PENNSYLVANIA 2012 THE GREAT ESCAPE OF CWD
Another deer linked to site of Pennsylvania's first confirmed case of
chronic wasting disease is reported as escaped into the wild
Published: Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 6:20 PM Updated: Tuesday, November
13, 2012, 6:28 PM
By MARCUS SCHNECK, The Patriot-News
Another deer linked to the captive herd in New Oxford, Adams County, where
Pennsylvania saw its first two confirmed cases of the deadly chronic wasting
disease over the past month, has been reported as escaped from a deer farm in
Alexandria, Huntingdon County.
The escapee – designated as Purple 4 in the state's deer farming industry –
escaped from the Gordon Trimer enclosure at 4794 Trimers Rd, Alexandria,
according to Mathew Meals, deputy secretary of the state Department of
Agriculture.
He said prior to its escape into the wild "several months ago," the deer
was sold or otherwise transferred to Trimer from the Freedom Whitetails facility
of Travis Rhodes at 694 Johnstown Road, East Freedom. Rhodes had acquired the
deer from the Ronald Rutters herd at 1491 New Chester Road, New Oxford.
Meals noted that the Alexandria operation did not have the required license
for operating a deer farm from Ag and the situation there is "under
investigation by the department."
Indications of an additional unlicensed operation surfaced at the second of
three public meetings about CWD, last Thursday in York, when "a gentlemen stood
up and said that he has deer and was not licensed," said Meals.
"He did not stick around long enough for us to get his information," he
added, but additional information about that potential site also is under
investigation by Ag.
The Alexandria and East Freedom deer operations, as well as 27 other sites
in 16 counties, have been placed under quarantine because Ag's "track back"
efforts have determined that deer at those facilities came into contact with
deer from the New Oxford enclosure, which also is under quarantine.
The quarantines are part of the state's planned multi-agency response to
the confirmation of CWD within the state, which occurred for the first time Oct.
10 in a test on a 3.5-year-old doe that died Oct. 4 at the New Oxford
operation.
Other parts of the state's response to the confirmation of the deadly brain
disease have included the creation of a 600-square-mile chronic wasting disease
management area in Adams and York counties, the creation of a CWD check station
for hunter-harvested deer in the DMA and three public meetings within that area
that have drawn hundreds of local residents.
A second deer in the captive herd at New Oxford was confirmed Nov. 7 to
have been infected with CWD. Meals described it as "a 2-year-old male in great
health. It had no external signs whatsoever."
Ag is one of the agencies cooperating in the response plan because it has
responsibility for regulating captive deer and deer farms, of which there are
estimated to be more 23,000 on 1,100 Pennsylvania properties.
As part of that responsibility, the department is tracing other captive
deer that may have come into contact with deer from the New Oxford farm.
Meals also reported at the most recent meeting, on Monday evening in New
Oxford, that the doe that escaped from the New Oxford enclosure Oct. 18, when
staff from Ag and USDA's Wildlife Services were killing the remaining animals in
that captive herd for CWD testing, remains at large.
There is no live-test available for suspect animals.
Part of the state's response plan called for the "depopulation" of all deer
on the farm of the initial CWD confirmation, which is now referred to as "the
index farm," according to Meals.
The other seven deer killed Oct. 18 did not test positive for the disease,
according to Ag.
However, a ninth deer, a doe known as Pink 23, escaped from the enclosure
while the agents were culling the herd for testing. It remains free in the
wild.
Although several men at Monday's meeting expressed anger over the escape,
it was clear that few want that escapee found more than Ag.
Declining to discuss specifics because of public safety concerns, Meals
nonetheless noted, "Our staff are out there constantly, along with Wildlife
Services, trying to hunt that animal down."
In addition, he said, "there are (game) cameras plastered all over that
area, and we have not had one sighting."
Making the effort to locate the escaped deer all the more difficult is the
small size of the ear tag that would identify Pink 23 for searchers. Meals said
"the tag is about the size of a 50-cent piece"
Related topics: adams county, chronic wasting disease, deer, deer farm,
deer hunting, huntingdon county, pennsylvania, york county
PENNSYLVANIA Chronic Wasting Disease Quarantined Deer Farms Updated: Nov.
