are compared. For each outbreak the data on scrapie incidence and sheep demography and pedigrees cover periods of years or decades. A key finding is that the incidence of clinical cases peaks in sheep 2–3 years old, despite very different forces-of-infection. This is consistent with age-specific susceptibility of sheep to scrapie, as has been reported for cattle to bovine spongiform encephalopathy and for humans to variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Scrapie incidence was higher in ewes than rams and at certain times of years, though these effects were not consistent between flocks. There was no evidence for high levels of vertical transmission.
ISSN:0950-2688
1469-4409
DOI:10.1017/S0950268802007008