Friday, August 31, 2012

COMMITTEE ON CAPTIVE WILDLIFE AND ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK and CWD 2009-2012 a review

COMMITTEE ON CAPTIVE WILDLIFE AND ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK and CWD 2009-2012 a review



COMMITTEE ON CAPTIVE WILDLIFE AND ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK 2011



The Committee met on October 2, 2011 at the Adams Mark Hotel in Buffalo, New York from 12:30-5:3 0p.m. There were 25 members and 31 guests present. Dr. John Fischer presided as acting chair for the Committee due to unavoidable conflicts of Drs. Miller and Hilsenroth. Bovine TB



snip...



USDA-APHIS-VS Chronic Wasting Disease National Program


Patrice N. Klein of USDA APHIS VS – National Center for Animal Health Programs provided an update on the agency’s CWD–related activities:


CWD Rule Update: The amended final rule on chronic wasting disease (CWD) is currently in departmental clearance. The rule will set minimum standards for interstate movement and establish the national



___voluntary___



Herd Certification Program (HCP). Farmed/captive cervid surveillance testing: Through FY2010, VS conducted surveillance testing on approximately 20,000 farmed /captive cervids by the immunohistochemistry (IHC) standard protocol. As of September 15, 2011, approximately 19,000 farmed /captive cervids were tested by IHC for CWD with funding to cover lab costs provided through NVSL.


Farmed/captive cervid CWD status: The CWD positive captive white-tailed deer (WTD) herd reported in Missouri (February 2010) was indemnified and depopulation activities were completed in June 2011. All depopulated animals were tested for CWD and no additional CWD positive animals were found.


In FY 2011, CWD was reported in two captive elk herds in Nebraska (December, 2010 and April 2011, respectively). To date, 52 farmed/captive cervid herds have been identified in 11 states: CO, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NY, OK, SD, WI. Thirty-nine were elk herds and 13 were WTD herds. At this time, eight CWD positive herds remain – six elk herds in Colorado and the two elk herds in Nebraska.


Wild Cervid surveillance: In FY 2009 funding supported surveillance in approximately 74,330 wild cervids in 47 cooperating States. Wild cervid CWD surveillance totals are pending for fiscal year 2010 (2010 – 2011 calendar year) due to seasonal surveillance activities and completion of final cooperative agreement reporting to APHIS.


In fiscal year 2011, there are 15 ‘tier 1’ States, 20 ‘tier 2’ States, and 15 ‘tier 3’ States. Two new ‘tier 1’ States, Minnesota and Maryland, were added in fiscal year 2011 based on the new CWD detections in a free-ranging white-tailed deer in southeastern Minnesota and in western Maryland. Consequently, Delaware was upgraded to ‘tier 2’ status as an adjacent State to Maryland. For FY 2011, 45 States and 32 Tribes will receive cooperative agreement funds to complete wild cervid surveillance and other approved work plan activities. Based on FY 2012 projected budget reductions, future cooperative agreement funds will be eliminated.


APHIS CWD Funding: In FY2011, APHIS received approximately $15.8 million in appropriated funding for the CWD Program. The President’s FY 2012 budget proposes to reduce program funding for CWD by $13.9 million, leaving the program with a request of $1.925 million to provide some level of Federal coordination for the national herd certification program (HCP).


Consequently, APHIS is planning to amend its role in the program to one of Federal coordination. Based on the projected FY 2012 budget, funding for CWD cooperative agreements and indemnity funding for States and Tribes will be eliminated. Under this scenario, the States or cervid industry producers will likely be responsible for the costs of surveillance testing and indemnity for appraisal, depopulation, and disposal of CWD-positive animals.


Commodity Health Line Structure: In the FY 2012 budget, livestock commodities regulated by USDA have been organized into ‘Commodity Health Line’ structures or groupings. APHIS’ Equine, Cervid and Small Ruminant (ECSR) Health line supports efforts to protect the health and thereby improve the quality and productivity of the equine, cervid and small ruminant industries. Activities supported by the ECSR Health line range from monitoring and surveillance to investigation and response actions undertaken when health issues relevant to the industry are identified. APHIS also maintains regulations and program standards which guide ECSR activities at both the Federal and State/Tribal level.


