Resistance of Domestic Cats to a US Sheep Scrapie Agent by Intracerebral Route

Abstract

Feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) is thought to have resulted from consumption of food contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy and the latter is believed to result from the consumption of food contaminated with scrapie. However, no direct experimental documentation exists to indicate that the scrapie agent is capable of amplifying in cats, and, therefore, crossing the species barrier. During 1979, 6 cats ranging in age from 3.5 to 18 months were intracerebrally inoculated with sheep scrapie (inoculum G-639-PP) and were observed for an extended period. Inoculated cats did not develop neurologic disease, and microscopic lesions of spongiform encephalopathy were not evident. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot techniques failed to detect the abnormal form of prion protein (PrPres). These results indicate that the sheep scrapie agent (G-639-PP) used in this study was not capable of amplifying in cats and therefore was unable to cross the species barrier to produce FSE.

Possible Case of Maternal Transmission of Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy in a Captive Cheetah

“…It is likely that this case, born in 1989 in a UK zoo, like other previously-described FSE cases in cheetah (born before 1986 and fed with cattle carcasses) [10]), was exposed to a BSE risk mainly during the first year of her life, before being exported in 1993 to Peaugres Safari Park in France. Contamination with another TSE source such as scrapie appears less likely, since scrapie is not transmittable to domestic cats, at least via the intracerebral route [26].…”

Neuropathology of Italian Cats in Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy Surveillance

“…FSE was first identified in the UK in April 1990 during the epizootic of BSE. Ninety cases have been identified in Great Britain, 11 1 in Northern Ireland (Federal Register, 1997), 1 in Norway, 1 1 in Liechtenstein (MAFF [2001] UK statistics on incidence of BSE and related diseases http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/othertses/index.html), 1 in Portugal (Silva JF, Correia JJ, Ribeiro J, Carmo S, Orge L: Feline spongiform encephalopathy: first confirmed case reported in Portugal, PRION 2006 Abstract Book, Poster Session-Diagnosis [DIA-45]:392, 2006), and 2 in Switzerland (BVET-OVF-UFV, http://www.bvet.admin.ch/index.html?lang = it).…”

“…9 FSE was first identified in the UK in April 1990 during the epizootic of BSE. Ninety cases have been identified in Great Britain, 11 1 in Northern Ireland (Federal Register, 1997), 1 in Norway, 1 5 Domestic cats with FSE are generally 4 to 9 years of age (mean, 6.6 years). 38 FSE has also been reported in other felids, 24 including the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), 19 ocelot (Felis pardalis), puma (Felis concolor), 36 lion (Felis leo), and tiger (Panthera tigris).…”