The first cases of BSE in sheep may have been discovered. Three sheep that died on farms in France and Cyprus were tested as part of a European Community (EC) surveillance program and were found to have unusual characteristics.

After the discovery of BSE in a goat earlier this year, surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in sheep and goats has been intensified. New diagnostic tests that are dedicated to TSEs in small ruminants have been admitted to the market. Prionics now offers two new EC-approved tests. Both the Prionics^®-Check WESTERN SR and LIA SR recognize BSE in sheep and goats with high sensitivity and specificity.

BSE cannot be ruled out
The three sheep that may have died from BSE were diagnosed as TSE-positive in routine testing. For a detailed analysis, the brain samples were sent to the European Community Reference Laboratory for TSEs in Weybridge (U.K.). Using the discriminatory Western blot - a modified version of the Prionics^®-Check WESTERN - the researchers found that the brain samples showed a molecular pattern that is not typical for scrapie and concluded that BSE cannot be ruled out. Further experiments in mice have to be conducted for a definite diagnosis, with results not expected until spring 2007.

So far BSE has not been found in sheep under natural circumstances. The concern that small ruminants can be carriers of BSE has created a heightened awareness about a new potential source of infection for humans. While scrapie is thought not to be infectious to humans, it is likely that BSE in small ruminants could cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease analogous to cattle BSE.