The ECSR Health line funds essential activities necessary to maintain current ECSR surveillance and program operations while providing the flexibility to respond to new and emerging industry-specific health concerns. APHIS’ current activities include Scrapie, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), Slaughter Horse Transport, and Brucellosis/Tuberculosis in cervids. Overall, APHIS will use funding from the ECSR Health Line Item to support Agency efforts in the following mission areas: prevention, preparedness and communication; monitoring, surveillance and detection; response and containment; and continuity of business, mitigation and recovery



Scrapie in Deer: Comparisons and Contrasts to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)



Justin J. Greenlee of the Virus and Prion Diseases Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, ARS, USDA, Ames, IA provided a presentation on scrapie and CWD in inoculated deer. Interspecies transmission studies afford the opportunity to better understand the potential host range and origins of prion diseases. We inoculated white-tailed deer intracranially (IC) and by a natural route of exposure (concurrent oral and intranasal inoculation) with a US scrapie isolate. All deer inoculated by the intracranial route had evidence of PrPSc accumulation and those necropsied after 20 months post-inoculation (PI) (3/5) had clinical signs, spongiform encephalopathy, and widespread distribution of PrPSc in neural and lymphoid tissues. A single deer that was necropsied at 15.6 months PI did not have clinical signs, but had widespread distribution of PrPSc. This highlights the facts that 1) prior to the onset of clinical signs PrPSc is widely distributed in the CNS and lymphoid tissues and 2) currently used diagnostic methods are sufficient to detect PrPSc prior to the onset of clinical signs. The results of this study suggest that there are many similarities in the manifestation of CWD and scrapie in white-tailed deer after IC inoculation including early and widespread presence of PrPSc in lymphoid tissues, clinical signs of depression and weight loss progressing to wasting, and an incubation time of 21-23 months. Moreover, western blots (WB) done on brain material from the obex region have a molecular profile consistent with CWD and distinct from tissues of the cerebrum or the scrapie inoculum. However, results of microscopic and IHC examination indicate that there are differences between the lesions expected in CWD and those that occur in deer with scrapie: amyloid plaques were not noted in any sections of brain examined from these deer and the pattern of immunoreactivity by IHC was diffuse rather than plaque-like. After a natural route of exposure, 100% of white-tailed deer were susceptible to scrapie. Deer developed clinical signs of wasting and mental depression and were necropsied from 28 to 33 months PI. Tissues from these deer were positive for scrapie by IHC and WB. Tissues with PrPSc immunoreactivity included brain, tonsil, retropharyngeal and mesenteric lymph nodes, hemal node, Peyer’s patches, and spleen. While two WB patterns have been detected in brain regions of deer inoculated by the natural route, unlike the IC inoculated deer, the pattern similar to the scrapie inoculum predominates.



Committee Business:


The Committee discussed and approved three resolutions regarding CWD. They can be found in the report of the Reswolutions Committee. Essentially the resolutions urged USDA-APHIS-VS to:


Continue to provide funding for CWD testing of captive cervids


• Finalize and publish the national CWD rule for Herd Certification and Interstate Movement


• Evaluate live animal test, including rectal mucosal biopsy, for CWD in cervids









BACKGROUND INFORMATION:


The proposed rule for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Herd Certification and Interstate Movement of Captive Cervids in farmed cervidae requires that all farmed cervidae greater than 12 months of age that die or are slaughtered must be tested for CWD. Farmed cervidae producers across the nation have complied with testing requirements, in large part because laboratory costs for CWD testing have traditionally been paid with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds.


The CWD testing protocol that is recommended for farmed cervidae is the immunohistochemistry (IHC) test using formalin fixed samples of brain stem and retropharyngeal lymph node from each animal. It is the most sensitive and specific test for detecting CWD. The test is expensive and costs at least $25.00 per slide to perform at USDA approved laboratories.


There is an urgency to maintain USDA funding to cover the costs of CWD testing for farmed cervidae. If USDA funding for CWD tests ends and farmed cervidae producers are forced to cover the cost of such tests, there is a real possibility that producer compliance with CWD testing requirements will decrease. Without producer cooperation, the national CWD control program for farmed cervidae could collapse.


