Scrapie in Eastern Libya: Case Report in Sheep

Abstract

Here we report neuropathological features of scrapie cases detected between 2018 and 2022.
 Fourteen cases of sheep older than 2 years from several areas in Libya with neurological clinical signs resembling those with Scrapie were submitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Omar Al-Mukhtar University / Al-Beida. Postmortem examinations were performed on all animals after euthanasia. Samples from different organs were submitted for histopathological examination. Routine Hematoxylin and Eosin stain (HE) was used.
 Nine cases showed neuronal vacuolation that is characteristic of Scrapie in sheep. Two cases were suspected for Scrapie and need more advanced methods such as Immunohistochemistry (IHC) to confirm the diagnosis. The other three cases were diagnosed with Rabies, Listeria, and Echinococcus granulosus.

Characterization of the First Case of Classical Scrapie in a Sheep in Tunisia

“…The results of this study demonstrate the autochthonous circulation of classical scrapie in sheep in Tunisia. This finding, along with the recent report of scrapie cases from Libya [26] and the description of a novel prion disease in dromedary in Algeria [53] suggest the need to strengthen epidemiological surveillance and improve the diagnostic capacity for animal prion diseases in North African countries.…”

“…In Libya, scrapie was reported in 2014 to the WOAH [25]. In 2022, nine out fourteen sheep older than 2 years, with neurological signs and originating from several regions of Libya were diagnosed with scrapie based on the spongiform change detected by brain histopathology [26].…”

Genetic characterization of the prion protein gene in camels (Camelus) with comments on the evolutionary history of prion disease in Cetartiodactyla

“…Spongiform encephalopathies are a fatal neurogenerative disease ( Prusiner, 1982 ; Prusiner, 1998 ) that include Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and Kuru in humans, scrapie in domestic sheep and goats, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), transmissible mink encephalopathy, feline spongiform encephalopathy, among others ( Abdalla & Sharif, 2022 ; Aguzzi & Polymenidou, 2004 ; Collinge & Clarke, 2007 ; Davenport et al, 2015 ; Greenlee & Greenlee, 2015 ). Spongiform encephalopathies can be contracted through a variety of means: (1) consumption of infected flesh or contact with bodily fluids (transmissible, Collins, Lawson & Masters, 2004 ; Haywood, 1997 ; Weissmann, 1999 ), (2) genetic transfer of a mutated prion gene from one or both parents to offspring (familial, Nitrini et al, 1997 ; Riek et al, 1998 ), or (3) spontaneous production of an alternative prion protein (sporadic, Brown et al, 2006 ; Casalone et al, 2004 ).…”