Conversely the resistant genotype appeared to be effectively immune even when exposed to the infectious agent. As I understand it both susceptible and resistant genes are common in almost all breeds. Consequently one should expect individuals homozygous in a susceptible genotype to spontaneously succumb to scrapie even if the flock has never heretofore been exposed to the infective agent, albeit probably at a low incidence. This makes me, at least, suspicious of any claims of complete freedom from scrapie from any country at all unless their flocks are composed of sheep that contain no susceptible genes, which is unlikely to say the least. Mortality in sheep is rather high, flocks are typically large and in many countries farmed extensively.
Individual care is in practice virtually impossible.
In a large flock dead animals are a frequent occurrence and individual veterinary attention often unhelpful and uneconomic. Due to the nil value of the carcasses dead stock are usually disposed of on the farm. Even if scrapie was diagnosed by a shepherd, there is no cure and little point calling a vet. Bearing in mind the very low incidence of scrapie, even in the UK, the a ease with which cases can be concealed, or simply ignored, is trivial. So trivial it is closer to simply not bothering to make the notification, something that is known to occur in human medicine amongst doctors.