7. 2012
Map
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is required to license and
inspect Cervidae Livestock Operations, and to issue permits prior to importation
of Cervidae into the Commonwealth. A permittee must receive a permit number
before the animal is imported into Pennsylvania. Additionally, testing
requirements for imports are established by the Bureau of Animal Health and
Diagnostic Services.
2011
7. Nothing in sections 1 through 6 of this act shall be construed to:
a. affect the authority of the Department of Environmental Protection and
the Fish and Game Council to promulgate rules and regulations concerning the
possession of cervids that are not part of a Cervidae livestock operation; or
b. exempt any person from the provisions of Title 23 of the Revised
Statutes, or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto, concerning the
release or escape of farmed cervids into the wild.
8. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.23:3-28 through R.S.23:3-39, or
any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, to the contrary, the Department
of Environmental Protection and the Fish and Game Council shall have no
authority to promulgate rules or regulations concerning Cervidae livestock
operations that receive a license from the Department of Agriculture pursuant to
sections 1 through 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this
bill).
9. This act shall take effect immediately.
snip...
This bill is similar to legislation, HB 1580, enacted in Pennsylvania in
2006, which provides that Cervidae livestock operations are to be considered
normal agricultural operations and gives the responsibility for regulating these
operations to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
HB 1580
Chronic Wasting Disease Program Description [Bureau of Animal Health &
Diagnostic Services]
snip...
CWD Herd Certification Program (HCP) - Is a program of surveillance and
related actions designed to determine the CWD status of farmed or captive deer
and elk herds. Herds that complete five years of the program with no evidence of
CWD will be designated as certified.
Herds start at 1st year status, and advance to the next level annually.
After five consecutive years on the HCP, a certified status is achieved;
Immediately report any cervid that shows signs that are consistent with CWD
(such as pneumonia, staggering, drooling, wasting, or unusual behavior) to the
department; Testing of CWD susceptible species, 12 months of age or older, that
dies for any reason (including slaughter/harvest). Submit either the obex and
retropharyngeal lymph nodes in formalin within 30 days or the whole carcass or
head within three days of death; Two forms of identification on all cervids 12
months of age and older. One must be an official identification, the other can
be a farm tag as long as it is unique and individual to the animal and to the
herd; Must submit an inventory annually on the anniversary date showing
deletions/additions and the sources or destination of each. Additions must be of
equal or higher value. Must report untestables and escapes immediately;
Inspections done annually; Fence height must be 8' and 10' recommended; and
Intrastate and Interstate movement is permitted
CWD Herd Monitored Program (HMP) - Is a program of surveillance and related
actions designed to monitor farmed or captive deer and elk herds for CWD. It
differs from the HCP with requirements and a certified status cannot be achieved
with this program. Live animals cannot move from this program unless 30 have
been tested for CWD. Then they can move to shooting preserve or slaughter
facility only. CWD testing requirements for susceptible species 12 months of age
and older are:
snip...
see full text ;
PA CWD RESPONSE PLAN JULY 2011
Pennsylvania has the second largest domestic cervid industry in the
country. There are over 1,000 domestic cervid breeding farms, hobby farms, and
shooting preserves in the Commonwealth. Inter- and intrastate movement of these
domestic cervids is a significant risk factor that relates to the introduction
and amplification of this disease.
snip...
ALSO, SEE PAGE 24 FOR FARMED CERVIDAE PA ;
Pennsylvania Game Commission CWD
PENNSYLVANIA CWD RESPONSE PLAN JULY 2011 (BOTTOM OF PAGE)
NEWS RELEASES
WHITE-TAILED DEER
ELK
FIELD REPORTS
> Ag is one of the agencies cooperating in the response plan because it
has responsibility for regulating captive deer and deer farms, of which there
are estimated to be more 23,000 on 1,100 Pennsylvania properties.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
PA Department of Agriculture investigating possible 2nd case of chronic
wasting disease
Thursday, November 01, 2012
PA GAME COMMISSION TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS CWD Release #128-12
Friday, October 26, 2012
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD PENNSYLVANIA GAME FARMS, URINE ATTRACTANT
PRODUCTS, BAITING, AND MINERAL LICKS
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
PA Captive deer from CWD-positive farm roaming free
Monday, October 15, 2012
PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION AND AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT TO HOLD PUBLIC
MEETING TO DISCUSS CWD MONITORING EFFORTS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 15,
2012 Release #124-12
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Pennsylvania Confirms First Case CWD Adams County Captive Deer Tests
Positive
Pennsylvania CWD number of deer exposed and farms there from much greater
than first thought
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 10:44 PM Updated: Wednesday,
October 17, 2012, 11:33 PM
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
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 ???
