Crossword clues for scrapie
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. A degenerative prion disease of sheep and goats that attacks the central nervous system.
WordNet
n. a fatal disease of sheep characterized by chronic itching and loss of muscular control and progressive degeneration of the central nervous system
Wikipedia
Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease that affects the nervous systems of sheep and goats. It is one of several transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which are related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or "mad cow disease") and chronic wasting disease of deer. Like other spongiform encephalopathies, scrapie is caused by a prion. Scrapie has been known since 1732, and does not appear to be transmissible to humans.
The name scrapie is derived from one of the clinical signs of the condition, wherein affected animals will compulsively scrape off their fleeces against rocks, trees, or fences. The disease apparently causes an itching sensation in the animals. Other clinical signs include excessive lip smacking, altered gaits, and convulsive collapse.
Scrapie is infectious and transmissible among conspecifics, so one of the most common ways to contain it (since it is incurable) is to quarantine and destroy those affected. However, scrapie tends to persist in flocks and can also arise apparently spontaneously in flocks that have not previously had cases of the disease. The mechanism of transmission between animals and other aspects of the biology of the disease are only poorly understood, and these are active areas of research. Recent studies suggest prions may be spread through urine and persist in the environment for decades.
Scrapie usually affects sheep around three to five years of age. The potential for transmission at birth and from contact with placental tissues is apparent. No evidence indicates scrapie is infectious to humans.
Usage examples of "scrapie".
This world left him as addled as a sheep with scrapie, and he would begin to question his sanity unless he were quit of it soon.
We found entries about all kinds of human prion diseases-kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Gerstmann-Straussler syndrome-and the veterinary syndromes, scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, but it's all old, old stuff.
Finally, in 1982, Prusiner proposed that the infectious agent for scrapie and related diseases consists exclusively of protein.
Soon afterwards, Prusiner and his co-workers discovered a protein that seemed to be present always in the infectious agent for scrapie.