Pullman, Wash. — USDA scientists working in collaboration with researchers in the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine have discovered a revolutionary practical test for diagnosing a fatal brain disease in sheep known as scrapie. The disease is a spongiform encephalopathy, similar to the disease known as Mad Cow Disease.
WHEN: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday April 14, 1998
WHERE: The new Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Rooms 1408 and 1410, Washington State University
WHO: Don Knowles, D.V.M., Ph.D., Head USDA/ARS
Katherine O’Rourke, D.V.M., Ph.D., research team leader
Tim Baszler, D.V.M., Ph.D., associate professor, veterinary pathology
Steve Parrish, D.V.M., professor, large animal medicine and surgery
WHAT: All four scientific team members will be available to discuss this remarkable discovery and its implications. Slides of positive and negative results will be shown. Following the press conference there will be an opportunity to photograph the actual procedure used to harvest the tissue necessary for the test.
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