Natural scrapie in goats: neuropathology

The brains of the 20 goats affected with natural scrapie received at the Central Veterinary-Laboratory, Weybridge, since 1975 were examined microscopically. Lesions of a spongiform encephalopathy were found in the brainstem, cerebellum, diencephalon, corpus striatum, and also in the neopallium or cerebral cortex. The lesions in the neopallium have not previously been reported in natural scrapie in goats. Deposits of amyloid were present in the thalamus in three of the 20 goats.