Thursday, November 01, 2012

ALABAMA BIG BUCK PROJECT, A CWD TSE PRION ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN

ALABAMA BIG BUCK PROJECT, A CWD ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN



ALABAMA BIG BUCK PROJECT


A Revolutionary Approach to Enhancing the Quality of Marengo County's Deer Herd by introducing Record Breaking Genetics. Beginning in the Fall of 2012, the Big Buck Project led by Tutt Land Company, will be releasing Trophy Class Whitetail Breeder Bucks all across Marengo County in an effort to enhance the quality of Marengo County's Whitetail Deer Herd. This ground breaking approach to creating a positive impact on our local deer herd will provide local hunters with a little more to look for while hunting the woods of Marengo County. As we get closer to our first release date, we will be providing more detailed information about the initiative and where the Big Bucks are going to be released. Visit the link below to keep up with all current news of the Big Buck Project.




 


 

OVERVIEW:


The Big Buck Project is set to begin in the fall of 2012 in Marengo County, Alabama. This initiative, led by Tutt Land Company, is expected to create waves throughout the hunting industry in Alabama and beyond. Check in for updates on this revolutionary initiative to restore “Record Book Genetics” to the local Whitetail Population in Marengo County, Alabama.


Tutt Land Company conducted a 5 year controlled research project in Marengo County that yielded amazing results in both herd health and quality antler growth by introducing new trophy genetics to the native herd. Tutt Land Company and the Big Buck Project Partners are prepared to take this research, along with data collected from similar studies and wildlife biologists, and apply it to all of Marengo County. We will begin the project in the fall of 2012 by purchasing whitetail breeder bucks with 200” genetics and releasing them at various locations throughout Marengo County. These bucks will be tagged in both ears with highly visible tags. With enough support, this revolutionary approach will yield amazing results throughout the whitetail population of Marengo County for years to come.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:


What is the purpose of this project?


Big Buck project intends to promote the great natural resources of Marengo County by promoting deer management and hunter education. Positive impacts on the Marengo County deer herd by introducing new genetics will help benefit Marengo County by bringing attention to our natural resources and proper deer management.


Is this legal?


According to the Alabama Game and Fish department, it is perfectly legal to purchase a deer from a state licensed deer breeding facility and release it on private property.


How do you see the project enhancing the quality of deer?


By creating a platform to promote proper deer management and educate hunters. Our data shows that 1 breeder buck or 1 breeder doe can impact thousands of offspring during that deer’s lifespan. If 1 breeder buck breeds 5-10 does per year, then the math adds up to literally thousands of deer over time that can be impacted in varying degrees from this breeder buck in a 6-10 year life span.


How many deer are you going to release?


Big Buck Project will utilize deer from state licensed and inspected breeder facilities and release them at various points across Marengo County as funding levels are achieved. Currently, support from our partners and landowners suggest that Big Buck Project may be able to achieve a sustained yearly release of both bucks and does in large enough numbers to have a significant impact. We currently have businesses and landowners coming on board every day.


What if Big Buck Project does not work?


Big Buck Project will have a positive impact on the deer hunting in Marengo County. Results will be hard to determine during the first few years, but sustained releases over time should yield positive results for Marengo County hunters.


How much do the deer cost?


Rates for bucks and does vary greatly depending on the breeding facility and the genetic line. Our data suggests that the average price of bucks and does is currently between $2,000 and $20,000. Recently, a breeding doe sold for $90,000 during a public auction in Huntsville, AL which was attended by Big Buck Project Partners.


What if a landowner does not want one on his property?


The landowner has every right to harvest one of these deer under current state regulations. Big Buck Project recommends that Marengo County landowners allow these released breeder deer to live and help provide the intended results of improving the Marengo County deer herd.


Will you import deer from other states?


No, this is not legal under current Alabama regulations.


What happens if these deer bring in a disease such as Chronic Wasting Disease?


All deer that will be released will be purchased from State Licensed, Inspected, and Regulated breeding facilities in Alabama. Deer have been released in Marengo County for over 25 years on both free range properties and in high fence enclosures. Big Buck Project will not release a deer unless it is delivered from a state licensed and inspected facility. Alabama’s state licensed breeding facilities currently release thousands of deer on private properties throughout the state and in Marengo County. This practice has been going on for over 20 years. To date there have been no documented reports of Chronic Wasting Disease in Alabama. Information found on the Alabama Department of Conservation website www.outdooralabama.com :


Chronic Wasting Disease -What You Should Know


•CWD is not known to be transmissible to humans or domestic livestock.


•CWD is a fatal disease of white-tailed deer, mule deer, and elk.


•CWD is not known to exist in Alabama or any other southeastern state.


•CWD will not likely be found in the Southeast unless it is transported here.


•It is illegal to import any deer or other cervid into Alabama.


Who owns the Big Buck Project deer after the release?


According to state wildlife officials, all deer released from state licensed breeder facilities become state property and fall under state hunting regulations once they are released on any property in Alabama that is not a state licensed breeding facility.







 
 
 
 

QDMA Encourages Alabama’s Big Buck Project Not to Release Captive Deer

by Tanner Tedeschi
on September 26, 2012
 
 
 
The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) is working to convince the organizers of Alabama’s “Big Buck Project” – a private effort to release captive whitetail “breeder bucks” into the wild in Marengo County – to reconsider and keep the farm deer behind their fence.



“Releasing captive-bred, farm-raised deer carries significant risks for wild deer, and that’s why QDMA opposes this project, and why it’s illegal in nearly every state,” said QDMA CEO and wildlife biologist Brian Murphy. “I was shocked to learn that Alabama does not have a law that prevents what is being proposed in Marengo County. Across the nation, wildlife and agricultural agencies have stringent requirements to keep captive deer behind fences because of their potential risks to wild deer. Captive deer have the potential to carry diseases or parasites not present in wild populations, some of them deadly.”



“Any time deer are moved across the landscape, risk factors for disease transmission increase,” said Dr. Steve Ditchkoff, Professor of Wildlife Science at Auburn University in Alabama.
Another of QDMA’s concerns is that the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (DWFF) was apparently not consulted on the project nor asked to be involved.



“To my knowledge, no one in the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries spoke with the project’s organizers before it was announced, nor have we been asked to be involved in any manner,” said Gary Moody, Chief of Wildlife, Alabama DWFF.



According to the website BigBuckProject.org, beginning in fall 2012, the Big Buck Project led by Tutt Land Company will be releasing captive-bred breeder bucks across Marengo County to “restore ‘Record Book Genetics’ to the local Whitetail Population.”



However, QDMA staff biologists and many other deer experts believe this aspect of the project has little if any chance of success.



“Introducing a small number of breeder bucks into a free-ranging whitetail population is highly unlikely to affect genetics at the population level,” said Dr. Ditchkoff. “Not only is survival of captive-raised deer often very low when they are released into the wild, basic science suggests that the genetic impact of a few animals would be quickly diluted.”



“This is like trying to change the salinity of the ocean by adding a gallon of fresh water,” said Brian Murphy. “If Marengo County isn’t producing the quality of deer that hunters expect, it’s not because of ‘bad genetics’ but rather poor deer herd and habitat management.



“If this project proceeds, it would set a dangerous precedent, blurring the line between captive and wild animals and opening a can of worms in Alabama that could quickly lead to similar efforts in other counties,” said Murphy. “At the very least, we sincerely hope the Alabama legislature acts quickly to close this loophole and make it illegal to release captive-bred deer into the wild. If not, sooner or later, there will be negative, if not catastrophic, consequences, and Alabama hunters, landowners and residents will be the ultimate losers.”




 
 
 
 
 



Go to http://aldeer.com/ and look at the ‘serious deer forum’, under thread titled ‘big buck project’, seems of few of these folks in Alabama are too happy about this either...tss




•CWD is not known to be transmissible to humans or domestic livestock... WRONG!


cwd transmits to deer, elk, cattle, sheep, rodents, and many scientist are sounding the alarm for the potential transmission to humans... tss


•CWD is not known to exist in Alabama or any other southeastern state ???


a foolish assessment. do the southern states have some sort of cloaking device that will protect no matter what ? I don’t think so. Texas recently was forced to document CWD by New Mexico, finally, it’s been waltzing across the border from New Mexico WSMR for close to a decade. I can assure you, TSE prion disease knows NO borders, and putting restrictions on regulations by age, is foolish...tss


•CWD will not likely be found in the Southeast unless it is transported here. WRONG!


another foolish assessment. very foolish. as the crow flies, dream on, because the possible routes and sources of the CWD TSE prion coming into the Southeastern USA are many. this just more wishful thinking by an industry that does not give a damn about the wild cervids... tss


NONE of these deer are tested for CWD, so tell me how they are proven to be free of CWD ???


IF THSE SUPER FREAK deer, i.e. deer with quality antler growth by introducing new trophy genetics to the native herd, are still alive when released, still alive, when left the facilities they come from, how is there any guarantee for them to be CWD free, free from sub-clinical CWD ???


if you think that all those deer that are brought in from who knows where, that are live, and supposedly cwd free because of bogus assumptions, will simply spread the cwd agent further and further, in my opinion. sub-clinical cwd is real, and it's still spreading, by these bogus industry fed assumptions...


Detection of Sub-Clinical CWD Infection in Conventional Test-Negative Deer Long after Oral Exposure to Urine and Feces from CWD+ Deer






I will tell you, there is no proof these cervids are free of CWD. only a myth that all animals on game farms are tested, which is totally fabricated, and not true. the same SSS policy the USDA et al use to hide BSE in cattle, is used on game farms i.e. shoot, shovel, and shut the hell up. also, when age restrictions are put on CWD testing of 12 or 16 months, where we have fawns as young as 4 and 5 months old documented with CWD, again, game farms are missing CWD positive cervids. in my opinion, these game farms and straw bred circus freak shows for super bucks are nothing more than a petri dish for CWD TSE prion disease.




only testing 12 to 16 month old deer for cwd is missing cwd positive deer ;


Wisconsin : Six White-Tailed Deer Fawns Test Positive for CWD


Approximately 4,200 fawns, defined as deer under 1 year of age, were sampled from the eradication zone over the last year. The majority of fawns sampled were between the ages of 5 to 9 months, though some were as young as 1 month. Two of the six fawns with CWD detected were 5 to 6 months old. All six of the positive fawns were taken from the core area of the CWD eradication zone where the highest numbers of positive deer have been identified.


snip...


Dr. Langenberg noted that while the youngest CWD-positive fawns had evidence of disease-causing prions only in lymph node tissue, several of the older CWD-positive fawns had evidence of CWD prions in both lymph node and brain tissues -- suggesting further progression of the disease.


snip...


Our fawn data shows that a few wild white-tailed deer may become sick from CWD or may transmit the disease before they reach that age of 16 months."




see much more here ;








WHILE the Texas deer czar was in Wisconsin, Texas documented it’s first case of CWD, finally. New Mexico made them finally test there, not because I did not tell them a time or two. But something he stated years ago, I think everyone should read ;


Friday, June 01, 2012


TEXAS DEER CZAR TO WISCONSIN ASK TO EXPLAIN COMMENTS


Deer expert asked to explain comments


15 hours ago • By RON SEELY Capital Newspapers


Appointed by Gov. Scott Walker as the result of a campaign promise, Texas deer biologist James Kroll, right, is shown with Walker at a meeting with hunters in North Bristol.


Democratic legislators Thursday asked for a public hearing at which the Texas expert hired by Gov. Scott Walker to analyze state deer management can answer questions about his work and explain past comments he made that seemed to favor private hunting preserves over public lands.


The legislators, minority members of the Senate and Assembly natural resource committees, said comments by James Kroll, who was hired last year and is being paid $125,000 to conduct his study, run counter to the history of hunting and public lands in Wisconsin.


“Privatizing hunting is not in keeping with our state’s heritage and tradition,” said State Rep. Fred Clark, D-Baraboo. “If this is what Dr. Kroll believes, hunters — and all people of Wisconsin — deserve to know.”


Kroll, whose final report is due at the end of June, has called the criticisms politically motivated, “presumably to aid in successfully removing Gov.Walker.


“Since I am not politically motivated, did not vote for Gov. Walker, will not be able to vote in the upcoming election, and am neither a Democrat nor Republican, I am concerned and saddened by things being said about me and my positions and values related to white-tailed deer,” Kroll said in a statement last week.


In his preliminary report, Kroll was very critical of the DNR for not listening to hunters and using bad science to estimate deer populations.


He also said DNR biologists have not done enough to work with private landowners and, during public meetings on the initial report, recommended that the agency should put more resources into encouraging management of deer on private lands.


“Quite candidly,” Clark said, “the conclusions raise some serious questions about what he will recommend.”


Kroll was also criticized by legislators at Thursday’s press conference for widely-circulated comments that were attributed to him in a 2002 article on Texas game farms in “Texas Monthly” magazine.


“People who call for more public lands are cocktail conservationists who are really pining for socialism,” Kroll was quoted as saying in the article. He also called national parks “wildlife ghettos” and accused the government of gross mismanagement of game animals.