RESOLUTION:


The United States Animal Health Association urges the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services to continue to provide funding to cover the laboratory costs of testing farmed cervidae for Chronic Wasting Disease by immunohistochemistry at all approved laboratories.


INTERIM RESPONSE:


The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS) recognizes the concerns of the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) and appreciates the opportunity to respond.


Resolution 14 / pg 2


In fiscal year 2012, the congressional appropriation for the chronic wasting disease (CWD) program was reduced by $13.9 million, to approximately $1.9 million. Consequently, VS no longer has funds to cover testing costs for farmed cervids. Laboratories and industry were informed that this funding ended on December 31, 2011; all such costs must now be borne by the producers. VS will continue to cover only confirmatory testing on any presumptive CWD positive samples from farmed and wild cervidae at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories.


VS will direct remaining program funds to the publication of the CWD final rule and the administrative costs associated with implementation of the national CWD herd certification program.







UNITED STATES ANIMAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION


115th Annual Meeting


September 29- October 5, 2011


Buffalo, New York


_________________________________________________________



RESOLUTION NUMBER: 15 APPROVED


SOURCE: COMMITTEE ON CAPTIVE WILDLIFE AND ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK


SUBJECT MATTER: CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE HERD CERTIFICATION AND INTERSTATE MOVEMENT FINAL RULE


BACKGROUND INFORMATION:


Implementation of rules for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) that define the CWD herd certification program (9 CFR 55 Subpart B) and requirements for interstate movement of farmed cervidae (9 CFR 81) has been delayed since 2006. There is an urgency to finalize these rules to ensure that CWD certification programs are uniformly administered in all states and that all farmed cervidae that move from state to state meet the same requirements. These rules are critically important to the survival of the farmed cervidae industry. These rules are needed to preserve the ability of producers to move farmed cervidae and their products interstate and internationally without unnecessary restrictions.


RESOLUTION:


The United States Animal Health Association urges the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services to finalize rules for Chronic Wasting Disease herd certification programs (9 CFR 55 Subpart B) and interstate movement of farmed cervidae (9 CFR 81).


INTERIM RESPONSE:


The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services appreciates your interest in the rulemaking for chronic wasting disease (CWD).


The CWD amended final rule was cleared by USDA and is in clearance in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Once OMB clearance is completed, the CWD amended rule would become effective 60 days after its publication.







UNITED STATES ANIMAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION


115th Annual Meeting


September 29- October 5, 2011


Buffalo, New York



_________________________________________________________




RESOLUTION NUMBER: 16 APPROVED


SOURCE: COMMITTEE ON CAPTIVE WILDLIFE AND ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK


SUBJECT MATTER: LIVE ANIMAL TESTING FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE


BACKGROUND INFORMATION:


Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in live animals is an important component of CWD Prevention and Control Programs.


With the funding decrease for CWD indemnification, the need has increased for additional diagnostic tools to monitor CWD positive herds and epidemiologically linked herds that may be maintained in quarantine rather than depopulated. The use of recto-anal mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) has been approved as a live animal test for Scrapie. There have been numerous studies evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of RAMALT in cervids. There are several additional advantages to RAMALT sampling. There is a large amount of suitable tissue to sample and multiple sites can be sampled allowing repeat sampling over time.


RESOLUTION:


The United States Animal Health Association requests that the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services evaluate live animal tests, including the rectal biopsy (RAMALT), as a live animal test for Chronic Wasting Disease.


INTERIM RESPONSE:


The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services appreciates your interest in live animal tests for chronic wasting disease (CWD).


APHIS is completing analysis of a multi-year study evaluating recto-anal mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) biopsy testing as a diagnostic tool for CWD detection in captive white-tailed deer. This is a collaborative study with APHIS Wildlife Services, Agricultural Research Service, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Colorado State University, and others to evaluate the existing collective data on white-tailed deer relative to diagnostic testing and interpretation of the immunohistochemistry test for CWD


Resolution 16 / pg 2


on rectal biopsy testing in the United States and Canada. Currently, there is insufficient data available to evaluate this technique on other captive Cervidae.


After this analysis is completed, APHIS will determine the applicability of RAMALT for use in a CWD Herd Certification Program (HCP). We plan to complete this determination by September 30, 2012. APHIS also will continue to evaluate other live animal tests for CWD, as they are developed, to assess appropriate use in a CWD HCP.








