What is Scrapie?
Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. There is no cure and there is no treatment for scrapie.

What type of disease is scrapie?
Scrapie is classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Both scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE; a.k.a. "Mad Cow" disease) are TSEs, as is Chronic Wasting Disease in deer and elk. While research has allowed us to gain a better understanding of the TSEs, there are still many facets of these diseases that are poorly understood.

What causes scrapie?
An agent that is smaller than a virus causes scrapie. It is either a protein called a prion or it is another substance closely associated with the prion protein. Scientists still have a lot to learn about the scrapie agent and exactly how it works. It is known that the scrapie agent is extremely resistant to heat and to normal sterilization processes. It does not evoke any detectable immune response or inflammatory reactions in host animals. The incubation period is usually two to five years. Eventually, the scrapie agent attacks the brain, leaving holes in it much like swiss cheese or a sponge, hence the name spongiform encephalopathy.

What is the role of genetics in scrapie?
At present, it is generally accepted that scrapie is an infectious, contagious disease with genetics playing an influential role in susceptibility.

U.S. sheep diagnosed with clinical scrapie have had a specific gene pattern. This pattern is known as QQ at the specific gene location codon 171.

There are still many questions that must be answered before the role of genetics in relationship to scrapie susceptibility is fully understood and these are currently being researched.