? game farms in a state 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:
*** 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.
2011
*** After a natural route of exposure, 100% of white-tailed deer were
susceptible to scrapie.
Generation of a new form of human PrPSc in vitro by inter-species
transmission from cervids prions
Marcelo A. Barria1, Glenn C. Telling2, Pierluigi Gambetti3, James A.
Mastrianni4 and Claudio Soto1,* 1Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s disease and
related Brain disorders, Dept of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical
School, Houston, TX 77030, USA 2Dept of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular
Genetics, and Neurology, Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky
Medical Center, Lexington, KY, USA 3Institute of Pathology, Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, OH, USA 4Dept of Neurology, University of Chicago,
Chicago, IL, USA. Running Title: Conversion of human PrPC by cervid PrPSc
Keywords: Prion / transmissible spongiform encephalopathy / infectivity /
misfolded prion protein / prion strains * To whom correspondence should be
addressed. University of Texas Houston Medical School, 6431 Fannin St, Houston,
TX 77030. Tel 713-5007086; Fax 713-5000667; E-mail Claudio.Soto@uth.tmc.edu The
latest version is at http://www.jbc.org/cgi/doi/10.1074/jbc.M110.198465
JBC Papers in Press.
Published on January 4, 2011 as Manuscript M110.198465 Copyright 2011 by
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. 5, Downloaded
from www.jbc.org by guest, on November 11, 2012 2
Prion diseases are infectious neurodegenerative disorders affecting humans
and animals that result from the conversion of normal prion protein (PrPC) into
the misfolded prion protein (PrPSc). Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion
disorder of increasing prevalence within the United States that affects a large
population of wild and captive deer and elk. Determining the risk of
transmission of CWD to humans is of utmost importance, considering that people
can be infected by animal prions, resulting in new fatal diseases. To study the
possibility that human PrPC can be converted into the misfolded form by CWD
PrPSc we performed experiments using the Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification
(PMCA) technique, which mimic in vitro the process of prion replication. Our
results show that cervid PrPSc can induce the conversion of human PrPC, but only
after the CWD prion strain has been stabilized by successive passages in vitro
or in vivo. Interestingly, the newly generated human PrPSc exhibits a distinct
biochemical pattern that differs from any of the currently known forms of human
PrPSc. Our results also have profound implications for understanding the
mechanisms of prion species barrier and indicate that the transmission barrier
is a dynamic process that depend on the strain and moreover the degree of
adaptation of the strain. If our findings are corroborated by infectivity
assays, they will imply that CWD prions have the potential to infect humans, and
that this ability depends on CWD strain adaptation.
Various studies aimed to analyze the transmission of CWD to transgenic
mice expressing human PrP have consistently given negative results (9-11),
indicating a strong species barrier. This conclusion is consistent with our many
failed experiments to attempt converting human PrPC with natural CWD, even after
pushing the PMCA conditions (see figure 1). We found successful conversion only
after adaptation of the CWD prion strain by successive passages in vitro or in
cervid transgenic mice. We are not aware that in any of the transgenic mice
studies the inoculum used was a previously stabilized CWD strain. Although, it
has been shown that strain stabilization in vitro by PMCA (17;26) and in vivo
using experimental rodents (36) has similarities with the strain adaptation
process occurring in natural hosts, we cannot rule out that the type of CWD
strain adaptation that is required to produce strains transmissible to humans
may take much longer time in cervids or not occur at all. An important
experiment will be to study transmissibility to humanized transgenic mice of CWD
passed experimentally in deer several times. Besides the importance of our
results for public health in relation to the putative transmissibility of CWD to
humans, our data also illustrate a very important and novel scientific concept
related to the mechanism of prion transmission across species barriers. Today
the view is that species barrier is mostly controlled by the degree of
similarity on the sequence of the prion protein between the host and the
infectious material (4). In our study we show that the strain and moreover the
stabilization of the strain plays a major role in the inter-species
transmission. In our system there is no change on the protein sequence, but yet
strain adaptation results in a complete change on prion transmissibility with
potentially dramatic consequences. Therefore, our findings lead to a new view of
the species barrier that should not be seen as a static process, but rather a
dynamic biological phenomenon that can change over time when prion strains
mature and evolve. It remains to be investigated if other species barriers also
change upon progressive strain adaptation of other prion forms (e.g. the
sheep/human barrier).
