scrapie

Fatal disease of sheep and goats that attacks the central nervous system, causing deterioration of the brain cells, and leading to the characteristic staggering gait and other behavioural abnormalities, before death. It is caused by the presence of an abnormal version of the brain protein PrP and is related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the disease of cattle known as ‘mad cow disease’, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. It is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.