Characterization of the First Case of Classical Scrapie in a Sheep in Tunisia

Classical scrapie is a contagious prion disease of sheep and goats. It is endemic in many countries in Europe, North America, and Asia. In Africa, imported scrapie cases have been described in South Africa and Kenia in the past. More recently, several cases have been reported from different regions of Libya, based on clinical signs and histological lesions. Here, we report the results of thorough investigations carried out on a suspect case of scrapie in a 6-year-old Barbarine sheep, born, and bred in Tunisia, showing behavioral changes, weight loss, itching, skin lesions, wool loss, and motor incoordination. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry revealed spongiform change in several brain areas with associated pathological prion protein deposition. Western blotting confirmed the diagnosis and showed a classical scrapie-like molecular pattern of PrPres, different from atypical scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in small ruminants. Sequence analysis of the prion protein gene showed that the animal carried the ARQ/ARQ genotype, one of the most susceptible to classical scrapie. The inoculation of sheep brain homogenate in a susceptible rodent model proved the experimental transmissibility of the disease. These results demonstrate the circulation of classical scrapie in Tunisia and confirm its presence in North Africa, indicating the need to improve epidemiological surveillance and diagnostic capacity for prion diseases in the region.