Sheep with scrapie found in Japan

A dead sheep infected with scrapie - a degenerative disease of the nervous system similar to mad cow disease - has been found in western Japan, an official said on April 14. The animal died on March 31 on a farm in Fukuoka prefecture where around 50 sheep and goats were kept, said prefectural official Shigetaka Yamashita, adding tests had identified the cause of death as scrapie.
It was the first case of the disease in Japan since 2005 when it was detected in a flock in Kanagawa, south of Tokyo, Yamashita said.
"The sheep will be incinerated soon and we will check the remaining sheep and goats at the farm," he said, adding that the prefecture had no plan to impose any ban on shipments of sheep or goats.