Alert from Senasa: "mad cow disease" detected in sheep in Argentina and the country loses a sanitary status

While struggling against scabies outbreaks in Patagonia, the sheep sector received another bad health news in recent hours. The National Service of Agri-Food Health and Quality (Senasa) confirmed through laboratory a positive case of Prurigo Lumbar, a disease more commonly known as Scrapie, and which has characteristics similar to the "mad cow" syndrome that affects cattle. In practice, this means that this health situation may lead to restrictions on exports of sheep products to destinations that specifically require the certificate of "free from Prurigo Lumbar", as stated in the letter sent to OMSA. Although there is no official information regarding this, the disease apparently entered through sheep brought from Paraguay to Patagonia. Prurigo Lumbar, known worldwide as Scrapie (or trembling), is a neurodegenerative disease that affects sheep and goats. It is classified within the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), the same family as "mad cow disease". One of its ...