Vetnews November 2024: Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma – “Jaagsiekte”

Introduction

Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) / Jaagsiekte (Afrikaans = driving sickness) is an infectious pulmonary neoplasia of small ruminants, principally of sheep and less commonly goats.  Infection with the betaretrovirus, jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) leads to the formation of lung tumours manifesting as progressive respiratory failure, chronic weight loss and death or culling of the affected animals. Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) associated pulmonary adenocarcinoma is the most common pulmonary tumour of sheep and occurs in many countries across the globe, being endemic in South Africa.  OPA is absent from Australia and New Zealand and has been eradicated from Iceland. This condition has devastating economic effects on the sheep industry not only due to the high mortality / culling rates but also due to the lack of a vaccine or reliable diagnostic tests for the early detection of the disease.