B-a-a-a — Exposure to sheep could trigger multiple sclerosis, study suggests

 By Sarah Knapton, science editor 
20 APRIL 2018 • 

Exposure to a toxin primarily found in sheep could be linked to the development of multiple sclerosis, a new studysuggests.

More than 100,000 people in Britain have been diagnosed with MS, which occurs when the immune system attacks the protective coating surrounding nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

The condition leads to inflammation, pain, disability and in severe cases, early death, but experts still do not know the underlying cause.

Now researchers at the University of Exeter have discovered that nearly half of the MS sufferers that they studied had been infected at some time in their lives by epsilon toxin.

The toxin is produced in the gut of sheep by the Clostridium Perfringens bacterium and can also be found in the soil.  

Researchers looked at 250 people – half of whom had MS –  and found 43 per cent of MS patients were carrying antibodies to epsilon toxin, proving it had been in the body long enough for the immune system to produce a response.

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