Friday, August 24, 2012



Diagnostic accuracy of rectal mucosa biopsy testing for chronic wasting disease within white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herds in North America



The overall diagnostic specificity was 99.8%. Selective use of antemortem rectal biopsy sample testing would provide valuable information during disease investigations of CWD-suspect deer herds.













(E) Beginning one hundred-eighty days after the effective date of this rule,








(K) All monitored captive deer, three hundred sixty-five days of age or older which die from injury, illness, slaughter, hunting, or any other cause, shall be reported within twenty-four hours of discovery to an approved accredited licensed veterinarian or if not available, the Chief, Division of Animal Health or his representative. Monitored captive deer in hunting preserves are exempt from the twenty-four hour requirement for notification.


Monitored captive deer shall be tested for chronic wasting disease according to the following:


(1) Herds with ten head or less must test all deaths.


(2) Herds with eleven heads or more must annually test thirty percent or thirty head of deaths, whichever is less.


(L) The owner of all captive whitetail deer being tested for chronic wasting disease, is responsible for arranging for the submission of the required brain tissue and any other tissues as directed by the Chief, Division of Animal Health or his representative, to a department approved laboratory for chronic wasting disease testing. The submission form for CWD shall be signed by an approved accredited licensed veterinarian and shall accompany the sample. Owners are responsible for the cost of collecting and submitting, and testing of samples.


The animal’s official identification tag must accompany the sample; if the animal does not have a tag at time of death, a tag must be issued and accompany the sample.










Q. What does the 2012 amended CWD final rule entail?



A. The interim final rule responds to the concerns raised to APHIS in 2006 and finalizes the changes to the CWD program APHIS proposed in March, 2009.


It establishes a ___voluntary___ national CWD Herd Certification Program (HCP), providing consistent minimum standards for participating states and minimum requirements for the interstate movement of cervids.


States that participate in the HCP must establish programs that are approved by APHIS.




snip...




Q. What are the requirements for a State to become a CWD HCP participant?



A. States interested in having their State CWD HCP approved should submit the required application and supporting documents to APHIS for review and approval. Application materials should be sent to the Area Veterinarian in Charge (AVIC) in the APHIS Veterinary Service (VS) Area Office in the requesting State. Information provided must describe the State’s CWD prevention and control activities, and the deer, elk, and moose herd certification activities, and cite relevant State statutes, regulations, and directives pertaining to animal health activities and reports and publications of the State.



This must include:



• Movement restrictions,



• Surveillance and disease reporting capabilities,



• Herd/animal identification requirements



• Diagnostic testing capacities,



• Recordkeeping and data management,



• Ability to conduct epidemiologic investigations and trace-outs



• Education and outreach Details of requirements are described in 9 CFR Part 55.23.




Q. What must a herd owner do to become a CWD HCP participant?




A. Herd owners seeking approval to participate in their Approved State CWD HCP should contact their State agency for information on herd owner enrollment United States Department of Agriculture



• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service



• Safeguarding American Agriculture and State requirements. In general, herd owners may be eligible to enroll in an Approved State CWD HCP if they:



• Add to their herds only animals that are from herds enrolled in the CWD Herd Certification Program, to ensure that animals added to herds are of known risk. Additions to the herd should be from other enrolled herds of equal or greater status in the program.



• Maintain perimeter fencing adequate to prevent entry or exit of cervids, and to minimize the possibility of CWD transmission by direct contact between farmed and free-ranging wild cervid populations.



• Report to APHIS or the State all animals that escape or disappear, and report to APHIS or the State all animals that die or are killed and make their carcasses available for tissue sampling and testing. Minimum federal standards for herd owner enrollment in their State CWD HCP are described in the 9 CFR Part 55.22.




snip...




Q. Do I have to be enrolled in an Approved State CWD HCP if the cervid species I raise is not known to be susceptible to CWD?


A. No. The federal rule establishes federal standards for a voluntary Approved State CWD HCP and includes cervids in the genera Cervus, Odocoileus, and Alces and their hybrids. These genera represent cervids known to be susceptible to CWD. Individual States may have additional requirements for other cervid species not included in the federal rule.










never say never...tss





5. A positive result from a chimpanzee challenged severely would likely create alarm in some circles even if the result could not be interpreted for man. I have a view that all these agents could be transmitted provided a large enough dose by appropriate routes was given and the animals kept long enough. Until the mechanisms of the species barrier are more clearly understood it might be best to retain that hypothesis.