While he did not return a phone call Thursday, Kroll responded to the criticisms in a statement he released last week.


Kroll said his comment about “cocktail conservationists” was aimed at “well-meaning, wealthy individuals who support establishing a park, kicking the native peoples off their land and then go home thinking they have done something great.” He said he used the phrase “wildlife ghettos” to describe poorly managed public lands.


“The unhappiness with the way whitetails have been managed in Wisconsin came from the false idea that government always knows best, especially when they have a computer program,” Kroll said.




Dr. Deer Wisconsin Report: Will High-Fence Bias Skew Final Plan?


Categories: Blogs, Daniel Schmidt's Whitetail Wisdom, Deer News, Featured Tags:


antler restricitons, dan schmidt, Dr. Deer, james kroll, James Kroll Wisconsin, qdm, quality deer management, texas hunting, wisconsin deer hunting March 29, 2012


According to Wisconsin’s White-Tailed Deer Trustee Dr. James Kroll, people who call for more public hunting opportunities are “pining for socialism.”


He further states, “(Public) Game management is the last bastion of communism.”




OPINION BLOG


These are just two insights into the man who has been asked to provide analysis and recommended changes to Wisconsin’s deer management program. Kroll’s insights are from an article entitled “Which Side of the Fence Are You On?” by Joe Nick Patoski for a past edition of Texas Monthly. If nothing more, the article gives an unabashed look into the mind-set that will be providing the Wisconsin DNR with recommendations on how to change their deer management practices. James Kroll (also known as “Deer Dr.”) was appointed to the Wisconsin “deer czar” position last fall. He was hired by the Department of Administration and instructed to complete a review of the state’s deer management program.


Here’s a sample of the article:


“Game Management,” says James Kroll, driving to his high-fenced, two-hundred-acre spread near Nacogdoches, “is the last bastion of communism.” Kroll, also known as Dr. Deer, is the director of the Forestry Resources Institute of Texas at Stephen F. Austin State University, and the “management” he is referring to is the sort practiced by the State of Texas. The 55-year-old Kroll is the leading light in the field of private deer management as a means to add value to the land. His belief is so absolute that some detractors refer to him as Dr. Dough, implying that his eye is on the bottom line more than on the natural world.


Kroll, who has been the foremost proponent of deer ranching in Texas for more than thirty years, doesn’t mind the controversy and certainly doesn’t fade in the heat. People who call for more public lands are “cocktail conservationists,” he says, who are really pining for socialism. He calls national parks “wildlife ghettos” and flatly accuses the government of gross mismanagement. He argues that his relatively tiny acreage, marked by eight-foot fences and posted signs warning off would-be poachers, is a better model for keeping what’s natural natural while making money off the land. A trip to South Africa six years ago convinced Kroll that he was on the right track. There he encountered areas of primitive, lush wildlife-rich habitats called game ranches. They were privately owned, privately managed, and enclosed by high fences. He noticed how most of the land outside those fences had been grazed to the nub, used up. “Game ranches there derive their income from these animals — viewing them, hunting them, selling their meat,” he says. “There are no losers.” At his own ranch Kroll has set up a smaller version of the same thing. His land is indeed lush, verdant, with pine groves, an abundance of undergrowth, wild orchids, New Jersey tea, jack-in-the-pulpits, and other native plants. He has also set up a full-scale breeding research center and is one of twenty Texas deer breeders using artificial insemination to improve his herd. “We balance sex and age ratio,” he says. “We manage habitat. We control the population and manage for hunting. I want to leave the deer herd better than it was before we came.” It is interesting to note that, in 2001, the State of Texas shifted its deer management strategies toward the same leanings that Kroll has suggested for Wisconsin. In Texas, the change was brought about via heavy lobbying from the high-fence deer ranching industry. This pressure helped convince the Texas Parks and Wildlife to change their regulations and allow private landowners to select the own deer biologists.


“That has given landowners more freedom,” Kroll told Texas Monthly. “(However,) You still have to let the state on your land to get a wildlife-management permit.” The key difference here is that 98 percent of Texas is comprised of private land. Wisconsin, on the other hand, consists of approximately 34.8 million acres of land, and 25.5 percent of the state’s 638,000 gun-hunters reported hunting on public land at some point during the season (2010, Duey, Rees).


According to the Wisconsin Realtors Association, more than 5.7 million acres of this land, or 16.5 percent, is publicly owned and used for parks, forests, trails, and natural resource protection. [Note: these statistics do not include the public land used for roads, government buildings, military bases, and college/school campuses.] This 5.7 million acres of public land is owned as follows: Federal government owns approximately 1.5 million acres (4.4 percent of the state’s land area). Almost all of the federal forestland in Wisconsin is located in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. State government owns approximately 1.6 million acres (4.6 percent of the state’s land area). The land is managed by two agencies, the Board of Commissioners of Public Land (who manages lands granted by federal government) and the DNR (managing land owned by the state). County government owns approximately 2.6 million acres (7.5 percent of the state’s land area). Public land is located in 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, with the most public land located in Bayfield County (464,673 acres). [Note: Menominee County does not have any public land, but 98 percent of the land is held in trust by the Menominee Tribe.] Twenty counties have more than 100,000 acres of public land, while only 12 counties have fewer than 10,000 acres. What does this all mean? My initial reaction, which is one that I predicted when Kroll was named to the state’s deer trustee position, is that his team’s final recommendations — if implemented — will be heavily skewed toward the state’s larger landowners (500+ acres) and folks who own small parcels in areas comprised mostly of private land. It is also my prediction that the final recommendations (again, if implemented) will do little, if anything, to improve deer herds and deer hunting on Wisconsin’s 5.7 million acres of public land. Where does this leave the public-land hunter? “It will suck to be you,” said one deer manager who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his job. “The resources and efforts will go toward improving the private land sector. This is all about turning deer hunting away from the Public Land Doctrine and more toward a European-style of management — like they have in Texas.” I do, of course, hope these assumptions are wrong. As with all things in life, we should maintain an open mind to change. Life is all about change. However, change for the sake of change is usually a recipe for disaster. Especially when that change is driven by something more than a sincere desire to manage public resources for the greater good. As noted yesterday (Dr. James Kroll Report: Is That All You Get For Your Money), I will provide more of my opinions and interpretation on this important issue in forthcoming installments of this blog. Read his full preliminary report here.












“Game Management,” says James Kroll, driving to his high-fenced, two-hundred-acre spread near Nacogdoches, “is the last bastion of communism.” Kroll, also known as Dr. Deer, is the director of the Forestry Resources Institute of Texas at Stephen F. Austin State University, and the “management” he is referring to is the sort practiced by the State of Texas. The 55-year-old Kroll is the leading light in the field of private deer management as a means to add value to the land. His belief is so absolute that some detractors refer to him as Dr. Dough, implying that his eye is on the bottom line more than on the natural world.


Kroll, who has been the foremost proponent of deer ranching in Texas for more than thirty years, doesn’t mind the controversy and certainly doesn’t fade in the heat. People who call for more public lands are “cocktail conservationists,” he says, who are really pining for socialism. He calls national parks “wildlife ghettos” and flatly accuses the government of gross mismanagement. He argues that his relatively tiny acreage, marked by eight-foot fences and posted signs warning off would-be poachers, is a better model for keeping what’s natural natural while making money off the land.






Where does this leave the public-land hunter?


“It will suck to be you,” said one deer manager who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his job.


“The resources and efforts will go toward improving the private land sector. This is all about turning deer hunting away from the Public Land Doctrine and more toward a European-style of management — like they have in Texas.”




Thursday, March 29, 2012


TEXAS DEER CZAR SAYS WISCONSIN DNR NOT DOING ENOUGH ABOUT CWD LIKE POT CALLING KETTLE BLACK




Monday, March 26, 2012


Texas Prepares for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Possibility in Far West Texas




Monday, March 26, 2012


3 CASES OF CWD FOUND NEW MEXICO MULE DEER SEVERAL MILS FROM TEXAS BORDER






*** Friday, October 12, 2012


Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) is Now Accepting Comments on Rule Proposals for “Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)”


TO: comments@tahc.state.tx.us; Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC)






LET’S look at Alabama, and it’s CWD surveillance and testing ???


Alabama captive cervid farming, testing and regulations for CWD, recipe for disaster


FIRST OF ALL, the likelyhood of Alabama ever finding a case of CWD would almost be impossible, considering several factors, but the biggest factor is the low testing figures for CWD over the years. the regulatory authority over low fence cervid game farms is a recipe for cwd disaster. the myth that game farms test every animal, is so far out of touch with reality that it's just as well be called a lie. these low fence game farms have not a clue. every dead animal tested for cwd never in a million years, call it what it is, like the cattle industry and the usda and BSE, they call it the SSS policy, shoot, shovel, and shut the hell up. how in the world can a state claim to be seeking out cwd to find and destroy, when you only test some 300 deer (wild and farmed), with some 1,800,000 deer in the state? i will tell you, it's a bold face lie when they claim cwd free with said testing figures. low fence regulations is another factor that in my opinion is wrong. hell, in my younger day i could just about jump over an 8 foot fence, and you mean to tell me that deer are not going to jump an 8 foot fence, i don't believe it. fencing should be double fencing, at least 12 foot tall, with a capture or dead zone perimeter between the two fences, big enough to disperse any potential Aerosol transmission of cwd via dirt and dust, so any potentially tainted ground soil from said low fence game farm, would be in that capture or dead zone between fences.


let's look at the very low cwd testing figures for Alabama, and then you may not have to ask yourself why Alabama has not documented a case of CWD yet $ fact is, they are not looking to find it yet. kinda like Texas did, where Texas looked in all the wrong places for a decade, before New Mexico made them test where they would find it, and they did.


Alabama captive cervid farming industry, testing and regulations for CWD, recipe for disaster


approximately 1,800,000 deer in Alabama in 2011, and only 311 tested for CWD. ...


What is the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries doing to keep CWD from reaching our state?


The Division is currently taking several measures to help prevent CWD from reaching our state. The State has had a regulation banning the importation of all cervids (members of the deer family) into Alabama since 1973. Recently the fines for violating this regulation were significantly increased. Investigations have discovered animal movements among many of the 20 privately owned elk herds (outside of Alabama) where CWD has been diagnosed. The movement of infected animals very likely was the reason for the disease's spread. Halting the movement of live captive deer and elk into and within Alabama is a major step in preventing the disease from reaching our state.


The Division also started an active monitoring program for CWD during the 2001-02 hunting season. The number of Alabama deer tested for the presence of CWD is as follows:


2001-02 90


2002-03 440


2003-04 768


2004-05 736


2005-06 779


2006-07 654


2007-08 627


2008-09 606


2009-10 308


2010-11 311


Total 5,319


None of those deer tested positive for the disease. Plans are to continue this testing program during the 2011-2012 season.






PLEASE NOTE


‘Animals from captive herds are included in the state CWD sampling program. ‘




Alabama


Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Contact: Gary Moody, gmoody@dcnr.alabama.gov


Cervid imports have not been allowed since 1973. It is illegal to have penned deer, several high fenced areas do exist.


Cervid imports have not been allowed since 1973.


NA - Have not allowed imports for over 30 years.


Animals from captive herds are included in the state CWD sampling program. The Department of Agriculture is implementing a more comprehensive sampling protocol.


Sampling began in 2001, with 90 animals being tested. In 2002-03, 440 animals were tested; 2003-04, 768 were tested; 2004-05, 745 tested; 2005-06, 798 tested;


06-07, 654 tested. Plan to continue surveillance efforts. Education efforts have also made the public more aware of the need to report deer that may be doing poorly or may not be acting normally. Those deer are submitted for testing as well.


Baiting is not allowed.


Feeding is not allowed in areas of hunting.


No ban.


No


No




December 14, 2011


State wildlife officials want hunters and landowners to know Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer has not occurred in Alabama and they hope to keep it that way. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) is taking several measures to help prevent the disease from reaching the state.


Diagnostics to confirm the presence of CWD require collecting the skull and neck vertebra from adult age class hunter harvested white-tailed deer. WFF staff work with local clubs and deer processors to collect the necessary samples for CWD monitoring. A minimum of 300 samples have been collected annually statewide for the past 10 years. WFF staff expect to complete this hunting season’s collection and monitoring by Christmas. Collected samples are sent to the State Department of Agriculture diagnostic labs for testing and analysis. WFF appreciates all of those that cooperated to obtain the samples.


CWD is a fatal disease affecting the central nervous system of deer and elk. It belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The disease attacks the brains of infected deer and elk and causes animals to become emaciated (skinny), display abnormal behavior, lose bodily functions and die. It has been found in captive and/or wild cervids (members of the deer family) in 18 states and two Canadian provinces.


Alabama is recognized as a leader in minimizing disease risks by preventing the importation of deer. Alabama has had a regulation banning the importation of all cervids into Alabama since 1973. Convictions for violating the importation ban carry a fine of $1,000-5,000 and up to 30 days in jail. Many other states have since implemented some form of this regulation to reduce their risk of introducing CWD.


