Producers Encouraged to Educate, Report, Submit

Producers Encouraged to Educate, Report, Submit

The Scrapie Free Flock Certification Program (SFCP) provides sheep and goat producers the opportunity to increase the marketability of their animals through demonstrating scrapie freedom in their flock or herd or by monitoring their flock for scrapie through the Select Category. Additionally, the SFCP contributes to APHIS’ scrapie surveillance strategy, testing sheep and goats from flocks and herds that otherwise might not be sampled through traditional slaughter surveillance.

The SFCP was revised in 2013, the Select category of the revised SFCP allows producers to monitor their flocks for scrapie without the intensive inventory, inspection and commingling restrictions of the export monitored program. Participating flocks are listed at (https://vsapps.aphis. usda.gov/scrreports/sfcpHome).

Educate, Report and Submit

Producers are encouraged to become familiar with scrapie and signs of the disease.

Educate yourself about the clinical signs of scrapie and how to prevent scrapie. Go to Report. Contact your State Veterinarian or the USDA Veterinary Services Area Office for your state if your sheep or goat, older than 12 months, exhibits clinical signs of scrapie. If the animal is determined to be a scrapie suspect you may be eligible to receive indemnity for the animal. Testing clinical suspects is the most cost effective way to find scrapie infected animals.

Submit samples or whole heads from sheep and goats over 18 months of age that die or are euthanized on your premises. Additional information is available on how you or your veterinarian can submit samples or whole heads for scrapie testing. Go to www.aphis.usda.gov/animal-health/ scrapie for more information.

Submit Samples to Test for Scrapie

In order to find the remaining scrapie infected sheep and goats and to demonstrate to the world that the U.S. is scrapie free, APHIS needs more sample submissions from mature sheep and goats that die on farm. The only diagnostic tests currently available to determine if a sheep or goat has scrapie require brain or lymphoid tissue.

Scrapie is typically diagnosed by finding abnormal prion protein accumulation in the brain and/or lymphoid tissue (i.e., third eyelid or rectoanal lymphoid tissue, tonsil or lymph node) of infected sheep or goats.

A positive test result must be confirmed positive by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) to be designated a scrapie case.