The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the detection of classical scrapie in a sheep slaughtered at a facility in Oregon. This marks the first case in the U.S. in more than five years.
The U.S. was positioned to meet the World Organisation for Animal Health’s seven‑year benchmark for self‑declared scrapie freedom in January 2028, according to the agency.
The affected animal did not have an ear tag, which may limit traceability, APHIS said. The agency will conduct tissue-matching and parentage testing on the sheep and two additional animals from the same accession to support its investigation.
Classical scrapie is a fatal, degenerative prion disease of sheep and goats.