Many Alabamians hunt outside the state and bring their harvested animals back with them. WFF requests that these hunters take the following precautions before bringing any harvested cervids from CWD endemic areas into the state:


• Remove the bones and package the meat; avoid cutting into the spinal cord or removing the head; also avoid quartering the carcass with any of the spinal column or head attached.


• Do not bring the brain, intact skull, or spinal cord back into the state.


• If you wish to take the antlers attached to the skull plate, thoroughly scrape and clean tissue from the skull plate using a knife or brush and bleach. Thoroughly clean all utensils afterward with bleach.


• If you are hunting in an endemic area, have the animal tested for CWD in the state in which it was harvested.


• Finished taxidermy products, including head mounts, are not known to pose a risk.


The ADCNR needs your support to maintain Alabama’s CWD-free status. You can assist the WFF with its CWD monitoring program by reporting any transport of live deer or elk on Alabama’s roads and highways. Call the Operation Game Watch line immediately at 1-800-272-4263 if you see live deer or elk being transported in Alabama. Contacting the Division immediately makes it more likely the deer or elk will be intercepted before it can be released. You should also call this number if you see a deer that exhibits clinical signs of CWD. Personnel will contact you to obtain additional information.


The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR, visit www.outdooralabama.com.




Alabama


Deer Fact: As of 2011 the deer population in the State of Alabama is 1,800,000.






From the Field: Efficacy of detecting Chronic Wasting Disease via sampling hunter-killed white-tailed deer


Duane R. Diefenbach, Christopher S. Rosenberry, and Robert C. Boyd


Abstract


Surveillance programs for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in free-ranging cervids often use a standard of being able to detect 1% prevalence when determining minimum sample sizes. However, 1% prevalence may represent >10,000 infected animals in a population of 1 million, and most wildlife managers would prefer to detect the presence of CWD when far fewer infected animals exist. We wanted to detect the presence of CWD in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Pennsylvania when the disease was present in only 1 of 21 wildlife management units (WMUs) statewide. We used computer simulation to estimate the probability of detecting CWD based on a sampling design to detect the presence of CWD at 0.1% and 1.0% prevalence (23–76 and 225–762 infected deer, respectively) using tissue samples collected from hunter-killed deer. The probability of detection at 0.1% prevalence was <30 1.0="1.0" 2="2" 46="46" a="a" an="an" and="and" any="any" approach="approach" at="at" believe="believe" but="but" cwd="cwd" deer.="deer." deer="deer" demonstrated="demonstrated" detection="detection" div="div" essential="essential" for="for" hunter-killed="hunter-killed" importance="importance" is="is" multifaceted="multifaceted" of="of" on="on" our="our" part="part" prevalence="prevalence" probability="probability" program="program" rather="rather" reliance="reliance" results="results" sample="sample" sizes="sizes" sole="sole" statewide="statewide" surveillance="surveillance" testing="testing" than="than" that="that" the="the" was="was" we="we" with="with">

Key words Chronic Wasting Disease, Odocoileus virginianus, Pennsylvania, prevalence, probability of detection, sample size, sampling design, white-tailed deer






Section 1. For purposes of Sections 1 to 6, inclusive, of this act, the following words have the following meanings:


(1) GAME ANIMAL. A species of animal designated by the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources pursuant to Section 9-2-7 of the Code of Alabama 1975, as a game or fur-bearing animal, any game or fur-bearing animal that exists historically and naturally in the wild within this state, or any game animal of the species of the family Cervidae (deer) that exists within this state in the wild as a result of the natural expansion of its range prior to the effective date of this act which are white-tailed deer, fallow deer, and elk.


Regulation 220-2-.138 LICENSED GAME BREEDERS


All persons, firms or corporations licensed under Section 9-11-30 to engage in the business of raising game birds, game animals, or fur bearing animals shall:


1. Submit to the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries an accurate inventory of all stock and maintain a record of inventory changes caused by births, deaths, escapes, sales, purchases or other causes; provided however, holders of the nonindigenous game breeder option who are not engaged in the breeding and handling of such animals may submit a good faith estimate of stock inventory and inventory changes as to such animals.


2. Allow inspection by agents authorized by the Division of stock, facilities and records at all reasonable times.


3. By April 1 of each year, fawns of the family Cervidae born on the premises shall be marked with an ear tag, as specified by the Division, which identifies each animal. All other stock of the family Cervidae shall be assigned an ear tag number and shall be marked with the corresponding tag before any sale or transfer. Such tags shall not be transferred to or reused on other individuals. Tags shall not be removed, except during transfer when the animal is being released, provided the tag shall be in possession during transport. Animals which lose tags shall be reassigned a replacement tag number and remarked before sale or transfer.


4. Identify the location of each facility by physical address and notify designated Division personnel of any changes in size or location of the facility.


5. Within 24 hours of discovery notify designated Division personnel of any escapes or deaths and allow disease testing of animals that have died.


6. Upon notification by authorized Division personnel of a documented disease risk, not remove from any facility any animals alive or dead until approved by authorized Division personnel.


7. For species of the family Cervidae, obtain a premises registration number and comply with the conditions set forth in any herd health or monitoring plan that may be designated by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. 8. Acquire animals only from other licensed game breeders, except by written approval from authorized Division personnel.


The Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources, in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, may order the confiscation and destruction of any animal that is deemed to be a substantial disease risk to other wildlife, domestic animals, or the public without compensation to the owner of such animal. This shall not affect the authority of other state or federal agencies with respect to confiscation, destruction or condemnation of or compensation for such animals.


Nothing in this regulation is intended to authorize the importation into this state of any live animal, or their eggs or embryos which is otherwise prohibited by law or regulation.






80-3-6- .23 Requirements For Wild Animals And SimiWild Animals Imported Into Alabama; And/Or For Intrastate Movement Or Transportation And Disease Control Of Certain Animals. Unless entry is prohibited otherwise by law enforce by the the Department of Conservation or other game law, in order that wild animals, and semiwild animals maintained in captivity (to include game-breeder’s animals pursuant to Section 9-11- 30-31), Code of Ala. 1975,) may be imported into the state; and/or in order that such animals may be moved or transported from place to place, the number of animals involved shall be reported to the State Veterinarian of Alabama ten (10) days prior to such entry of movement or transportation, and immediate opportunity for examination afforded representatives or authorized agents to determine the health status of such animals. Specific entry, intrastate movement or transportation requirements for Camelids; and entry, intrastate movement or transportation and disease control requirements for live Cervidae and semi-wild animals are as follows:


(LINES ARE DRAWN THROUGH WHAT WAS TO BE ELIMINATED FROM SAID REGULATIONS (a )...TSS)


==================================


(a ) Camelids including llamas, alpacas, and camels, and live Cervidae imported into the state or maintained in captivity within the state which are in intrastate movement or transportation within the state, shall have an official Certificate of Veterinary Inspection issued by an accredited veterinarian and shall have a permanent approved individual identification.


===================================


All live captive Cervidae as prescribed by the State Veterinarian of Alabama, shall be made available to test for brucellosis, tuberculosis, and any known, or to be developed tests for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Accredited zoos, research or exhibition or treatment and rehabilitation facilities shall have an approved CWD monitoring program, provided that Cervids entering into the zoos and facilities must also originate from a herd that is under an approved CWD monitoring program; and those facilities in compliance with the provisions of Section 9-11-(30-31), Code of Ala. 1975, shall also have an approved CWD monitoring program to include provisions for notification of animals that have died from unknown causes.


( b ) For the purpose of disease control, the State Veterinarian with assistance as needed from other state agencies and landowners, shall establish by survey, questionnaire, or by physical presence or appointed representatives a database for locating, registering, monitoring, and testing of Cervid herds maintained in captivity. From the development and maintenance of a monitoring program, the State Veterinarian shall establish guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention, and control of CWD and TB, and any other emerging animal disease, the test results shall be confirmed through another qualified testing facility. If a positive test is determined and confirmed, a herd plan shall be forthwith developed and executed. ...


Substance of Proposed Action : Following the application of the Chronic Wasting Disease Monitoring Plan, applicants must involve an accredited veterinarian in their herd plan. The Veterinarian must state that there is no evidence of disease among deer on the farm. Therefore there is now no longer a need for intrastate movement Certificate of Veterinary Inspections.


STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 2-2-8, 2-4-1, 2-15-150, 2-15-170.


HISTORY: Filed April 19, 1982. Amended: Filed February 11, 1997; effective March 18, 1997. Amended: Filed November 15, 2000; effective December 20, 2000. New Rule: Filed November 6, 2003; effective December 11, 2003.




Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. Animal Industry. Chapter 80-3-6. Livestock Sanitary Rules


Country of Origin: United States


Agency of Origin: Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries


National Citation: AL ADC 80-3-6-.01 - .38


Agency Citation:


Last checked by Web Center Staff: 02/11


STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Code of Ala. 1975, § 2-15-170.


HISTORY: Filed Service April 19, 1982. Amended: Filed February 21, 1990.


80-3-6-.23. Requirements For Wild Animals And Simi-Wild Animals Imported Into Alabama; And/Or For Intrastate Movement Or Transportation And Disease Control Of Certain Animals.


Unless entry is prohibited otherwise by law enforced by the Department of Conservation or other game law, in order that wild animals, and semi-wild animals maintained in captivity (to include game-breeder's animals pursuant to Section 9-11-(30-31), Code of Ala. 1975,) may be imported into the state; and/or in order that such animals may be moved or transported intrastate from place to place, the number of animals involved shall be reported to the State Veterinarian of Alabama ten (10) days prior to such entry of movement or transportation, and immediate opportunity for examination afforded representatives or authorized agents to determine the health status of such animals. Specific entry, intrastate movement or transportation requirements for Camelids; and entry, intrastate movement or transportation and disease control requirements for live Cervidae and semi-wild animals are as follows:


(a) Camelids including llamas, alpacas, and camels, and live Cervidae imported into the state, or maintained in captivity within the state which are in intrastate movement or transportation within the state, shall have an official Certificate of Veterinary Inspection issued by an accredited veterinarian and shall have a permanent approved individual identification. All live captive Cervidae as prescribed by the State Veterinarian of Alabama, shall be made available to test for brucellosis, tuberculosis, and any known, or to be developed tests for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Accredited zoos, research or exhibition or treatment and rehabilitation facilities shall have an approved CWD monitoring program, provided that Cervids entering into the zoos and facilities must also originate from a herd that is under an approved CWD monitoring program; and those facilities in compliance with the provisions of Section 9-11-(30-31), Code of Ala. 1975, shall also have an approved CWD monitoring program to include provisions for notification of animals that have died from unknown causes.


(b) For the purpose of disease control, the State Veterinarian with assistance as needed from other state agencies and landowners, shall establish by survey, questionnaire, or by physical presence or appointed representatives a database for locating, registering, monitoring, and testing of Cervid herds maintained in captivity. From the development and maintenance of a monitoring program, the State Veterinarian shall establish guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention, and control of CWD and TB, and any other emerging animal diseases. All testing shall be as prescribed by the State Veterinarian. If a Cervid tests positive for CWD, or TB, or any other emerging animal disease, the test results shall be confirmed through another qualified testing facility. If a positive test is determined and confirmed, a herd plan shall be forthwith developed and executed.


STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 2-2-8, 2-4-1, 2-15-150, 2-15-170.


HISTORY: Filed April 19, 1982. Amended: Filed February 11, 1997; effective March 18, 1997. Amended: Filed November 15, 2000; effective December 20, 2000. New Rule: Filed November 6, 2003; effective December 11, 2003.






WITHOUT CWD testing, can someone tell me how any veterinarian is capable of detecting sub-clinical CWD ?


Detection of Sub-Clinical CWD Infection in Conventional Test-Negative Deer Long after Oral Exposure to Urine and Feces from CWD+ Deer


Nicholas J. Haley1, Candace K. Mathiason1, Mark D. Zabel1, Glenn C. Telling2, Edward A. Hoover1*


1 Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America, 2 Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America


Abstract


Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids is a prion disease distinguished by high levels of transmissibility, wherein bodily fluids and excretions are thought to play an important role. Using cervid bioassay and established CWD detection methods, we have previously identified infectious prions in saliva and blood but not urine or feces of CWD+ donors. More recently, we identified very low concentrations of CWD prions in urine of deer by cervid PrP transgenic (Tg[CerPrP]) mouse bioassay and serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA). This finding led us to examine further our initial cervid bioassay experiments using sPMCA.


Objectives We sought to investigate whether conventional test-negative deer, previously exposed orally to urine and feces from CWD+ sources, may be harboring low level CWD infection not evident in the 19 month observation period. We further attempted to determine the peripheral PrPCWD distribution in these animals.


Methods Various neural and lymphoid tissues from conventional test-negative deer were reanalyzed for CWD prions by sPMCA and cervid transgenic mouse bioassay in parallel with appropriate tissue-matched positive and negative controls.