Our results have far-reaching implications for human health, since they
indicate that cervid PrPSc can trigger the conversion of human PrPC into PrPSc,
suggesting that CWD might be infectious to humans. Interestingly our findings
suggest that unstable strains from CWD affected animals might not be a problem
for humans, but upon strain stabilization by successive passages in the wild,
this disease might become progressively more transmissible to man.
Generation of a New Form of Human PrPScin Vitro by Interspecies
Transmission from Cervid Prions*
Marcelo A. Barria‡, Glenn C. Telling§, Pierluigi Gambetti¶, James A.
Mastrianni‖ and Claudio Soto‡,1 + Author Affiliations
From the ‡Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Brain
Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at
Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, the §Departments of Microbiology, Immunology, and
Molecular Genetics and Neurology, Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of
Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, the ¶Institute of Pathology,
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, and the ‖Department of
Neurology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637 1 To whom
correspondence should be addressed: University of Texas Medical School at
Houston, 6431 Fannin St., Houston, TX 77030. Tel.: 713-500-7086; Fax:
713-500-0667; E-mail: claudio.soto@uth.tmc.edu.
Abstract
Prion diseases are infectious neurodegenerative disorders that affect
humans and animals and that result from the conversion of normal prion protein
(PrPC) into the misfolded prion protein (PrPSc). Chronic wasting disease (CWD)
is a prion disorder of increasing prevalence within the United States that
affects a large population of wild and captive deer and elk. Determining the
risk of transmission of CWD to humans is of utmost importance, considering that
people can be infected by animal prions, resulting in new fatal diseases. To
study the possibility that human PrPC can be converted into the misfolded form
by CWD PrPSc, we performed experiments using the protein misfolding cyclic
amplification technique, which mimics in vitro the process of prion replication.
Our results show that cervid PrPSc can induce the conversion of human PrPC but
only after the CWD prion strain has been stabilized by successive passages in
vitro or in vivo. Interestingly, the newly generated human PrPSc exhibits a
distinct biochemical pattern that differs from that of any of the currently
known forms of human PrPSc. Our results also have profound implications for
understanding the mechanisms of the prion species barrier and indicate that the
transmission barrier is a dynamic process that depends on the strain and
moreover the degree of adaptation of the strain. If our findings are
corroborated by infectivity assays, they will imply that CWD prions have the
potential to infect humans and that this ability progressively increases with
CWD spreading.
UPDATED DATA ON 2ND CWD STRAIN
Wednesday, September 08, 2010 CWD PRION CONGRESS SEPTEMBER 8-11 2010
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Captive Deer Breeding Legislation Overwhelmingly Defeated During 2012
Legislative Session
Friday, August 31, 2012
COMMITTEE ON CAPTIVE WILDLIFE AND ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK and CWD 2009-2012 a
review
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
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 ;
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Pennsylvania Confirms First Case CWD Adams County Captive Deer Tests
Positive
Pennsylvania CWD number of deer exposed and farms there from much greater
than first thought
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 10:44 PM Updated: Wednesday,
October 17, 2012, 11:33 PM
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
PA Captive deer from CWD-positive farm roaming free
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
PENNSYLVANIA Second Adams County Deer Tests Positive for Chronic Wasting
Disease
Friday, September 28, 2012
Stray elk renews concerns about deer farm security Minnesota
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
Friday, July 20, 2012
CWD found for first time in Iowa at hunting preserve
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Additional Facility in Pottawatamie County Iowa Under Quarantine for CWD
after 5 deer test positive
Friday, September 21, 2012
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD raises concerns about deer farms in Iowa
MORE CERVIDS ESCAPE GAME FARMS AND POTENTIALLY EXPOSE THE WILD HERD TO CWD
AND OTHER DANGEROUS PATHOGENS
Two ‘elk’ slain near Antoich were European red deer that escaped from farm
BY DALE BOWMAN For Sun-Times Media November 8, 2012 10:28PM
Updated: November 9, 2012 2:31AM
It’s mistaken identity gone wild. Ron Mulholland thought he arrowed two
wild elk last Friday from his deer stand on a farm outside of Antioch.
