Disease of sheep, marked by progressive degeneration of the nervous system.
Fatal disease of sheep and goats that attacks the central nervous system, causing deterioration of the brain cells, and leading to the characteristic staggering gait and other behavioral abnormalities, before death. It is believed to be caused by a submicroscopic particle known as a prion and is related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the disease of cattle known as “mad cow disease”, and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans. It is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.