Results PrPCWD was detected in the tissues of orally exposed deer by both sPMCA and Tg[CerPrP] mouse bioassay; each assay revealed very low levels of CWD prions previously undetectable by western blot, ELISA, or IHC. Serial PMCA analysis of individual tissues identified that obex alone was positive in 4 of 5 urine/feces exposed deer. PrPCWD was amplified from both lymphoid and neural tissues of positive control deer but not from identical tissues of negative control deer.


Discussion Detection of subclinical infection in deer orally exposed to urine and feces (1) suggests that a prolonged subclinical state can exist, necessitating observation periods in excess of two years to detect CWD infection, and (2) illustrates the sensitive and specific application of sPMCA in the diagnosis of low-level prion infection. Based on these results, it is possible that low doses of prions, e.g. following oral exposure to urine and saliva of CWD-infected deer, bypass significant amplification in the LRS, perhaps utilizing a neural conduit between the alimentary tract and CNS, as has been demonstrated in some other prion diseases.


Citation: Haley NJ, Mathiason CK, Zabel MD, Telling GC, Hoover EA (2009) Detection of Sub-Clinical CWD Infection in Conventional Test-Negative Deer Long after Oral Exposure to Urine and Feces from CWD+ Deer. PLoS ONE 4(11): e7990. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007990


Editor: Jiyan Ma, Ohio State University, United States of America


Received: September 29, 2009; Accepted: October 29, 2009; Published: November 24, 2009


Copyright: © 2009 Haley et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.


Funding: This work was supported by NIH/NCRR Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional T32 R07072-03 and NIH/NIAID NO1-AI-25491-02 (EAH, GCT). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.


Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.


* E-mail: Edward.Hoover@colostate.edu


SNIP...


In summary, we provide evidence for the presence of infectious prions in the brains of conventional prion-assay-negative deer orally exposed 19 months earlier to urine and feces from CWD-infected donor deer. This apparent low level of prion infection was amplified by sPMCA, confirmed by Tg[CerPrP] mouse bioassay, and detected only in the obex region of the brain. These results demonstrate the potential for CWD prion transmission via urine and/or feces, and highlight the application of more sensitive assays such as sPMCA in identification of CWD infection, pathogenesis, and prevalence.






Genetic Influence/Stocking Source


A review of data collected to date by ADWFF’s Wildlife Section shows an undeniable influence from the original stocking source for the local deer herd. Deer from several sources, including many from outside Alabama, were used to restock the state.






ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES ADMINISTRATIVE CODE CHAPTER 220-2 GAME AND FISH DIVISION TABLE OF CONTENTS 220-2-.01 2012-2013 Hunting Seasons


Conservation Chapter 220-2


Supp. 12/31/12 2-249


snip...


Supp. 12/31/12 2-264








Madison County conservation enforcement officers kill escaped bull elk


By Jeff Dute, Press-Register


on November 04, 2011 at 10:30 AM, updated November 04, 2011 at 12:13 PM


MADISON COUNTY, Alabama -- Conservation enforcement officers in Madison County killed a young red deer/elk hybrid bull earlier this week that had wandered more than 80 miles north, then east from where it is suspected to have escaped from an enclosure near Hanceville, said District I assistant supervising wildlife biologist Mitchell Marks.


Marks said the estimated 450-pound bull's path to where it was killed north of Huntsville was easy to track from the numerous phone calls the department received over the last two weeks.


When no one claimed ownership, Marks said the decision to kill it was based on concerns over the possible spread of the always-fatal deer malady chronic wasting disease and for public safety reasons.


"It's not believed that this animal had CWD, but since we don't know exactly where it came from, first we have to test to make sure it doesn't," he said. "We don't want to jeopardize our deer herd at all. Second, people in Alabama are not used to seeing an animal of this size on our state's roads. Something that big could be a public hazard that we want to remove."


There is no CWD test for live animals, so once it was killed, the hybrid's head was removed and sent for testing while the carcass was buried, Marks said.


Kevin Dodd, Alabama's assistant chief of enforcement said since state regulations only mention deer in regard to seasons and bag limits, hunters who happen to encounter a non-native species such as the sika deer shot by a bowhunter in Jackson County on Monday or even an elk are within their rights to legally kill it.


"If they happen to see a sika or an elk, it's fair game as far as the law's concerned," Dodd said. "Shoot it, drag it to the truck and have it packaged at the processor."


As an example, Dodd said a hunter legally killed what he thought was the biggest whitetail doe of his life near Tuscaloosa last year. The animal turned out to be a cow elk that had escaped from an eclosure and that was twice as big as the average whitetail female.






Alabama : Elk Escape From Killen Farm to Greenhill


Date: December 05, 2003 Source: The Associated Press


Contacts: The Associated Press


A small herd of elk escaped a game farm in Killen and made its way to Greenhill, giving local hunters a rare chance to hunt the animal close to home.


Residents had reported seeing animals that looked like deer but were bigger, but wildlife officials were unable to track down any of the creatures. It wasn't until residents began hunting Tuesday that authorities realized the animals were elk.


Wildlife officials initially were puzzled about where the animals came from - the Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee is the area closest to the Shoals where elk are known to roam freely.


Authorities seized and buried three elk shot in a field off U.S. 43 by a hunter who did not have the landowner's permission to hunt there.


Capt. Johnny Johnson of the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries said elk hunted in the Greenhill area would be tested for chronic wasting disease. The disease has been spotted in several Western states and Wisconsin, but not in Alabama.


Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries enforcement officer Richard Wallace warned hunters not to eat any meat from the elk until the tests are complete.




Friday, October 26, 2012


CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD PENNSYLVANIA GAME FARMS, URINE ATTRACTANT PRODUCTS, BAITING, AND MINERAL LICKS




Friday, August 31, 2012


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




UNITED STATES ANIMAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION 115th Annual Meeting September 29- October 5, 2011 Buffalo, New York


_________________________________________________________


RESOLUTION NUMBER: 14 APPROVED SOURCE: COMMITTEE ON CAPTIVE WILDLIFE AND ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK SUBJECT MATTER: CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE FUNDING FOR CAPTIVE 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.






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






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.






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).






Research Paper


Salivary prions in sheep and deer


Volume 6, Issue 1 January/February/March 2012


Pages 52 – 61






Thursday, November 01, 2012


PA GAME COMMISSION TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS CWD Release #128-12






Tuesday, October 23, 2012


PA Captive deer from CWD-positive farm roaming free






Friday, November 04, 2011


Elk escape from captive cervid facility in Pennsylvania near West Virginia border West Virginia Division of Natural Resources






THE states are going to have to regulate how many farms that are allowed, or every state in the USA will wind up being just one big private fenced in game farm.


kind of like they did with the shrimping industry in the bays, when there got to be too many shrimp boats, you stop issuing permits, and then lower the exist number of permits, by not renewing them, due to reduced permits issued.


how many states have $465,000., and can quarantine and purchase there from, each cwd said infected farm, but how many states can afford this for all the cwd infected cervid game ranch type farms ???


11,000 game farms X $465,000., do all these game farms have insurance to pay for this risk of infected the wild cervid herds, in each state ???




Tuesday, December 20, 2011


CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD WISCONSIN Almond Deer (Buckhorn Flats) Farm Update DECEMBER 2011


The CWD infection rate was nearly 80%, the highest ever in a North American captive herd.


RECOMMENDATION: That the Board approve the purchase of 80 acres of land for $465,000 for the Statewide Wildlife Habitat Program in Portage County and approve the restrictions on public use of the site.


Form 1100-001


(R 2/11)


NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD AGENDA ITEM


SUBJECT: Information Item: Almond Deer Farm Update


FOR: DECEMBER 2011 BOARD MEETING


TUESDAY


TO BE PRESENTED BY TITLE: Tami Ryan, Wildlife Health Section Chief


SUMMARY:






SNIP...


2010 WISCONSIN CAPTIVE DEER ESCAPES


There were 26 reported escape incidents so far this year, this amounted to 20 actual confirmed escape incidents because 3 were previously reported, 2 were confirmed as wild deer, and 1 incident was not confirmed. ...


snip...


Deer, elk continue to escape from state farms


Article by: DOUG SMITH , Star Tribune Updated: March 14, 2011 - 12:08 PM


Curbing chronic wasting disease remains a concern; officials are increasing enforcement.


Almost 500 captive deer and elk have escaped from Minnesota farms over the past five years, and 134 were never recaptured or killed.


So far this year, 17 deer have escaped, and officials are still searching for many of those.


see ;




Friday, September 28, 2012


Stray elk renews concerns about deer farm security Minnesota






Wisconsin : 436 Deer Have Escaped From Farms to Wild


Date: March 18, 2003 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel


Contacts: LEE BERGQUIST lbergquist@journalsentinel.com


State finds violations, lax record keeping at many sites, report says


A state inspection of private deer farms, prompted by the discovery of chronic wasting disease, found that 436 white-tailed deer escaped into the wild, officials said Tuesday


The Department of Natural Resources found that captive deer have escaped from one-third of the state's 550 deer farms over the lifetime of the operations. The agency also uncovered hundreds of violations and has sought a total of 60 citations or charges against deer farm operators. These and other findings come as state officials say they are still no closer to understanding how the fatal deer disease got to Wisconsin.


Since the discovery a little more than a year ago, chronic wasting disease has thrown both deer hunting and management of Wisconsin's 1.4 million deer herd into tumult. Fewer hunters went into the woods last year, and a booming deer population has the DNR worried that the number of whitetails could grow out of control.


Tuesday's findings were presented to the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The DNR had regulated deer farms, but the authority was transferred to the Agriculture Department on Jan. 1. Now agriculture regulators oversee elk, deer and other captive cervids.


Solving the problem


Stricter regulations - and closer attention to the operations of game farms - should cut down on future violations, officials from the two agencies said. Tougher reporting requirements also will help authorities keep better track of the movement of animals, they said. Permanent rules take effect in June, and include tighter controls on moving animals and requiring the reporting of escaped animals within 48 hours. There will be mandatory testing of every deer age 16 months or older that dies.


Almost from the start of the state's battle against chronic wasting disease, game farm operators came under scrutiny because their business involves the buying and selling of captive deer and elk across state lines. When the disease was first discovered here Feb. 28, 2002, Wisconsin became the first state to have the disease east of the Mississippi River.


A representative of the deer industry said Tuesday that the DNR is trying to shift blame for chronic wasting disease to his industry.


"The state of Wisconsin has spent a year chasing chronic wasting disease, and they have made zero progress," said Gary Nelson, president of Whitetails of Wisconsin. "In the past, they have essentially collected our fees and ignored us. Now that they have discovered CWD, they are looking for someone to blame."


A DNR representative agreed that the agency could have done a better job keeping tabs on deer farms.


"We're not pointing fingers," said Karl Brooks, a conservation warden with the DNR. "But two things that we know for sure is that there is CWD in the wild deer population, and we have found CWD on game farms."


CWD found on 2 farms


Seven deer have tested positive for the disease on game farms - one on a Portage County farm and six on a Walworth County farm - since the disease was discovered in three wild deer killed near Mount Horeb in western Dane County. One deer that tested positive on the Walworth County farm escaped and roamed free for six months.


Regulations have only begun to catch up to the captive deer industry, and "unfortunately, it took CWD to get us there," said agriculture secretary Rod Nilsestuen at a news briefing in Madison. As the DNR prepared to hand over authority for overseeing game farms to the agriculture department, it sent 209 conservation wardens to 550 farms to collect information, attempt to pinpoint the source of the disease and to learn whether other deer had been exposed to it. The audit found that most farms were in compliance, but the DNR found many violations and instances of poor record keeping. Also in numerous instances, fences did not stop wild and captive deer from intermingling.


At least 227 farms conducted part of their business on a cash basis, making it hard to track animal movement with financial records.


For example, both the Internal Revenue Service and the state Department of Revenue have been contacted about a deer farm near Wild Rose in Waushara County that is suspected of selling six large bucks for $45,000 in cash and not using live deer shipping tags as required. The DNR found that game farm operators have more deer in captivity than their records show, which is "due in part because the owners of a number of large deer farm operations were unable to accurately count the number of deer within their fences," the audit found.


Hundreds of deer escape


The DNR found a total of 671 deer that escaped farms - 436 of which were never found - because of storm-damaged fences, gates being left open or the animals jumping over or through fences. In one example in Kewaunee County, a deer farmer's fence was knocked down in a summer storm. Ten deer escaped, and the farmer told the DNR he had no intention of trying to reclaim them. The DNR found five of the deer, killed them and cited the farmer for violation of a regulation related to fencing.


Another deer farmer near Mishicot, in Manitowoc County, released all nine of his whitetails last summer after he believed the discovery of chronic wasting disease was going to drive down the market for captive deer.


The DNR found 24 instances of unlicensed deer farms and issued 19 citations. Journal Sentinel correspondent Kevin Murphy contributed to this report.


