Evaluation of Scrapie Test Results of Native and Endangered Hungarian Sheep Breeds for Further Breeding

Eszter Ilona Bácsi, Renáta Klein (), András Lévai, Fiona Kenyon and János Oláh
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Eszter Ilona Bácsi: Farm and Regional Research Institute of Debrecen, Institutes for Agricultural Research and Educational Farm, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi Street 138, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Renáta Klein: Department of Animal Husbandry, Institute of Animal Science Biotechnology and Nature, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi Street 138, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
András Lévai: Hungarian Sheep and Goat Breeders’ Association, Lőportár Street 16, 1134 Budapest, Hungary
Fiona Kenyon: Moredun Research Institute, Bush Road Loan, Penicuik EH26 0PZ, UK
János Oláh: Farm and Regional Research Institute of Debrecen, Institutes for Agricultural Research and Educational Farm, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi Street 138, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: In this study, we analysed scrapie test results of Hungarian indigenous sheep breeds (Cikta, Tsigai, Dairy Tsigai, Transylvanian Racka, and Hungarian Racka in white and black colour variants) and the endangered Hungarian Merino rams during the period from 2019 to 2023. In Hungary, it is mandatory to perform scrapie testing for every ram intended for breeding. These results were subsequently compared with data from analyses conducted in 2004 and between 2013 and 2015, which served as control samples. The test results were given by the Hungarian Sheep and Goat Breeders’ Association. The employees collected ear cartilage tissue samples during the identification of the lambs using TypiFixTM by Agrobiogen GmBH. We determined the frequencies of alleles, genotypes, and risk groups, and calculated the proportion of each within the studied population. The scrapie test results were evaluated using the SPSS 23 software package and a Chi 2 -test. Samples were categorised into one of five risk groups (R1 (lowest)–R5 (highest)) based on the degree of resistance observed. In conclusion, we found that there was a significant improvement in scrapie susceptibility for all breeds except the Cikta. However, the potential impact of this improvement on other important traits remains undetermined. Regarding susceptibility to scrapie, the Hungarian Merino is the most resistant group, as 68.8% of the rams in this breed belonged to the R1 risk group, while the Cikta sheep is in the least favourable position, as only 3.3% of the examined individuals belonged to this category.

Keywords: scrapie; indigenous breeds; scrapie resistance; zoonosis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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