Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) is a betaretrovirus which is the causative agent of a contagious lung cancer in sheep, called ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma. JSRV is the virus that is the cause of the contagious lung tumors in sheep called ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA). The disease has also been called "jaagsiekte", after the Afrikaans words for "chase" ("jaag") and "sickness" ("siekte"), to describe the respiratory distress observed in an animal out of breath from being chased, indicating the breathing difficulty experienced by infected sheep. Transmission of virus is through aerosol spread between sheep. The exogenous infectious form of
Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing effect change by working with scientists in industry, government, and academia to find new ways to replace animals with non-animal methods, reduce the numbers of animals necessary, or refine methods to make them less painful or stressful to the animals involved. CAAT also operates Altweb, a global clearinghouse for information on alternatives to animal testing, and publishes a general animal news blog, A Boundless Ethic. Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing The Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) has worked with scientists since 1981 to find new methods to replace the use of laboratory animals in