Game Farms Inspected


A summary of the findings of the Department of Natural Resources' inspection of 550 private white-tailed deer farms in the state: The deer farms contained at least 16,070 deer, but the DNR believes there are more deer in captivity than that because large deer farms are unable to accurately count their deer. 671 deer had escaped from game farms, including 436 that were never found.


24 farmers were unlicensed. One had been operating illegally since 1999 after he was denied a license because his deer fence did not meet minimum specifications.


Records maintained by operators ranged from "meticulous documentation to relying on memory." At least 227 farms conducted various portions of their deer farm business with cash. Over the last three years, 1,222 deer died on farms for various reasons. Disease testing was not performed nor required on the majority of deer. Farmers reported doing business with people in 22 other states and one


© Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance


Web site development by Pyron Technologies, Inc.






Monday, June 11, 2012


OHIO Captive deer escapees and non-reporting






INDIANA 20 DEER ESCAPE TROPHY BUCK GAME FARM STATE OFFICIALS FEAR CWD RISK TO WILD






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






CWD, GAME FARMS, BAITING, AND POLITICS








AIRBORNE TRANSMISSION


In Chronic Wasting disease (CWD) of deer several careful studies have been performed that, together with our present finding, depose in favor of airborne transmission in this naturally occurring disease. Indeed, CWD prions can be transmitted experimentally via aerosol and the nasal route to transgenic cervidized mice.33 Although no anecdotal or epidemiological evidence has come forward that airborne transmission may be important for the spread of CWD, several lines of thought suggest that this possibility is not implausible. In deer, prions have been detected in urine, saliva, feces and blood of diseased animals. Moreover, it was claimed that pathological prion protein could be recovered from the environmental water in an endemic area.34 Since all fluids can act as sources for the generation of aerosols, any of the body fluids mentioned above may represent the point of origin for airborne transmission of CWD prions. In this context, also the presence of infectious prions in blood of patients should be mentioned which was demonstrated by the transmission of vCJD by blood transfusions.35,36 The growing body of evidence that prion transmission can be airborne—at least under certain conditions—dictates that the release of potentially contaminated aerosols should be avoided under all circumstances.


snip...


In conclusion, aerosols can infect mice with a surprisingly high efficiency. Just how important a role is played by this newly recognized pathway of spread in natural transmission is, as of now, unclear and in need of further studies. Although it was not identified as a route of infection in epidemiological studies thus far, the worryingly high attack rate suggests that we would be well-advised to carefully avoid the inhalation of aerosols from prion-containing materials. Key words: prion, prion transmission, scrapie, chronic wasting diseases, CWD, Creutzfeldt-Jacob-disease, CJD, TSE, aerosol, pathogens, allergens Submitted: 05/19/11 Accepted: 06/09/11 DOI: 10.4161/pri.5.3.16851 *Correspondence to: Lothar Stitz or Adriano Aguzzi; Email: lothar.stitz@fli.bund.de or adriano.aguzzi@usz.ch


snip...see full text ;


PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT, AND AGAIN, many thanks to PLOS for open access !!!






Monday, September 17, 2012


Rapid Transepithelial Transport of Prions Following Inhalation






Thursday, December 29, 2011


Aerosols An underestimated vehicle for transmission of prion diseases?


PRION www.landesbioscience.com


please see more on Aerosols and TSE prion disease here ;






Research Paper


Salivary prions in sheep and deer


Gültekin Tamgüney, Jürgen A. Richt, Amir N. Hamir, Justin J. Greenlee, Michael W. Miller, Lisa L. Wolfe, Tracey M. Sirochman, Alan J. Young, David V. Glidden, Natrina L. Johnson, Kurt Giles, Stephen J. DeArmond and Stanley B. Prusiner


Gültekin Tamgüney Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases; Department of Neurology; University of California, San Francisco, CA USA Jürgen A. Richt National Animal Disease Center, ARS-USDA; Ames, IA USA Amir N. Hamir National Animal Disease Center, ARS-USDA; Ames, IA USA Justin J. Greenlee National Animal Disease Center, ARS-USDA; Ames, IA USA Michael W. Miller Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center; Fort Collins, CO USA Lisa L. Wolfe Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center; Fort Collins, CO USA Tracey M. Sirochman Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center; Fort Collins, CO USA Alan J. Young Department of Veterinary Science, South Dakota State University; Brookings, SD USA David V. Glidden Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics; University of California, San Francisco, CA USA Natrina L. Johnson Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases; San Francisco, CA USA Kurt Giles Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases; Department of Neurology; University of California, San Francisco, CA USA Stephen J. DeArmond Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases; San Francisco, CA USA; Department of Pathology, University of California; San Francisco, CA USA Stanley B. Prusiner Corresponding author: stanley@ind.ucsf.edu Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases; Department of Neurology; University of California, San Francisco, CA USA


Scrapie of sheep and chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids are transmissible prion diseases. Milk and placenta have been identified as sources of scrapie prions but do not explain horizontal transmission. In contrast, CWD prions have been reported in saliva, urine and feces, which are thought to be responsible for horizontal transmission. While the titers of CWD prions have been measured in feces, levels in saliva or urine are unknown. Because sheep produce ~17 L/day of saliva, and scrapie prions are present in tongue and salivary glands of infected sheep, we asked if scrapie prions are shed in saliva. We inoculated transgenic (Tg) mice expressing ovine prion protein, Tg(OvPrP) mice, with saliva from seven Cheviot sheep with scrapie. Six of seven samples transmitted prions to Tg(OvPrP) mice with titers of -0.5 to 1.7 log ID50 U/ml. Similarly, inoculation of saliva samples from two mule deer with CWD transmitted prions to Tg(ElkPrP) mice with titers of -1.1 to -0.4 log ID50 U/ml. Assuming similar shedding kinetics for salivary prions as those for fecal prions of deer, we estimated the secreted salivary prion dose over a 10-mo period to be as high as 8.4 log ID50 units for sheep and 7.0 log ID50 units for deer. These estimates are similar to 7.9 log ID50 units of fecal CWD prions for deer. Because saliva is mostly swallowed, salivary prions may reinfect tissues of the gastrointestinal tract and contribute to fecal prion shedding. Salivary prions shed into the environment provide an additional mechanism for horizontal prion transmission.






ALSO, NOTE MINERAL LICKS A POSSIBLE SOURCE AND TRANSMISSION MODE FOR CWD






Elk and Deer Use of Mineral Licks: Implications for Disease Transmission


Kurt C. VerCauteren1*, Michael J. Lavelle1, Gregory E. Phillips1, Justin W. Fischer1, and Randal S. Stahl1 1United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154, USA *Cooresponding author e-mail: kurt.c.vercauteren@aphis.usda.gov


North American cervids require and actively seek out minerals to satisfy physiological requirements. Minerals required by free-ranging cervids exist within natural and artificial mineral licks that commonly serve as focal sites for cervids. Ingestion of soils contaminated with the agent that causes chronic wasting disease (CWD) may result in risk of contracting CWD. Our objective was to evaluate the extent and nature of use of mineral licks by CWD-susceptible cervid species. We used animal-activated cameras to monitor use of 18 mineral licks between 1 June and 16 October 2006 in Rocky Mountain National Park, north-central Colorado. We also assessed mineral concentrations at mineral licks to evaluate correlations between visitation rates and site-specific characteristics. We collected > 400,000 images of which 991 included elk, 293 included deer, and 6 included moose. We documented elk and deer participating in a variety of potentially risky behaviors (e.g., ingesting soil, ingesting water, defecating, urinating) while at mineral licks. Results from the mineral analyses combined with camera data revealed that visitation was highest at sodium-rich mineral licks. Mineral licks may play a role in disease transmission by acting as sites of increased interaction as well as reservoirs for deposition, accumulation, and ingestion of disease agents.








PrPSc Detection and Infectivity in Semen from Scrapie-Infected Sheep


Richard Rubenstein1,5, Marie S Bulgin2, Binggong Chang1, Sharon Sorensen-Melson2, Robert B Petersen3 and Giuseppe LaFauci4 + Author Affiliations


1 SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA; 2 University of Idaho, Caldwell, ID, USA; 3 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; 4 NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, USA ↵5 E-mail: richard.rubenstein@downstate.edu Received 13 October 2011. Accepted 3 February 2012. Abstract A scrapie-positive ewe was found in a flock that had been scrapie free for 13 years, but housed adjacent to scrapie-positive animals, separated by a wire fence. Live animal testing of the entire flock of 24 animals revealed 7 more subclinical scrapie-positive ewes. We hypothesized that they may have contracted the disease from scrapie-positive rams used for breeding four months prior, possibly through the semen. The genotypes of the ewe flock were highly scrapie-susceptible and the rams were infected with the "Caine" Scrapie Strain having a short incubation time of 4.3-14.6 mo. in sheep with 136/171 VQ/VQ and AQ/VQ genotypes. PrPSc accumulates in a variety of tissues in addition to the central nervous system. Although transmission of prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, has been achieved via peripheral organ or tissue homogenates as well as by blood transfusion, neither infectivity nor PrPSc have been found in semen from scrapie-infected animals. Using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification followed by a surround optical fiber immunoassay, we demonstrate that semen from rams infected with a short incubation time scrapie strain contains prion disease-associated seeding activity that generated PrPSc in sPMCA. Injection of the ovinized transgenic mouse line TgSShpPrP with semen from scrapie-infected sheep resulted in PrPSc seeding activity in clinical and, probably as a result of the low titer, nonclinical mouse brain. These results suggest that the transmissible agent, or at least the seeding activity, for sheep scrapie is present in semen. This may be a strain specific phenomenon.








Envt.18: Mother to Offspring Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease


Candace K. Mathiason,† Amy Nalls, Kelly Anderson, Jeanette Hayes-Klug, Jenny G. Powers, Nicholas J. Haley and Edward A. Hoover


Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA†Presenting author; Email: ckm@lamar.colostate.edu


We have developed a new cervid model in small Asian muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi) to study potential modes of vertical transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) from mother to offspring. Eight of eight (8/8) muntjac doe orally infected with CWD tested PrPCWD lymphoid positive by four months post infection. Ten fawns were born to these CWD-infected doe— four of the fawns were viable, five were non-viable and one was a first trimester fetus harvested from a CWD-infected doe euthanized at end-stage disease. The viable fawns have been monitored for CWD infection by immunohistochemistry and sPMCA performed on serial tonsil and rectal lymphoid tissue biopsies. PrPCWD has been detected in one fawn by IHC as early as 40 days of age. Moreover, sPMCA performed on rectal lymphoid tissue has yielded positive results on another fawn at ten days of age. In addition, sPMCA assays have demonstrated amplifiable prions in fetal placental or spleen tissue of three non-viable fawns and mammary tissue of the dams.


Additional pregnancy related fluids and tissues from the doe as well as tissue from the nonviable fawns are currently being probed for the presence of CWD. In summary, we have employed the muntjac deer model, to demonstrate for the first time the transmission of CWD from mother to offspring. These studies provide the foundation to investigate the mechanisms and pathways of maternal prion transfer.


Saturday, February 11, 2012


PrPSc Detection and Infectivity in Semen from Scrapie-Infected Sheep






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






UPDATED DATA ON 2ND CWD STRAIN


Wednesday, September 08, 2010


CWD PRION CONGRESS SEPTEMBER 8-11 2010






Tuesday, January 10, 2012


ESHRE position statement concerning prion detection in urinary gonadotropin formulations






Prion Disease Detection, PMCA Kinetics, and IgG in Urine from Sheep Naturally/Experimentally Infected with Scrapie and Deer with Preclinical/Clinical Chronic Wasting Disease


▿Richard Rubenstein1,*, Binggong Chang1, Perry Gray2, Martin Piltch2, Marie S. Bulgin3, Sharon Sorensen-Melson3 and Michael W. Miller4 + Author Affiliations


1Departments of Neurology and Physiology/Pharmacology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11203 2Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 3University of Idaho, Caine Veterinary Teaching and Research Center, 1020 E. Homedale Road, Caldwell, Idaho 83607 4Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, 317 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526-2097


ABSTRACT


Prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are fatal neurodegenerative disorders. Low levels of infectious agent and limited, infrequent success of disease transmissibility and PrPSc detection have been reported with urine from experimentally infected clinical cervids and rodents. We report the detection of prion disease-associated seeding activity (PASA) in urine from naturally and orally infected sheep with clinical scrapie agent and orally infected preclinical and infected white-tailed deer with clinical chronic wasting disease (CWD). This is the first report on PASA detection of PrPSc from the urine of naturally or preclinical prion-diseased ovine or cervids. Detection was achieved by using the surround optical fiber immunoassay (SOFIA) to measure the products of limited serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA). Conversion of PrPC to PrPSc was not influenced by the presence of poly(A) during sPMCA or by the homogeneity of the PrP genotypes between the PrPC source and urine donor animals. Analysis of the sPMCA-SOFIA data resembled a linear, rather than an exponential, course. Compared to uninfected animals, there was a 2- to 4-log increase of proteinase K-sensitive, light chain immunoglobulin G (IgG) fragments in scrapie-infected sheep but not in infected CWD-infected deer. The higher-than-normal range of IgG levels found in the naturally and experimentally infected clinical scrapie-infected sheep were independent of their genotypes. Although analysis of urine samples throughout the course of infection would be necessary to determine the usefulness of altered IgG levels as a disease biomarker, detection of PrPSc from PASA in urine points to its potential value for antemortem diagnosis of prion diseases.


