Animals (Oct 2021)

Scrapie at Abattoir: Monitoring, Control, and Differential Diagnosis of Wasting Conditions during Meat Inspection

  • Alexandra Esteves,
  • Madalena Vieira-Pinto,
  • Hélder Quintas,
  • Leonor Orge,
  • Adelina Gama,
  • Anabela Alves,
  • Fernanda Seixas,
  • Isabel Pires,
  • Maria de Lurdes Pinto,
  • Ana Paula Mendonça,
  • Carla Lima,
  • Carla Neves Machado,
  • João Carlos Silva,
  • Paula Tavares,
  • Filipe Silva,
  • Estela Bastos,
  • Jorge Pereira,
  • Nuno Gonçalves-Anjo,
  • Paulo Carvalho,
  • Roberto Sargo,
  • Ana Matos,
  • Luís Figueira,
  • Maria dos Anjos Pires

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113028
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 11
p. 3028

Abstract

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Wasting disease in small ruminants is frequently detected at slaughterhouses. The wasting disorder is manifested by the deterioration of the nutritional and physiological state of the animal indicated by thinness, emaciation, and cachexia. Evidence of emaciation and cachexia, alone, are pathological conditions leading to carcass condemnation during an inspection. Several diseases are associated with a wasting condition, including scrapie, pseudotuberculosis, tuberculosis, paratuberculosis, Maedi Visna, and tumor diseases. On the other hand, parasitic diseases, nutrition disorders, exposure or ingestion of toxins, metabolic conditions, inadequate nutrition due to poor teeth, or poor alimentary diet are conditions contributing to poor body condition. Classical and atypical scrapie is naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in small ruminants. The etiological agent for each one is prions. However, each of these scrapie types is epidemiologically, pathologically, and biochemically different. Though atypical scrapie occurs at low incidence, it is consistently prevalent in the small ruminant population. Hence, it is advisable to include differential diagnosis of this disease, from other possibilities, as a cause of wasting conditions detected during meat inspection at the abattoir. This manuscript is a review of the measures in force at the abattoir for scrapie control, focusing on the differential diagnosis of gross lesions related to wasting conditions detected in small ruminants during meat inspection.

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