Scrapie quarantine

Authors: Moon GJH
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 26, Issue 9, pp 235, Sep 1978
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant, Sheep
Subject Terms: Biosecurity, Notifiable organisms/exotic disease, Nervous system/neurology, Spongiform encephalopathies, Disease/defect, Infectious disease
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: All routes of lateral transmission of scrapie appear to be as yet unknown, although spread of infection via the placenta is a possibility, and presumably an infected placenta could be produced by a symptomless carrier ewe. Black-backed gulls, Larus dominicanus, are abundant and widely distributed throughout New Zealand and range widely in both coastal and inland habitats in search of carrion. When available, sheep placentae are a favourite source of food and many parts of a bird may become contaminated during feeding, the placenta sometimes being carried some distance…

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