Two tailored solutions are now available for the detection of TSEs in sheep and goats: Prionics^®-Check WESTERN SR and Prionics^®-Check LIA SR.

With intensified surveillance of TSE in sheep and goats, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has extensively evaluated tests for the special requirements of a TSE diagnosis in small ruminants under field conditions. Both, Prionics^®-Check WESTERN SR and Prionics^®-Check LIA SR met the authority's requirements. The Prionics^®-Check WESTERN SR is a Western Blot test and delivers a reliable protein fingerprint comparable to the result of the Prionics^®-Check WESTERN - which has been applied millions of times without ever delivering a false positive result. The Prionics^®-Check LIA SR is based on the well established ELISA technology and can be automated with standard robot platforms. This test is especially convenient for Prionics^®-Check LIA users.
Together with the Prionics^®-Check WESTERN SR and the Prionics^®-Check LIA SR the EFSA has validated six other tests. The official European Commission approval is pending. After a transition period all laboratories have to switch to dedicated small ruminant tests for the detection of TSEs in sheep and goats.

Discrimination between BSE and Scrapie
Even though the evaluated tests are suited for the diagnosis of TSEs in small ruminants, they do not differentiate between BSE and scrapie. Such a discrimination is performed by national reference laboratories, which for this purpose can use the VLA discriminatory test kit - based on the Prionics^®-Check WESTERN (see eSCOPE August 2005).

BSE in a goat
The occurrence of BSE in a French goat has proven that small ruminants (sheep and goats) can be infected with BSE under natural circumstances. This finding is important because symptoms of both TSEs in small ruminants are comparable and scrapie could mask BSE. It is still unclear whether BSE in sheep and goats could - as BSE in cattle - cause Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.