Transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) is rare sporadic disease that affects the central nervous system of ranch-raised mink. It is classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, believed to be caused by proteins called prions. This disease is only known to affect adult mink.
This illness has a minimum incubation period of 7 months with a maximum incubation period of 12 months. This disease normally results in mortality of adult animals.
Clinical signs of TME include the characteristic behavioural changes such as confusion, loss of cleanliness, and aimless circling. Affected animals show signs of weight loss, might develop matted fur, hind-quarter ataxia and arching its tail over its back. Seizures may very rarely occur. Near-death stages include the animals showing signs of drowsiness and unresponsiveness.
There are currently no tests to detect signs of this illness in live animals. However, veterinary pathologists can confirm this illness by microscopic examination of the brain tissue in animals suspected to have died of this disease, where they expect to detect areas of distinct sponge-like formations, or by the identification of the prion protein in these tissue samples.
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