NR AOTL
AU Green,R.B.; Horrocks,C.L.; Wilkinson,A.E.; Ryder,S.J.
TI Can BSE be Isolated from Brain Pools Containg a Mix of BSE and Scrapie
QU International Conference - Prion diseases: from basic research to intervention concepts - TSE-Forum, 08.10.-10.10.2003, Gasteig, München - Poster session - PG-09
PT Konferenz-Poster
AB
Studies are underway in the UK to determine if BSE is present in the National sheep flock. Individually stain typing every case of scrapie is impractical, but if BSE could be detected when mixed with scrapie, pooling of scrapie isolates would enable a large number of scrapie cases to be screened for the presence of the BSE agent.
Identification of the BSE agent on primary isolation in mice is based on its incubation period and distinctive Lesion profile. While mouse bioassay methods are able to detect low levels of BSE on a negative background, there is no data on the ability of mouse strain typing to identify the BSE agent when mixed with an excess of sheep scrapie.
To determine whether BSE could be detected when mixed with scrapie, and if so to what dilution, a pool of scrapie affected sheep brains was "spiked" with ovine BSE agent at ratios of 1:1 to 100:1, BSE: scrapie.
Incubation periods of BSE spike and scrapie brain pool were not significantly different.
The BSE spike gave a lesion profile typical of BSE, while the lesion profiles of the scrapie brain pool and the spiked pools showed a profile that differed from BSE in shape and height.
In C57bl and Riii mice BSE lesion profile characteristics could not be identified in any mixture from 50% to 1% BSE in an excess of scrapie. Studies are still in progress with VM mice.
These results suggest that on primary isolation in mice, BSE can not be detected when mixed with scrapie. Accidental contamination of a scrapie infected brain collected in a post mortem room that also handles BSE infected brains is unlikely to compromise the outcome of strain typing either.
AD R.B. Green, C.L. Horrocks, A.E. Wilkinson, S. Ryder, VLA Weybridge, UK
SP englisch
PO Deutschland