There are other tests that link
scrapie, CJD, and CWD to prions and not bacteria, but who knows?
In animals, disorders resembling sporadic or genetic human prion diseases have been reported only recently, with the discovery of atypical/Nor98
scrapie in small ruminants (7) and L- and H-type BSE in cattle (8,9).
Eight mouse-passaged
scrapie strains were analyzed for strain-specific differences in secondary structure [93].
Schonberger et al., "Protease-sensitive
scrapie prion protein in aggregates of heterogeneous sizes," Biochemistry, vol.
The good news is that a new, live-animal test to detect
scrapie is being applied to goats.
Later, despite much collaborative work in other laboratories, there remained uncertainty on the role and composition of
scrapie associated fibres.
The natural incidence of
scrapie varies among animals indicating that the genotype of the host plays a role in modulating susceptibility to the disease (8).
The normal form of the protein is called [PrP.sup.C] (C is for cellular), whereas the infectious form is called [PrP.sup.Sc] (Sc is for
scrapie).
In the cattle brain disease BSE, its human equivalent vCJD, and the sheep disease
scrapie, the infectious agents are thought to be rogue prion proteins.
Scrapie was the first transmissible spongiform encephalopathy described, with reports going back to the 18th century.