Monday, June 18, 2012



natural cases of CWD in eight Sika deer (Cervus nippon) and five Sika/red deer crossbreeds captive Korea and Experimental oral transmission to red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus)








Tuesday, June 19, 2012



Experimental Oral Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease to Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus)









USAHA Committee on Captive Wildlife and Alternative Livestock


Tuesday October 23, 2012 8:00 AM–12:00 PM


Grandover West, Sheraton Greensboro


Greensboro, North Carolina


Chronic Wasting Disease


9:00-9:30AM Review and Updates of the USDA/APHIS Veterinary Services National CWD Program


Patrice Klein


9:30-10:00AM CWD surveillance using the RAMALT (rectal biopsy) method Bruce Thomsen


10:00-10:30AM Break









2010




Status: CWD was detected in one captive white-tailed deer (WTD) herd in Missouri in February 2010. To date, 50 farmed/captive cervid herds have been identified in 11 states: CO, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NY, OK, SD, WI. Thirty-seven were elk herds and 13 were WTD herds. At this time, six CWD positive elk herds remain in Colorado and one WTD herd remains in MO. VS has continued to offer indemnity for appraised value of the animals and to cover costs of depopulation, disposal, and testing of CWD-positive and exposed herds. Indemnity is provided based on availability of federal funding.







2009



Status: Five positive farmed cervid herds were detected in FY 2009: Two white-tailed deer herds in Wisconsin, one elk herd in Minnesota, and two elk herds in Colorado. The Wisconsin and Minnesota facilities have been depopulated. This brings to 47 the number of positive herds that have been identified since 1997. At this time, six positive elk herds remain in Colorado. Also, CWD was detected at slaughter for the first time in FY 2009. VS continues to offer indemnity and cover depopulation, disposal and testing costs for CWD-positive and exposed herds and trace animals.








Saturday, June 09, 2012


USDA Establishes a Herd Certification Program for Chronic Wasting Disease in the United States
















CWD has been identified in free-ranging cervids in 15 US states and 2 Canadian provinces and in ≈ 100 captive herds in 15 states and provinces and in South Korea (Figure 1, panel B).



SNIP...



Long-term effects of CWD on cervid populations and ecosystems remain unclear as the disease continues to spread and prevalence increases. In captive herds, CWD might persist at high levels and lead to complete herd destruction in the absence of human culling. Epidemiologic modeling suggests the disease could have severe effects on free-ranging deer populations, depending on hunting policies and environmental persistence (8,9). CWD has been associated with large decreases in free-ranging mule deer populations in an area of high CWD prevalence (Boulder, Colorado, USA) (5).



PLEASE STUDY THIS MAP, COMPARE FARMED CWD TO WILD CWD...TSS







Saturday, February 18, 2012


Occurrence, Transmission, and Zoonotic Potential of Chronic Wasting Disease


CDC Volume 18, Number 3—March 2012


CWD has been identified in free-ranging cervids in 15 US states and 2 Canadian provinces and in ≈100 captive herds in 15 states and provinces and in South Korea (Figure 1, panel B).







Tuesday, June 05, 2012


Captive Deer Breeding Legislation Overwhelmingly Defeated During 2012 Legislative Session






Monday, June 11, 2012


OHIO Captive deer escapees and non-reporting






Saturday, February 04, 2012


Wisconsin 16 age limit on testing dead deer Game Farm CWD Testing Protocol Needs To Be Revised






Thursday, February 09, 2012


50 GAME FARMS IN USA INFECTED WITH CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE






Friday, February 03, 2012


Wisconsin Farm-Raised Deer Farms and CWD there from 2012 report Singeltary et al






Monday, November 14, 2011


WYOMING Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease, CWD, TSE, PRION REPORTING 2011






Sunday, November 13, 2011


COLORADO CWD CJD TSE PRION REPORTING 2011






UPDATED CORRESPONDENCE FROM AUTHORS OF THIS STUDY I.E. COLBY, PRUSINER ET AL, ABOUT MY CONCERNS OF THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THEIR FIGURES AND MY FIGURES OF THE STUDIES ON CWD TRANSMISSION TO CATTLE ;


CWD to cattle figures CORRECTION



Greetings,


I believe the statement and quote below is incorrect ;


"CWD has been transmitted to cattle after intracerebral inoculation, although the infection rate was low (4 of 13 animals [Hamir et al. 2001]). This finding raised concerns that CWD prions might be transmitted to cattle grazing in contaminated pastures."


