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Updated: Apr 17, 2026
Clinical Examination Protocol to Detect Atypical and Classical Scrapie in Sheep
Published on: January 19, 2014
Experimental infection of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) with sheep scrapie
Christina M Carlson1, Jay R Schneider1, Joel A Pedersen1
1US Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53711-6223, USA (Carlson, Schneider, Heisey, Johnson); Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 413 Bock Laboratories, 1525 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA (Carlson, Pedersen); Department of Soil Science, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program, University of Wisconsin, 1525 Observatory Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA (Pedersen).
Abstract:
Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) are permissive to chronic wasting disease (CWD) infection, but their susceptibility to other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) is poorly characterized. In this initial study, we intracerebrally challenged 6 meadow voles with 2 isolates of sheep scrapie. Three meadow voles acquired a TSE after the scrapie challenge and an extended incubation period. The glycoform profile of proteinase K-resistant prion protein (PrP(res)) in scrapie-sick voles remained similar to the sheep inocula, but differed from that of voles clinically affected by CWD. Vacuolization patterns and disease-associated prion protein (PrP(Sc)) deposition were generally similar in all scrapie-affected voles, except in the hippocampus, where PrP(Sc) staining varied markedly among the animals. Our results demonstrate that meadow voles can acquire a TSE after intracerebral scrapie challenge and that this species could therefore prove useful for characterizing scrapie isolates.
