Producer participation is critical to the success of the scrapie surveillance program and, ultimately, to eradicating scrapie from Canada
To achieve scrapie sampling targets, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) works closely with the sheep and goat industries, veterinarians and provinces. Scrapie surveillance samples are collected at farms, abattoirs, auction markets, deadstock facilities and animal health laboratories.
The goals of the scrapie surveillance program are to:
- identify infected sheep flocks or goat herds so that proper disease control actions can be taken;
- measure the progress of Canada's eradication program;
- detect scrapie if introduced to Canada; and
- demonstrate low disease risk for trading purposes.
Scrapie surveillance is a shared responsibility. Sheep and goat producers, industry, veterinarians and governments all have a role to play.
Having an animal tested
The CFIA would like to test any mature animals (aged 12 months and older) that die on your farm or exhibit the following symptoms:
- unexplained weight loss
- problems standing or walking
- changes in behaviour
You can arrange to drop the sample off yourself, or have a CFIA inspector come to your farm to collect the sample.
To make arrangements to have a sample taken for testing, call the nearest CFIA office.
The facts about scrapie
Scrapie is a fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Other TSEs include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk.
Scrapie is a "federally reportable disease" in Canada. That means all suspected cases must be reported to the CFIA. Compensation may be available for live animals suspected of having scrapie and ordered destroyed by the CFIA.
Scrapie surveillance is an essential part of the National Scrapie Eradication Program. The goal of Canada's National Scrapie Eradication Program is to eradicate classical scrapie from the national sheep flock and goat herd. This protects the health of the national sheep flock and goat herd, and maintains confidence in Canada's sheep and goat industries locally and around the world.