Please see ;


Within 26 months post inoculation, 12 inoculated animals had lost weight, revealed abnormal clinical signs, and were euthanatized. Laboratory tests revealed the presence of a unique pattern of the disease agent in tissues of these animals. These findings demonstrate that when CWD is directly inoculated into the brain of cattle, 86% of inoculated cattle develop clinical signs of the disease.





" although the infection rate was low (4 of 13 animals [Hamir et al. 2001]). "


shouldn't this be corrected, 86% is NOT a low rate. ...



kindest regards,



Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518




Thank you!


Thanks so much for your updates/comments. We intend to publish as rapidly as possible all updates/comments that contribute substantially to the topic under discussion.






re-Prions David W. Colby1,* and Stanley B. Prusiner1,2 + Author Affiliations


1Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143 2Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143 Correspondence: stanley@ind.ucsf.edu






Mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk have been reported to develop CWD. As the only prion disease identified in free-ranging animals, CWD appears to be far more communicable than other forms of prion disease. CWD was first described in 1967 and was reported to be a spongiform encephalopathy in 1978 on the basis of histopathology of the brain. Originally detected in the American West, CWD has spread across much of North America and has been reported also in South Korea. In captive populations, up to 90% of mule deer have been reported to be positive for prions (Williams and Young 1980). The incidence of CWD in cervids living in the wild has been estimated to be as high as 15% (Miller et al. 2000). The development of transgenic (Tg) mice expressing cervid PrP, and thus susceptible to CWD, has enhanced detection of CWD and the estimation of prion titers (Browning et al. 2004; Tamgüney et al. 2006). Shedding of prions in the feces, even in presymptomatic deer, has been identified as a likely source of infection for these grazing animals (Williams and Miller 2002; Tamgüney et al. 2009b). CWD has been transmitted to cattle after intracerebral inoculation, although the infection rate was low (4 of 13 animals [Hamir et al. 2001]). This finding raised concerns that CWD prions might be transmitted to cattle grazing in contaminated pastures.


snip...








----- Original Message -----


From: David Colby To: flounder9@verizon.net


Cc: stanley@XXXXXXXX


Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 8:25 AM


Subject: Re: FW: re-Prions David W. Colby1,* and Stanley B. Prusiner1,2 + Author Affiliations


Dear Terry Singeltary,


Thank you for your correspondence regarding the review article Stanley Prusiner and I recently wrote for Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives. Dr. Prusiner asked that I reply to your message due to his busy schedule. We agree that the transmission of CWD prions to beef livestock would be a troubling development and assessing that risk is important. In our article, we cite a peer-reviewed publication reporting confirmed cases of laboratory transmission based on stringent criteria. The less stringent criteria for transmission described in the abstract you refer to lead to the discrepancy between your numbers and ours and thus the interpretation of the transmission rate. We stand by our assessment of the literature--namely that the transmission rate of CWD to bovines appears relatively low, but we recognize that even a low transmission rate could have important implications for public health and we thank you for bringing attention to this matter. Warm Regards, David Colby -- David Colby, PhDAssistant Professor Department of Chemical Engineering University of Delaware


====================END...TSS==============



SNIP...SEE FULL TEXT ;








UPDATED DATA ON 2ND CWD STRAIN Wednesday, September 08, 2010 CWD PRION CONGRESS SEPTEMBER 8-11 2010






Sunday, August 19, 2012


Susceptibility of cattle to the agent of chronic wasting disease from elk after intracranial inoculation 2012


Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES Location: Virus and Prion Research Unit






PO-081: Chronic wasting disease in the cat— Similarities to feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE)

















Thursday, May 31, 2012



CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD PRION2012 Aerosol, Inhalation transmission, Scrapie, cats, species barrier, burial, and more







0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home