When James Minogue saw the story in Wednesday’s Sun-Times, he recognized
the pair of breeding European red deer from the herd he helps manage for Avery
Brabender on a farm in unincorporated Antioch. They, along with four others,
escaped some time after Oct. 31 when a gate was opened or left open.
“It amazed me that they think they are elk and wild,’’ Minogue said.
However, elk and red deer are close enough to interbreed.
“I will talk to him,’’ Mulholland said. “I assumed they were wild and
killed them. To me, they were elk. I don’t know. ... I feel bad for the guy that
he would lose them. I reacted because I assumed it was an elk and I shot
him.’’
“You don’t see elk in the wild in Illinois,’’ said Kevin Bettis, the duty
officer in Springfield Thursday for the Illinois Conservation Police.
That’s tricky. A decade ago, Illinois didn’t have wolves or cougars,
either. Both species now make regular appearances.
“These animals were hand-fed: We feed them bread, apples, corn,,’’ Minogue
said. Another tricky part is neither elk nor European red deer are protected or
regulated under Illinois’ wildlife code. But these European red deer are
considered domesticated animals. The herd is registered with the Illinois
Department of Agriculture.
“It is no different than shooting a cow,’’ Bettis said.
However, Capt. Neal Serdar of Region II (northeast Illinois) checked with
CPOs in southern Illinois, where escaped animals of such sort are more a more
frequent issue.
Then he said, “The individual who shot the two red deer did not break any
laws.’’
The Illinois Conservation Police consider the case closed. Whether there is
any civil case would seem tricky at best, since the animals were loose.
Minogue said they recaptured two of the red deer already. He said the
reason there were no ear tags is because they are a “contained, monitored
herd.’’
It sounds like both parties can work it out.
“If it gets down to that, I would give him the antlers,’’ Mulholland said.
“But I kind of feel it is his responsibility.’’
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
Friday, February 03, 2012
Wisconsin Farm-Raised Deer Farms and CWD there from 2012 report Singeltary
et al
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Colorado Farm-Raised Deer Farms and CWD there from 2012 report Singeltary
et al
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Oppose Indiana House Bill 1265 game farming cervids
Monday, February 13, 2012
Stop White-tailed Deer Farming from Destroying Tennessee’s Priceless Wild
Deer Herd oppose HB3164
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
West Virginia Deer Farming Bill backed by deer farmers advances, why ? BE
WARNED CWD
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sen. Tommy Gollott Mississippi proposes another bill to allow CWD in
Mississippi via Game Farms
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
MICHIGAN SENATE BILL 27 TURNS OVER GAME FARMS and CWD RISK FACTORS THERE
FROM, TO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE $
Friday, March 16, 2012
OHIO TURNS OVER CERVID GAME FARMS (and CWD risk) TO DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE, GOD HELP THEM
As Passed by the Senate
129th General Assembly Regular Session 2011-2012 Am. H. B. No. 389
Ohio ranks #3 in Deer and Elk Farms 2010
Deer farms in 82 of 88 counties in Ohio
Ohio’s Fatal Attractions
An overview of captive wildlife issues in Ohio
April 4, 2011
Updated March 20, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
OHIO Captive deer escapees and non-reporting
Monday, November 12, 2012
NJ S2024 - Establishes licensing program in Department of Agriculture for
farmed deer and other cervids in New Jersey
Monday, November 12, 2012
Tennessee The White-tailed Deer Breeding and Farming Act pushes to legalize
deer farming 2012
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Wisconsin 16 age limit on testing dead deer Game Farm CWD Testing Protocol
Needs To Be Revised
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
CWD to tighten taxidermy rules Hunters need to understand regulations
Friday, June 01, 2012
TEXAS DEER CZAR TO WISCONSIN ASK TO EXPLAIN COMMENTS
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)
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD RISK FACTORS FOR TRANSMISSION TO HUMANS
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.
