title: Environmental sources of scrapie prions.
abstract: Ovine scrapie and cervine chronic wasting disease show considerable horizontal transmission. Here we report that a scrapie-affected sheep farm has a widespread environmental contamination with prions. Prions were amplified by protein-misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) from seven of nine environmental swab samples taken, including those from metal, plastic, and wooden surfaces. Sheep had been removed from the areas from which the swabs were taken up to 20 days prior to sampling, indicating that prions persist for at least that long. These data implicate inanimate objects as environmental reservoirs for prion infectivity that are likely to contribute to facile disease transmission.
authors.affiliation: ADAS UK, Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Ben C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Maddison
authors.forename: Claire A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Terry
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bellworthy
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thorne
authors.forename: Helen C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: Kevin C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Gough
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D011328:Prions; D012608:Scrapie / Q000635:transmission*; D012756:Sheep; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011328:Prions