FOOTNOTES


Received 13 May 2011. Accepted 14 June 2011. ↵*Corresponding author. Mailing address: Downstate Medical Center, Departments of Neurology and Physiology/Pharmacology, Box 1213, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203. Phone: (718) 270-2019. Fax: (718) 270-2459. E-mail: richard.rubenstein@downstate.edu. ↵▿ Published ahead of print on 29 June 2011.


Copyright © 2011, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.






Sunday, July 03, 2011


Prion Disease Detection, PMCA Kinetics, and IgG in Urine from Naturally/Experimentally Infected Scrapie Sheep and Preclinical/Clinical CWD Deer






Thursday, June 09, 2011


Detection of CWD prions in salivary, urinary, and intestinal tissues of deer: potential mechanisms of prion shedding and transmission






CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE: A MODEL FOR PRION TRANSMISSION VIA SALIVA AND URINE






Sunday, December 06, 2009


Detection of Sub-Clinical CWD Infection in Conventional Test-Negative Deer Long after Oral Exposure to Urine and Feces from CWD+ Deer






Wednesday, March 18, 2009


Detection of CWD Prions in Urine and Saliva of Deer by Transgenic Mouse Bioassay






*** Tuesday, September 02, 2008


Detection of infectious prions in urine (Soto et al Available online 13 August 2008.)






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


Subject: MAD DEER FEED BAN WARNING LETTER RECALL 6 TONS DISTRIBUTED USA


Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 14:53:56 -0500


From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."


Reply-To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy


To: BSE-L@UNI-KARLSRUHE.DE


##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #####################


PRODUCT


Product is custom made deer feed packaged in 100 lb. poly bags. The product has no labeling. Recall # V-003-5.


CODE


The product has no lot code. All custom made feed purchased between June 24, 2004 and September 8, 2004.


RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER


Farmers Elevator Co, Houston, OH, by telephone and letter dated September 27, 2004. Firm initiated recall is ongoing.


REASON


Feed may contain protein derived from mammalian tissues which is prohibited in ruminant feed.


VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE


Approximately 6 tons.


DISTRIBUTION OH.


END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR October 20, 2004




################# BSE-L-subscribe-request@uni-karlsruhe.de #################


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


Subject: DOCKET-- 03D-0186 -- FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; Availability


Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:47:37 -0500


From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."


To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov


Greetings FDA,


i would kindly like to comment on;


Docket 03D-0186


FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; Availability


Several factors on this apparent voluntary proposal disturbs me greatly, please allow me to point them out;


1. MY first point is the failure of the partial ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban of 8/4/97. this partial and voluntary feed ban of some ruminant materials being fed back to cattle is terribly flawed. without the _total_ and _mandatory_ ban of all ruminant materials being fed back to ruminants including cattle, sheep, goat, deer, elk and mink, chickens, fish (all farmed animals for human/animal consumption), this half ass measure will fail terribly, as in the past decades...


2. WHAT about sub-clinical TSE in deer and elk? with the recent findings of deer fawns being infected with CWD, how many could possibly be sub-clinically infected. until we have a rapid TSE test to assure us that all deer/elk are free of disease (clinical and sub-clinical), we must ban not only documented CWD infected deer/elk, but healthy ones as well. it this is not done, they system will fail...


3. WE must ban not only CNS (SRMs specified risk materials), but ALL tissues. recent new and old findings support infectivity in the rump or ass muscle. wether it be low or high, accumulation will play a crucial role in TSEs.


4. THERE are and have been for some time many TSEs in the USA. TME in mink, Scrapie in Sheep and Goats, and unidentified TSE in USA cattle. all this has been proven, but the TSE in USA cattle has been totally ignored for decades. i will document this data below in my references.


5. UNTIL we ban all ruminant by-products from being fed back to ALL ruminants, until we rapid TSE test (not only deer/elk) but cattle in sufficient numbers to find (1 million rapid TSE test in USA cattle annually for 5 years), any partial measures such as the ones proposed while ignoring sub-clinical TSEs and not rapid TSE testing cattle, not closing down feed mills that continue to violate the FDA's BSE feed regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) and not making freely available those violations, will only continue to spread these TSE mad cow agents in the USA. I am curious what we will call a phenotype in a species that is mixed with who knows how many strains of scrapie, who knows what strain or how many strains of TSE in USA cattle, and the CWD in deer and elk (no telling how many strains there), but all of this has been rendered for animal feeds in the USA for decades. it will get interesting once someone starts looking in all species, including humans here in the USA, but this has yet to happen...


6. IT is paramount that CJD be made reportable in every state (especially ''sporadic'' cjd), and that a CJD Questionnaire must be issued to every family of a victim of TSE. only checking death certificates will not be sufficient. this has been proven as well (see below HISTORY OF CJD -- CJD QUESTIONNAIRE)


7. WE must learn from our past mistakes, not continue to make the same mistakes...


snip...


Oral transmission and early lymphoid tropism of chronic wasting disease PrPres in mule deer fawns (Odocoileus hemionus )


Christina J. Sigurdson1, Elizabeth S. Williams2, Michael W. Miller3, Terry R. Spraker1,4, Katherine I. O'Rourke5 and Edward A. Hoover1


Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523- 1671, USA1 Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, 1174 Snowy Range Road, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82070, USA 2 Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, 317 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526-2097, USA3 Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, 300 West Drake Road, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1671, USA4 Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 337 Bustad Hall, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-7030, USA5


Author for correspondence: Edward Hoover.Fax +1 970 491 0523. e-mail ehoover@lamar.colostate.edu


Mule deer fawns (Odocoileus hemionus) were inoculated orally with a brain homogenate prepared from mule deer with naturally occurring chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion-induced transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Fawns were necropsied and examined for PrP res, the abnormal prion protein isoform, at 10, 42, 53, 77, 78 and 80 days post-inoculation (p.i.) using an immunohistochemistry assay modified to enhance sensitivity. PrPres was detected in alimentary-tract-associated lymphoid tissues (one or more of the following: retropharyngeal lymph node, tonsil, Peyer's patch and ileocaecal lymph node) as early as 42 days p.i. and in all fawns examined thereafter (53 to 80 days p.i.). No PrPres staining was detected in lymphoid tissue of three control fawns receiving a control brain inoculum, nor was PrPres detectable in neural tissue of any fawn. PrPres-specific staining was markedly enhanced by sequential tissue treatment with formic acid, proteinase K and hydrated autoclaving prior to immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibody F89/160.1.5. These results indicate that CWD PrP res can be detected in lymphoid tissues draining the alimentary tract within a few weeks after oral exposure to infectious prions and may reflect the initial pathway of CWD infection in deer. The rapid infection of deer fawns following exposure by the most plausible natural route is consistent with the efficient horizontal transmission of CWD in nature and enables accelerated studies of transmission and pathogenesis in the native species.


snip...


These results indicate that mule deer fawns develop detectable PrP res after oral exposure to an inoculum containing CWD prions. In the earliest post-exposure period, CWD PrPres was traced to the lymphoid tissues draining the oral and intestinal mucosa (i.e. the retropharyngeal lymph nodes, tonsil, ileal Peyer's patches and ileocaecal lymph nodes), which probably received the highest initial exposure to the inoculum. Hadlow et al. (1982) demonstrated scrapie agent in the tonsil, retropharyngeal and mesenteric lymph nodes, ileum and spleen in a 10-month-old naturally infected lamb by mouse bioassay. Eight of nine sheep had infectivity in the retropharyngeal lymph node. He concluded that the tissue distribution suggested primary infection via the gastrointestinal tract. The tissue distribution of PrPres in the early stages of infection in the fawns is strikingly similar to that seen in naturally infected sheep with scrapie. These findings support oral exposure as a natural route of CWD infection in deer and support oral inoculation as a reasonable exposure route for experimental studies of CWD.


snip...




===================================


now, just what is in that deer feed? _ANIMAL PROTEIN_


Subject: MAD DEER/ELK DISEASE AND POTENTIAL SOURCES


Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 18:41:46 –0700


From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."


Reply-To: BSE-L To: BSE-L


8420-20.5% Antler Developer For Deer and Game in the wild Guaranteed Analysis Ingredients / Products Feeding Directions


snip...


_animal protein_




BODE'S GAME FEED SUPPLEMENT #400 A RATION FOR DEER NET WEIGHT 50 POUNDS 22.6 KG.


snip...


_animal protein_




Ingredients


Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Processed Grain By-Products, Forage Products, Roughage Products 15%, Molasses Products, __Animal Protein Products__, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Pyosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Acetate with D-activated Animal Sterol (source of Vitamin D3), Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Panothenate, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Menadione Soduim Bisulfite Complex, Pyridoxine Hydorchloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Dried Sacchoromyces Berevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Cellulose gum, Artificial Flavors added.




===================================


MORE ANIMAL PROTEIN PRODUCTS FOR DEER


Bode's #1 Game Pellets A RATION FOR DEER F3153


GUARANTEED ANALYSIS Crude Protein (Min) 16% Crude Fat (Min) 2.0% Crude Fiber (Max) 19% Calcium (Ca) (Min) 1.25% Calcium (Ca) (Max) 1.75% Phosphorus (P) (Min) 1.0% Salt (Min) .30% Salt (Max) .70%


Ingredients


Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Processed Grain By-Products, Forage Products, Roughage Products, 15% Molasses Products, __Animal Protein Products__, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Acetate with D-activated Animal Sterol (source of Vitamin D3) Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Roboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, e - Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Dried Saccharyomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Cellulose gum, Artificial Flavors added.


FEEDING DIRECTIONS Feed as Creep Feed with Normal Diet




INGREDIENTS


Grain Products, Roughage Products (not more than 35%), Processed Grain By-Products, Plant Protein Products, Forage Products, __Animal Protein Products__, L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Monocalcium/Dicalcium Phosphate, Yeast Culture, Magnesium Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Basic Copper Chloride, Manganese Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Mineral Oil, Mold Inhibitor, Calcium Lignin Sulfonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Niacin, Biotin, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Mineral Oil, Chromium Tripicolinate


DIRECTIONS FOR USE


Deer Builder Pellets is designed to be fed to deer under range conditions or deer that require higher levels of protein. Feed to deer during gestation, fawning, lactation, antler growth and pre-rut, all phases which require a higher level of nutrition. Provide adequate amounts of good quality roughage and fresh water at all times.




==================================================




DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION


April 9, 2001 WARNING LETTER


01-PHI-12 CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED


Brian J. Raymond, Owner Sandy Lake Mills 26 Mill Street P.O. Box 117 Sandy Lake, PA 16145 PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT


Tel: 215-597-4390


Dear Mr. Raymond:


Food and Drug Administration Investigator Gregory E. Beichner conducted an inspection of your animal feed manufacturing operation, located in Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, on March 23, 2001, and determined that your firm manufactures animal feeds including feeds containing prohibited materials. The inspection found significant deviations from the requirements set forth in Title 21, code of Federal Regulations, part 589.2000 - Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. The regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) . Such deviations cause products being manufactured at this facility to be misbranded within the meaning of Section 403(f), of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act).


Our investigation found failure to label your swine feed with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to cattle or other Ruminants" The FDA suggests that the statement be distinguished by different type-size or color or other means of highlighting the statement so that it is easily noticed by a purchaser.


In addition, we note that you are using approximately 140 pounds of cracked corn to flush your mixer used in the manufacture of animal feeds containing prohibited material. This flushed material is fed to wild game including deer, a ruminant animal. Feed material which may potentially contain prohibited material should not be fed to ruminant animals which may become part of the food chain.


The above is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of deviations from the regulations. As a manufacturer of materials intended for animal feed use, you are responsible for assuring that your overall operation and the products you manufacture and distribute are in compliance with the law. We have enclosed a copy of FDA's Small Entity Compliance Guide to assist you with complying with the regulation... blah, blah, blah...




==================================


Subject: MAD DEER/ELK DISEASE AND POTENTIAL SOURCES


Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 18:41:46 –0700


From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."


Reply-To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy


To: BSE-L@uni-karlsruhe.de


now, what about those 'deer scents' of 100% urine', and the prion that is found in urine, why not just pass the prion with the urine to other deer...


Mrs. Doe Pee Doe in Estrus Model FDE1 Mrs. Doe Pee's Doe in Estrus is made from Estrus urine collected at the peak of the rut, blended with Fresh Doe Urine for an extremely effective buck enticer. Use pre-rut before the does come into heat. Use during full rut when bucks are most active. Use during post-rut when bucks are still actively looking for does. 1 oz.


www.gamecalls.net/hunting...lures.html


ELK SCENT/SPRAY BOTTLE


Works anytime of the year *


100 % Cow Elk-in-Heat urine (2oz.) *


Economical - mix with water in spray mist bottle *


Use wind to your advantage


Product Code WP-ESB $9.95


www.elkinc.com/Scent.asp


prions in urine?


