AS THE SHEEP INDUSTRY in the United States endures the multiple setbacks caused by scrapie, OARDC scientist Srinand Sreevatsan works to develop a test that can diagnose the disease before it's too late.

"There is a desperate need for a fast and reliable test for the diagnosis of scrapie in live animals," Sreevatsan said. "Early detection could lead to efficient surveillance systems that may avert or control the disease."

One of several transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It's believed to be caused by a malformed protein in the brain known as prion — a transmissible agent responsible for other TSEs such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk and deer, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans.

Sreevatsan is looking for a way to identify prions through clinical samples (blood, serum, tonsil scrapings, or cerebrospinal fluid) before the onset of symptoms, which usually occurs two to five years after the animal is infected. Although some tests have been developed in the past, definite diagnosis of scrapie is still only possible after death.

An accurate prion-detection test could also be used to diagnose other TSEs in domestic and wild animals, as well as in humans.

"What is of foremost importance now is to identify infected animals and prevent these diseases from getting to people," Sreevatsan said. "This would greatly benefit farmers and also contribute to public health."