Epidemiology of scrapie in a sheep flock where a maedi-visna eradication programme has been implemented

摘要

In a Lacaune dairy ewe flock in Aveyron, France, an eradication programme against visna-maedi virus was carried out. Female lambs were segregated from the flock at birth, bred away from the flock and a new flock developed from them. Scrapie, which had been endemic in the flock for decades, despite previous eradication attempts, disappeared from the flock for 8 years. The consequences and the hypotheses from this case, regarding vertical, horizontal and indirect transmission of scrapie, are discussed.