DEER & ELK URINE, LURES & SCENT CONTROL DEPARTMENT by MRS.DOE PEE'S Main Index


The Turkey Pro Sez... "Premium, fresh, top-quality, pure 100% undiluted deer lures from Mrs. Doe Pee really work. I won't trust anything else when I'm after big bucks. Sam Collora, owner of the company, proved how well his products work when he bagged this monster buck in 1996.............snip......end........CWD




snip...


REFERENCES


snip...see full text ;


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


see full text ;


Subject: DOCKET-- 03D-0186 -- FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; Availability


Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:47:37 -0500


From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."


To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov






DOCKET-- 03D-0186 -- FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; Availability


Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:47:37 –0500


EMC 1 Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Vol #: 1






PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT SUBMISSION ;






CWD TO HUMAN TRANSMISSION, never say never !!!


Envt.06:


Zoonotic Potential of CWD: Experimental Transmissions to Non-Human Primates


Emmanuel Comoy,1,† Valérie Durand,1 Evelyne Correia,1 Aru Balachandran,2 Jürgen Richt,3 Vincent Beringue,4 Juan-Maria Torres,5 Paul Brown,1 Bob Hills6 and Jean-Philippe Deslys1


1Atomic Energy Commission; Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; 2Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Ottawa, ON Canada; 3Kansas State University; Manhattan, KS USA; 4INRA; Jouy-en-Josas, France; 5INIA; Madrid, Spain; 6Health Canada; Ottawa, ON Canada


†Presenting author; Email: emmanuel.comoy@cea.fr


The constant increase of chronic wasting disease (CWD) incidence in North America raises a question about their zoonotic potential. A recent publication showed their transmissibility to new-world monkeys, but no transmission to old-world monkeys, which are phylogenetically closer to humans, has so far been reported. Moreover, several studies have failed to transmit CWD to transgenic mice overexpressing human PrP. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is the only animal prion disease for which a zoonotic potential has been proven. We described the transmission of the atypical BSE-L strain of BSE to cynomolgus monkeys, suggesting a weak cattle-to-primate species barrier. We observed the same phenomenon with a cattleadapted strain of TME (Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy). Since cattle experimentally exposed to CWD strains have also developed spongiform encephalopathies, we inoculated brain tissue from CWD-infected cattle to three cynomolgus macaques as well as to transgenic mice overexpressing bovine or human PrP. Since CWD prion strains are highly lymphotropic, suggesting an adaptation of these agents after peripheral exposure, a parallel set of four monkeys was inoculated with CWD-infected cervid brains using the oral route. Nearly four years post-exposure, monkeys exposed to CWD-related prion strains remain asymptomatic. In contrast, bovinized and humanized transgenic mice showed signs of infection, suggesting that CWD-related prion strains may be capable of crossing the cattle-to-primate species barrier. Comparisons with transmission results and incubation periods obtained after exposure to other cattle prion strains (c-BSE, BSE-L, BSE-H and cattle-adapted TME) will also be presented, in order to evaluate the respective risks of each strain.




Envt.07:


Pathological Prion Protein (PrPTSE) in Skeletal Muscles of Farmed and Free Ranging White-Tailed Deer Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease


Martin L. Daus,1,† Johanna Breyer,2 Katjs Wagenfuehr,1 Wiebke Wemheuer,2 Achim Thomzig,1 Walter Schulz-Schaeffer2 and Michael Beekes1 1Robert Koch Institut; P24 TSE; Berlin, Germany; 2Department of Neuropathology, Prion and Dementia Research Unit, University Medical Center Göttingen; Göttingen, Germany


†Presenting author; Email: dausm@rki.de


Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, rapidly spreading transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) occurring in cervids in North America. Despite efficient horizontal transmission of CWD among cervids natural transmission of the disease to other species has not yet been observed. Here, we report a direct biochemical demonstration of pathological prion protein PrPTSE and of PrPTSE-associated seeding activity in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected cervids. The presence of PrPTSE was detected by Western- and postfixed frozen tissue blotting, while the seeding activity of PrPTSE was revealed by protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). The concentration of PrPTSE in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected WTD was estimated to be approximately 2000- to 10000-fold lower than in brain tissue. Tissue-blot-analyses revealed that PrPTSE was located in muscle- associated nerve fascicles but not, in detectable amounts, in myocytes. The presence and seeding activity of PrPTSE in skeletal muscle from CWD-infected cervids suggests prevention of such tissue in the human diet as a precautionary measure for food safety, pending on further clarification of whether CWD may be transmissible to humans.






PLUS, THE CDC DID NOT PUT THIS WARNING OUT FOR THE WELL BEING OF THE DEER AND ELK ;


Thursday, May 26, 2011


Travel History, Hunting, and Venison Consumption Related to Prion Disease Exposure, 2006-2007 FoodNet Population Survey


Journal of the American Dietetic Association Volume 111, Issue 6 , Pages 858-863, June 2011.




NOR IS THE FDA recalling this CWD positive elk meat for the well being of the dead elk ;


Wednesday, March 18, 2009


Noah's Ark Holding, LLC, Dawson, MN RECALL Elk products contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have CWD NV, CA, TX, CO, NY, UT, FL, OK RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: FOODS CLASS II




Sunday, January 22, 2012


Chronic Wasting Disease CWD cervids interspecies transmission






now, let’s see what the authors said about this casual link, personal communications years ago. see where it is stated NO STRONG evidence. so, does this mean there IS casual evidence ????


“Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans”




From: TSS (216-119-163-189.ipset45.wt.net)


Subject: CWD aka MAD DEER/ELK TO HUMANS ???


Date: September 30, 2002 at 7:06 am PST


From: "Belay, Ermias"


To:


Cc: "Race, Richard (NIH)" ; ; "Belay, Ermias"


Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 9:22 AM


Subject: RE: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS


Dear Sir/Madam,


In the Archives of Neurology you quoted (the abstract of which was attached to your email), we did not say CWD in humans will present like variant CJD.


That assumption would be wrong. I encourage you to read the whole article and call me if you have questions or need more clarification (phone: 404-639-3091). Also, we do not claim that "no-one has ever been infected with prion disease from eating venison." Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans in the article you quoted or in any other forum is limited to the patients we investigated.


Ermias Belay, M.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


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


From:


Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 10:15 AM


To: rr26k@nih.gov; rrace@niaid.nih.gov; ebb8@CDC.GOV


Subject: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS


Sunday, November 10, 2002 6:26 PM ......snip........end..............TSS


Thursday, April 03, 2008


A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease


2008 1: Vet Res. 2008 Apr 3;39(4):41


A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease


Sigurdson CJ.


snip...


*** twenty-seven CJD patients who regularly consumed venison were reported to the Surveillance Center***,


snip...


full text ;




Sunday, January 22, 2012


Chronic Wasting Disease CWD cervids interspecies transmission






CJD9/10022


October 1994


Mr R.N. Elmhirst Chairman British Deer Farmers Association Holly Lodge Spencers Lane BerksWell Coventry CV7 7BZ


Dear Mr Elmhirst,


CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD) SURVEILLANCE UNIT REPORT


Thank you for your recent letter concerning the publication of the third annual report from the CJD Surveillance Unit. I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with the way in which this report was published.


The Surveillance Unit is a completely independant outside body and the Department of Health is committed to publishing their reports as soon as they become available. In the circumstances it is not the practice to circulate the report for comment since the findings of the report would not be amended. In future we can ensure that the British Deer Farmers Association receives a copy of the report in advance of publication.


The Chief Medical Officer has undertaken to keep the public fully informed of the results of any research in respect of CJD. This report was entirely the work of the unit and was produced completely independantly of the the Department.


The statistical results reqarding the consumption of venison was put into perspective in the body of the report and was not mentioned at all in the press release. Media attention regarding this report was low key but gave a realistic presentation of the statistical findings of the Unit. This approach to publication was successful in that consumption of venison was highlighted only once by the media ie. in the News at one television proqramme.


I believe that a further statement about the report, or indeed statistical links between CJD and consumption of venison, would increase, and quite possibly give damaging credence, to the whole issue. From the low key media reports of which I am aware it seems unlikely that venison consumption will suffer adversely, if at all.






*** Spraker suggested an interesting explanation for the occurrence of CWD. The deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus were built some 30-40 years ago by a Dr. Bob Davis. At or abut that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had previously been occupied by sheep.




White-tailed Deer are Susceptible to Scrapie by Natural Route of Infection


Jodi D. Smith, Justin J. Greenlee, and Robert A. Kunkle; Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA-ARS Interspecies transmission studies afford the opportunity to better understand the potential host range and origins of prion diseases. Previous experiments demonstrated that white-tailed deer are susceptible to sheep-derived scrapie by intracranial inoculation. The purpose of this study was to determine susceptibility of white-tailed deer to scrapie after a natural route of exposure. Deer (n=5) were inoculated by concurrent oral (30 ml) and intranasal (1 ml) instillation of a 10% (wt/vol) brain homogenate derived from a sheep clinically affected with scrapie. Non-inoculated deer were maintained as negative controls. All deer were observed daily for clinical signs. Deer were euthanized and necropsied when neurologic disease was evident, and tissues were examined for abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot (WB). One animal was euthanized 15 months post-inoculation (MPI) due to an injury. At that time, examination of obex and lymphoid tissues by IHC was positive, but WB of obex and colliculus were negative. Remaining deer developed clinical signs of wasting and mental depression and were necropsied from 28 to 33 MPI. 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. This work demonstrates for the first time that white-tailed deer are susceptible to sheep scrapie by potential natural routes of inoculation. In-depth analysis of tissues will be done to determine similarities between scrapie in deer after intracranial and oral/intranasal inoculation and chronic wasting disease resulting from similar routes of inoculation.


see full text ;




PO-039: A comparison of scrapie and chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer


Justin Greenlee, Jodi Smith, Eric Nicholson US Dept. Agriculture; Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA USA






Wednesday, February 16, 2011


IN CONFIDENCE


SCRAPIE TRANSMISSION TO CHIMPANZEES


IN CONFIDENCE




Chronic Wasting Disease Susceptibility of Four North American Rodents


Chad J. Johnson1*, Jay R. Schneider2, Christopher J. Johnson2, Natalie A. Mickelsen2, Julia A. Langenberg3, Philip N. Bochsler4, Delwyn P. Keane4, Daniel J. Barr4, and Dennis M. Heisey2 1University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Comparative Biosciences, 1656 Linden Drive, Madison WI 53706, USA 2US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison WI 53711, USA 3Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 101 South Webster Street, Madison WI 53703, USA 4Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, 445 Easterday Lane, Madison WI 53706, USA *Corresponding author email: cjohnson@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu


We intracerebrally challenged four species of native North American rodents that inhabit locations undergoing cervid chronic wasting disease (CWD) epidemics. The species were: deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), white-footed mice (P. leucopus), meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), and red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi). The inocula were prepared from the brains of hunter-harvested white-tailed deer from Wisconsin that tested positive for CWD. Meadow voles proved to be most susceptible, with a median incubation period of 272 days. Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of PrPd in the brains of all challenged meadow voles. Subsequent passages in meadow voles lead to a significant reduction in incubation period. The disease progression in red-backed voles, which are very closely related to the European bank vole (M. glareolus) which have been demonstrated to be sensitive to a number of TSEs, was slower than in meadow voles with a median incubation period of 351 days. We sequenced the meadow vole and red-backed vole Prnp genes and found three amino acid (AA) differences outside of the signal and GPI anchor sequences. Of these differences (T56-, G90S, S170N; read-backed vole:meadow vole), S170N is particularly intriguing due its postulated involvement in "rigid loop" structure and CWD susceptibility. Deer mice did not exhibit disease signs until nearly 1.5 years post-inoculation, but appear to be exhibiting a high degree of disease penetrance. White-footed mice have an even longer incubation period but are also showing high penetrance. Second passage experiments show significant shortening of incubation periods. Meadow voles in particular appear to be interesting lab models for CWD. These rodents scavenge carrion, and are an important food source for many predator species. Furthermore, these rodents enter human and domestic livestock food chains by accidental inclusion in grain and forage. Further investigation of these species as potential hosts, bridge species, and reservoirs of CWD is required.




please see ;




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 ;


----- 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








AS THE CROW FLIES, SO DOES CWD


these studies are most disturbing to me, for the risk factor they pose of something scientist have been concerned about for decades, the survival of the TSE prion agent through the digestive tract, even if the carrier does not get the TSE prion disease, by the TSE prion agent surviving the digestive track, things like chickens, pigs, and other species, that ARE still legally able to consume animal protein, thus, these animals that are legally able to consume these products, are then rendered back to livestock that ARE BANNED FROM SAID ANIMAL PROTEIN, thus, if the TSE prion agent has survived the digestive track, you then are putting the TSE prions that are banned back into the human and animal food chain, via feed. the late great TSE prion scientist Joe Gibbs said it long ago ;




BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL


US scientists develop a possible test for BSE


15 November 1999


Terry S. Singeltary Sr.


