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Study Duration : March 2007 to February 2012
The species barrier has appeared to be efficient for limiting propagation of the TSE agent between animal species. One consequence of such a barrier is the apparent absence of natural transmission from a number of animal TSE agents to humans, however, that statement remains essentially based on epidemiological observations. Very little data is available in this field, however, in the case of cattle BSE its ability to cross the species barrier has been demonstrated. The recent discovery of atypical forms of BSE in cattle as well as atypical forms of scrapie in sheep raise the question of their transmissibility to humans.
This research project aims to explore the abilities of a number of different TSE isolates including cattle BSE, atypical BSE in cattle, atypical scrapie in sheep and chronic wasting disease in deer. It will also examine the potential alteration of permeability of human species barrier for prions that have adapted to a species other than their natural host, for example experimental BSE in sheep. The research will use Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assays and western blot techniques to characterisation phenotypic features that are linked to a strain of TSE agent.
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