A fatal disease in sheep and goats, scrapie causes a neurological disorder within the brain and central nervous system of affected animals. While no treatment for scrapie is available, different sheep show varying levels of susceptibility to the disease; some sheep are recognised as resistant to scrapie.

Recent genomic breakthroughs have identified the three sites on a specific gene that influence scrapie resistance and susceptibility. A DNA test is now available to identify each animal's genotype and its susceptibility to scrapie. This information can be used to effectively manage individual sheep within a flock, remove the animals most susceptible to scrapie and make more-informed breeding decisions to increase the level of resistance to the disease.