“I believe it was Dr. Joe Gibbs, that said, the prion protein, can survive the digestinal track. So you have stopped nothing.”




Subject: Re: Hello Dr. Gibbs........... Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 14:14:18 –0500 From: "Clarence J. Gibbs, Jr., Ph.D." To: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." References: 3a254430.9fb97284@wt.net


Hi Terry:


xxx E Stret N.E., Washington, D. C. 20002. Better shrimp and oysters than cards!!!! Have a happy holiday and thanks for all the information you bring to the screen.


Joe Gibbs


==========


Tuesday, August 18, 2009


BSE-The Untold Story - joe gibbs and singeltary 1999 – 2009






Some tributes to research colleagues and other contributors to our knowledge about kuru


I placed on the board my tribute to my colleague Clarence Joseph Gibbs Jr, entitled ‘In celebration of Joe Gibbs’, written to honour Joe at a ceremony at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland soon after his death on 16 February 2001, aged 76 years. I include extracts of it here. ...


please see full text ;




PUBMED search TSE prion science Gibbs JC






SO, my point here is not to be too worried about a crow dropping a TSE prion bomb in your eye, or dropping a TSE prion load and causing an outbreak of CWD any bigger than what we have in the USA already, bbbut, this study brings forth evidence that we should not be rendering pigs, chickens, and such, that have been fed banned ruminant protein, back to ruminants, or anything else i.e. dogs and cats i.e. pets, or fish, in my opinion... tss


American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and potential spreading of CWD through feces of digested infectious carcases






Wednesday, October 17, 2012


Prion Remains Infectious after Passage through Digestive System of American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos)






NOW, just what about big bird and the TSE prion ???




Chronic wasting disease (CWD), first identified in Wisconsin in 2002, is an infectious transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) afflicting members of the taxonomic family Cervidae, and causes neurodegeneration and ultimately death. As a proxy for mortality or harvest of CWD-infected deer, we placed disease-free white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) carcasses and gut piles in the environment and monitored scavenger activity and carcass removal from September to April in 2003 through 2005.


We recorded 14 species of scavenging mammals (six species of visitors), and eight species of scavenging birds (14 species of visitors). Prominent scavengers included American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana).


We found no evidence that deer directly consumed conspecific remains, but they visited carcasses and gut piles.


Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), cats (Felis sylvestris catus), and cows (Bos spp.) either scavenged or visited carcass sites, which may have increased exposure risk of CWD to humans and human food supplies.


Deer carcasses persisted for a median of 18 to 101 days, while gut piles lasted for a median of three days. Habitat did not influence carcass consumption/decomposition, but mammalian and avian scavenger activity and higher temperatures (proxy for microbial and arthropod activity) were associated with greater rates of carcass removal.


Our findings suggest that infected deer carcasses can function as an environmental source of CWD prions to mammalian and avian scavengers. We discuss the implications of these results in a broader context of CWD spread, and suggest preemptive management strategies for mitigating impacts of CWD contaminated deer remains in the environment....










A CONTRIBUTION TO THE NEUROPATHOLOGY OF THE RED-NECKED OSTRICH (STRUTHIO CAMELUS) - SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY






4.21 Three cases of SE’s with an unknown infectious agent have been reported in ostriches (Struthio Camellus) in two zoos in north west Germany (Schoon @ Brunckhorst, 1999, Verh ber Erkeg Zootiere 33:309-314). These birds showed protracted central nervous symptoms with ataxia, disturbances of balance and uncoordinated feeding behaviour. The diet of these birds had included poultry meat meal, some of which came from cattle emergency slaughter cases.






SE1806


TRANSMISSION STUDIES OF BSE TO DOMESTIC FOWL BY ORAL EXPOSURE TO BRAIN HOMOGENATE


1 challenged cock bird was necropsied (41 months p.i.) following a period of ataxia, tremor, limb abduction and other neurological signs. Histopathological examination failed to reveal any significant lesions of the central or peripheral nervous systems...


1 other challenged cock bird is also showing ataxia (43 months p.i.).


snip...


94/01.19/7.1








A notification of Spongiform Encephalopathy was introduced in October 1996 in respect of ungulates, poultry and any other animal.


4.23 MAFF have carried out their own transmission experiments with hens. In these experiments, some of the chickens exposed to the BSE agent showed neurological symptoms. However MAFF have not so far published details of the symptoms seen in chickens. Examination of brains from these chickens did not show the typical pathology seen in other SE’s. 4.24 A farmer in Kent in November 1996 noticed that one of his 20 free range hens, the oldest, aged about 30 months was having difficulty entering its den and appeared frightened and tended to lose its balance when excited. Having previously experienced BSE cattle on his farm, he took particular notice of the bird and continued to observe it over the following weeks. It lost weight, its balance deteriorated and characteristic tremors developed which were closely associated with the muscles required for standing. In its attempts to maintain its balance it would claw the ground more than usual and the ataxia progressively developed in the wings and legs, later taking a typical form of paralysis with a clumsy involuntary jerky motion. Violent tremors of the entire body, particularly the legs, became common, sparked off by the slightest provocation. This is similar to that seen in many BSE cases where any excitement may result in posterior ataxia, often with dropping of the pelvis, kicking and a general nervousness. Three other farmers and a bird breeder from the UK are known to have reported having hens with similar symptoms. The bird breeder who has been exhibiting his birds for show purposes for 20 years noticed birds having difficulty getting on to their perch and holding there for any length of time without falling. Even though the bird was eating normally, he noticed a weight loss of more than a pound in a bird the original weight of which was 5 pounds. 4.25 Histological examination of the brain revealed degenerative pathological changes in hens with a minimal vacuolation. The presence of PrP immunostaining of the brain sections revealed PrP-sc positive plaques and this must be regarded as very strong evidence to demonstrate that the hens had been incubating Spongiform Encephalopathy.






OPINION on : NECROPHAGOUS BIRDS AS POSSIBLE TRANSMITTERS OF TSE/BSE ADOPTED BY THE SCIENTIFIC STEERING COMMITTEE AT ITS MEETING OF 7-8 NOVEMBER 2002


OPINION


1. Necrophagous birds as possible transmitters of BSE. The SSC considers that the evaluation of necrophagous birds as possible transmitters of BSE, should theoretically be approached from a broader perspective of mammals and birds which prey on, or are carrion eaters (scavengers) of mammalian species. Thus, carnivorous and omnivorous mammals, birds of prey (vultures, falcons, eagles, hawks etc.), carrion eating birds (crows, magpies etc.) in general could be considered possible vectors of transmission and/or spread of TSE infectivity in the environment. In view also of the occurrence of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in various deer species it should not be accepted that domestic cattle and sheep are necessarily the only source of TSE agent exposure for carnivorous species. While some information is available on the susceptibility of wild/exotic/zoo animals to natural or experimental infection with certain TSE agents, nothing is known of the possibility of occurrence of TSE in wild animal populations, other than among the species of deer affected by CWD in the USA.


1 The carrion birds are animals whose diet regularly or occasionally includes the consumption of carcasses, including possibly TSE infected ruminant carcasses.


C:\WINNT\Profiles\bredagi.000\Desktop\Necrophagous_OPINION_0209_FINAL.doc




snip...


skroll down to the bottom ;




Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 16:24:51 –0700


Reply-To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy


Sender: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy


From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." Subject: The Red-Neck Ostrich & TSEs 'THE AUTOPSY'






Monday, March 26, 2012


CANINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY: A NEW FORM OF ANIMAL PRION DISEASE






LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL


Volume 3, Number 8 01 August 2003


Newsdesk


Tracking spongiform encephalopathies in North America


Xavier Bosch


My name is Terry S Singeltary Sr, and I live in Bacliff, Texas. I lost my mom to hvCJD (Heidenhain variant CJD) and have been searching for answers ever since. What I have found is that we have not been told the truth. CWD in deer and elk is a small portion of a much bigger problem.


49-year-old Singeltary is one of a number of people who have remained largely unsatisfied after being told that a close relative died from a rapidly progressive dementia compatible with spontaneous Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). So he decided to gather hundreds of documents on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) and realised that if Britons could get variant CJD from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), Americans might get a similar disorder from chronic wasting disease (CWD)the relative of mad cow disease seen among deer and elk in the USA. Although his feverish search did not lead him to the smoking gun linking CWD to a similar disease in North American people, it did uncover a largely disappointing situation.


Singeltary was greatly demoralised at the few attempts to monitor the occurrence of CJD and CWD in the USA. Only a few states have made CJD reportable. Human and animal TSEs should be reportable nationwide and internationally, he complained in a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 2003; 285: 733). I hope that the CDC does not continue to expect us to still believe that the 85% plus of all CJD cases which are sporadic are all spontaneous, without route or source.


Until recently, CWD was thought to be confined to the wild in a small region in Colorado. But since early 2002, it has been reported in other areas, including Wisconsin, South Dakota, and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Indeed, the occurrence of CWD in states that were not endemic previously increased concern about a widespread outbreak and possible transmission to people and cattle.


To date, experimental studies have proven that the CWD agent can be transmitted to cattle by intracerebral inoculation and that it can cross the mucous membranes of the digestive tract to initiate infection in lymphoid tissue before invasion of the central nervous system. Yet the plausibility of CWD spreading to people has remained elusive.


Getting data on TSEs in the USA from the government is like pulling teeth, Singeltary argues. You get it when they want you to have it, and only what they want you to have.


SNIP...FULL TEXT ;








see old CWD low fence captive cervid herds data here ;


Bad news on game farm elk Dr. Holland, South Dakota State Veterinarian 20 Dec 98 news release


Some initial SD data released by Dr. Holland, SD State Veterinarian was verified with two of his colleagues. There are 39 game farm elk in South Dakota with confirmed chronic wasting disease in 1998, out of 179 tested (22%). There are 4 or 5 herds involved - all are from game farm animals, none are from the fall hunt. The total number of elk studied is not yet available for wild elk. Two white-tail deer are also affected, also captive animals.






19 Mar 98 -- 14 facilities where CWD has been found






Elk disease prompts protective quarantine of Philipsburg, Hardin game farms Tue, 23 Jun 1998 (AP)
























Saturday, October 6, 2012


*** TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES 2011 Annual Report






Monday, September 3, 2012


2012 JAPAN BANS DEER AND ELK MEAT AND ALLOWS SOME BEEF PRODUCTS, what about TSE prion concerns ?






Tuesday, June 05, 2012


Captive Deer Breeding Legislation Overwhelmingly Defeated During 2012 Legislative Session






Letters|February 14, 2001


Diagnosis and Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Terry S. Singeltary, Sr


Copyright 2001 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.


JAMA. 2001;285(6):733-734.








14th ICID International Scientific Exchange Brochure -


Final Abstract Number: ISE.114


Session: International Scientific Exchange


Transmissible Spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) animal and human TSE in North America update October 2009


T. Singeltary


Bacliff, TX, USA


Background:


An update on atypical BSE and other TSE in North America. Please remember, the typical U.K. c-BSE, the atypical l-BSE (BASE), and h-BSE have all been documented in North America, along with the typical scrapie's, and atypical Nor-98 Scrapie, and to date, 2 different strains of CWD, and also TME. All these TSE in different species have been rendered and fed to food producing animals for humans and animals in North America (TSE in cats and dogs ?), and that the trading of these TSEs via animals and products via the USA and Canada has been immense over the years, decades.


Methods:


12 years independent research of available data


Results:


I propose that the current diagnostic criteria for human TSEs only enhances and helps the spreading of human TSE from the continued belief of the UKBSEnvCJD only theory in 2009. With all the science to date refuting it, to continue to validate this old myth, will only spread this TSE agent through a multitude of potential routes and sources i.e. consumption, medical i.e., surgical, blood, dental, endoscopy, optical, nutritional supplements, cosmetics etc.


Conclusion:


I would like to submit a review of past CJD surveillance in the USA, and the urgent need to make all human TSE in the USA a reportable disease, in every state, of every age group, and to make this mandatory immediately without further delay. The ramifications of not doing so will only allow this agent to spread further in the medical, dental, surgical arena's. Restricting the reporting of CJD and or any human TSE is NOT scientific. Iatrogenic CJD knows NO age group, TSE knows no boundaries. I propose as with Aguzzi, Asante, Collinge, Caughey, Deslys, Dormont, Gibbs, Gajdusek, Ironside, Manuelidis, Marsh, et al and many more, that the world of TSE Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy is far from an exact science, but there is enough proven science to date that this myth should be put to rest once and for all, and that we move forward with a new classification for human and animal TSE that would properly identify the infected species, the source species, and then the route.








CJD Singeltary submission to PLOS ;


No competing interests declared.


see full text ;








kind regards, terry


layperson

posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at 12:07 PM

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