The limits of test-based scrapie eradication programs in goats.
Small ruminant post-mortem testing programs were initially designed for monitoring the prevalence of prion disease. They are now considered as a potential alternative to genetic selection for eradicating/controlling classical scrapie at population level. If such policy should be implemented, its success would be crucially dependent on the efficiency of the surveillance system used to identify infected flocks. In this study, we first determined the performance of post-mortem classical scrapie detection in eight naturally affected goat herds (total n = 1961 animals) according to the age at culling. These results provided us with necessary parameters to estimate, through a Monte Carlo simulation model, the performance of scrapie detection in a commercial population. According to this model, whatever the number of tests performed, post mortem surveillance will have limited success in identifying infected herds. These data support the contention that scrapie eradication programs relying solely on post mortem testing in goats will probably fail. Considering the epidemiological and pathological similarities of scrapie in sheep and goats, the efficiency of scrapie surveillance in both species is likely to be similar.
UMR 1225 INRA-ENVT Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire, Toulouse, France.
Fabien
F
Corbière
Cécile
C
Chauvineau-Perrin
Caroline
C
Lacroux
Séverine
S
Lugan
Pierrette
P
Costes
Myriam
M
Thomas
Isabelle
I
Brémaud
Christophe
C
Chartier
Francis
F
Barillet
François
F
Schelcher
Olivier
O
Andréoletti
D000818:Animals; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006041:Goats; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011328:Prions; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012608:Scrapie / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D011328:Prions