A communicable spongiform encephalopathy of the central nervous system of sheep and goats caused by a prion and characterized by a very long incubation period followed by pruritus, abnormalities of gait, and invariably death; it resembles Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and kuru in humans. [from scraping by affected animals against objects to relieve itching]
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scra·pie 'skrā-pē n a usu. fatal spongiform encephalopathy esp. of sheep that is caused by a prion and is characterized by twitching, excitability, intense itching, excessive thirst, emaciation, weakness, and finally paralysis
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scra·pie (skraґpe) the first of the prion diseases to be recognized, occurring in sheep and goats and characterized by severe pruritus, muscular incoordination, and increasing debility, ending in death.Medical dictionary. 2011.