Volume 18, Number 3—March 2012
Samuel E. Saunders1, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, and Jason C. Bartz
Author affiliations: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
(S.E. Saunders, S.L. Bartelt-Hunt); Creighton University, Omaha (J.C. Bartz)
Synopsis
Occurrence, Transmission, and Zoonotic Potential of Chronic Wasting Disease
snip...
Most epidemiologic studies and experimental work have suggested that the
potential for CWD transmission to humans is low, and such transmission has not
been documented through ongoing surveillance (2,3). In vitro prion replication
assays report a relatively low efficiency of CWD PrPSc-directed conversion of
human PrPc to PrPSc (30), and transgenic mice overexpressing human PrPc are
resistant to CWD infection (31); these findings indicate low zoonotic potential.
However, squirrel monkeys are susceptible to CWD by intracerebral and oral
inoculation (32). Cynomolgus macaques, which are evolutionarily closer to humans
than squirrel monkeys, are resistant to CWD infection (32). Regardless, the
finding that a primate is orally susceptible to CWD is of concern...
snip...
Reasons for Caution There are several reasons for caution with respect to
zoonotic and interspecies CWD transmission. First, there is strong evidence that
distinct CWD strains exist (36). Prion strains are distinguished by varied
incubation periods, clinical symptoms, PrPSc conformations, and CNS PrPSc
depositions (3,32). Strains have been identified in other natural prion
diseases, including scrapie, BSE, and CJD (3). Intraspecies and interspecies
transmission of prions from CWD-positive deer and elk isolates resulted in
identification of >2 strains of CWD in rodent models (36), indicating that
CWD strains likely exist in cervids. However, nothing is currently known about
natural distribution and prevalence of CWD strains. Currently, host range and
pathogenicity vary with prion strain (28,37). Therefore, zoonotic potential of
CWD may also vary with CWD strain. In addition, diversity in host (cervid) and
target (e.g., human) genotypes further complicates definitive findings of
zoonotic and interspecies transmission potentials of CWD.
Intraspecies and interspecies passage of the CWD agent may also increase
the risk for zoonotic CWD transmission. The CWD prion agent is undergoing serial
passage naturally as the disease continues to emerge. In vitro and in vivo
intraspecies transmission of the CWD agent yields PrPSc with an increased
capacity to convert human PrPc to PrPSc (30). Interspecies prion transmission
can alter CWD host range (38) and yield multiple novel prion strains (3,28). The
potential for interspecies CWD transmission (by cohabitating mammals) will only
increase as the disease spreads and CWD prions continue to be shed into the
environment. This environmental passage itself may alter CWD prions or exert
selective pressures on CWD strain mixtures by interactions with soil, which are
known to vary with prion strain (25), or exposure to environmental or gut
degradation.
Given that prion disease in humans can be difficult to diagnose and the
asymptomatic incubation period can last decades, continued research,
epidemiologic surveillance, and caution in handling risky material remain
prudent as CWD continues to spread and the opportunity for interspecies
transmission increases. Otherwise, similar to what occurred in the United
Kingdom after detection of variant CJD and its subsequent link to BSE, years of
prevention could be lost if zoonotic transmission of CWD is subsequently
identified,...
snip...
Friday, November 09, 2012
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD in cervidae and transmission to other species
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Susceptibilities of Nonhuman Primates to Chronic Wasting Disease November
2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM
ENCEPHALOPATHIES 2011 Annual Report
with kindest regards, terry
layperson
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
flounder9@verizon.net
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
9:26 PM
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