| Louping ill | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Ovine encephalomyelitis, infectious encephalomyelitis of sheep, trembling-ill |
 | |
| Nonsuppurative encephalitis in goat affected by louping ill. A) Cerebellum with necrosis of Purkinje cells. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain; scale bar = 100 µm. Inset: necrosis of Purkinje cells. H&E stain; scale bar = 20 µm. B) Midbrain. Area of neurophagia (arrow) surrounded by microglial cells. Necrosis of neurons can be also seen. H&E stain; scale bar = 50 µm. C) Lymphoid perivascular cuff in midbrain. H&E stain; scale bar = 50 µm. D) Spinal cord, gray matter. Focal microgliosis (crosses) and neurons undergoing necrosis (arrows). H&E stain; scale bar = 50 µm. | |
| Specialty | Veterinary medicine |
Louping-ill (/ˈlaʊpɪŋɪl/) is an acute viral disease primarily of sheep that is characterized by a biphasic fever, depression, ataxia, muscular incoordination, tremors, posterior paralysis, coma, and death. Louping-ill is a tick-transmitted disease whose occurrence is closely related to the distribution of the primary vector, the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus. It also causes disease in red grouse, and can affect humans. The name 'louping-ill' is derived from an old Scottish word describing the effect of the disease in sheep whereby they 'loup' or spring into the air.[1]