"Close relatives" of mad cow disease

Introduction: Beijing News on November 23: people are familiar with BSE from Europe But it may be that few people know that sheep can also breed a disease, and it is a close relative of mad cow disease, sheep itch disease For a long time, sheep in the United States were more likely to suffer from the disease Australia, New Zealand and other countries without the disease refused to import live sheep from the United States, which caused great losses to American farmers Although it sounds like an itch disease, the disease in sheep belongs to the same family as mad cow's disease, which is fatal But we can't know for sure whether it will cause human diseases like mad cow disease Sheep infected with this disease will constantly itch and even bite themselves Similar to BSE, the disease usually lurks for several years before symptoms appear It was not until the disease and the sheep finally died that the persistent disease could be diagnosed by brain tissue test In October alone, 57 cases of scrapie were found in the United States, mainly in Ohio, Colorado and Missouri In order to reverse the loss situation, the U.S Department of agriculture has made a decision to completely eradicate the disease by 2010 "As the media continues to focus on BSE, we find that measures must also be taken to stop the spread of urticaria." Under the latest act, farmers must register their flocks with federal agencies Sheep older than 18 months can only be transferred between states after registration and review It must also have an identifiable label "Our goal is to make sure that those sheep that have been confirmed to be free of itch disease are proven," an official from the Ministry of Agriculture said