Iowa Farmer Today
02/25/06
Testing program aims to wipe out scrapies in
Iowa flock
By Jeff DeYoung, Iowa Farmer Today
DAYTON -- Paul Eness says he has never had to deal with scrapie in his flock,
but he has seen and heard horror stories.
“It’s just a devastating thing when you put your life into something and then you
have something like scrapie happen,” he says.
Eness, a retired Iowa State University veterinarian, operates a purebred
Suffolk operation near here in Webster County. Most of his rams are sold to
commercial producers who are looking for the carcass traits and other
characteristics he says the breed can bring to an operation.
And, his rams are RR or QR when it comes to scrapie resistance.
It’s simple genetics. The primary gene that determines whether an animal is
resistant or susceptible to scrapie contains a pair of factors known and R and Q.
R is the gene that is most resistant to scrapie; Q is more susceptible.
Animals that are RR are resistant to scrapie, while animals that are QQ are
susceptible to the disease. Animals that are QR have been found to be generally
resistant to scrapie.
“The important thing is to get that R into the lambs,” Eness says. “Your chances
of having scrapie are very small.”
Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system in
sheep and goats. The first case was diagnosed in the U.S. in 1947, and through
2001, the disease had been found in more than 1,000 U.S. flocks.
Reducing and eliminating scrapie is the impetus behind a ram testing program
through the Iowa Department of Agriculture. The program began in September
2005.
More than 100 rams have been tested and those numbers should increase after
lambing season, says Pam Smith, Iowa Scrapie Program coordinator and
Northwest Iowa district veterinarian for the ag department.
The National Scrapie Eradication Program began in January 2001. Since then,
41 scrapie-infected flocks have been found in Iowa. In the last fiscal year, a total
of 165 new scrapie-infected flocks were found in the United States with 10 of
those in Iowa.
Smith says in the current fiscal year, 19 new infected flocks have been found;
three in Iowa.
She says nearly all sheep found to have scrapie have been QQ, and says that
shows the importance of having RR rams in a flock.
“If you have at least QR sheep, they are almost always going to be resistant to
scrapie,” Smith says. “Right now, we are trying to educate producers to make
them aware of this genetic component and to help keep scrapie out of their
flocks. A lot of producers don’t understand the difference an RR ram makes.
“A QR ram is resistant to scrapie. He’s not going to get scrape, but he can still
produce QQ off spring, and they can get scrapie. If a producer with only RR rams
saves back his own ewes, then eventually as the older QQ ewes are culled, you
end up with a virtually scrape-proof flock. That’s the goal.”
She says black-faced sheep such as the Suffolk and Hampshire breeds, as well
as speckle-faced crosses, have been found to have a higher incidence of
scrapie, although it has also been found in white-faced breeds as well as in
commercial flocks.
Producers may have 10 rams tested at no cost if they use the IDALS program.
Blood will be collected from rams by state or federal district vets.
Flock owners who participate in the program must agree to register their
premises with the state ag department as part of the National Animal
Identification System. All rams to be tested must have an official scrapie flock ID
tag in place at the time of sample collection.
Seedstock producers who wish to sell RR rams may also have an additional 90
ram lambs tested through the program.The state ag department will pick up 50
percent of the cost, placing the cost to producers at $5 per ram after the first 10.
These producers must also agree that any QQ ram lambs be castrated or
identified as meat animals only.
Seedstock producers with RR rams for sale will be listed on the ag department’s
Web site.
Smith says the department has funding for about 2,000 tests. She says
producers may also have their private vets do the testing, rather than using the
ag department’s program. It is recommended vets use a USDA-approved lab,
and follow specific guidelines so the test can be considered official.
“We’re hoping to really get this going this spring,” Smith says. “We’d really like to
be able to list these producers on our Web site who have the RR rams to sell.”
Eness says he has been testing his own rams independently but plans to take
advantage of the state program. He says as more becomes known about
scrapie, more and more RR rams are being found.
“Everything we have, we know what they are and we are able to provide
information on those animals,” Eness says. “Our customers are becoming more
and more interested in RR rams, because it just makes more sense to have
them.”
Eness says while scrapie remains relatively uncommon in the United States, it’s
something every producer should learn about.
“It’s not something you will see daily or weekly, and maybe just a couple of flocks
a year, but it’s something you need to be aware of,” he says. “DNA testing is just
one tool. The other is education, for producers to learn about it. Scrapie is out
there, but I think we’re definitely gaining on it.”