Friday, January 10, 2014

Minnesota John Weiss: With every test passed, CWD zone is no more ???

 John Weiss: With every test passed, CWD zone is no more

 

CWD testing.jpg Post-Bulletin file photo

 

Allison Hartman, a University of Minnesota veterinarian student, removes samples from a buck in 2011 at the Greenway Station in Pine Island. After three years and about 5,000 tests for chronic wasting disease, no animals were found with the disease — other than the doe that prompted the testing program.

 

Buy this photo

 

Posted: Thursday, January 9, 2014 7:43 am | Updated: 7:43 am, Thu Jan 9, 2014.

 

 John Weiss, weiss@postbulletin

 

 All clear.

 

That's the final word from the so-called "CWD Zone" around Pine Island.

 

Michelle Carstensen was ecstatic Tuesday when she learned none of the 979 deer tested during the 2013 season had tested positive for chronic wasting disease. "All negative, baby. Woo-hoo!", said the Department of Natural Resources wildlife health program director. "Our work down there has come to a conclusion — and a successful one."

 

Results from the last nine deer came in this week. With negative tests from about 5,000 deer since the winter of 2011, there's a better than 99 percent confidence that CWD is not in more than one half of 1 percent of the deer herd in the special zone around Pine Island.

 

What does this mean?

 

• It means the special 602 zone, which was in effect for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 hunting seasons, is history. The area will go back to its normal zones this fall.

 

• It will mean the deer feeding ban, put into effect three years ago, expires March 1 for Dodge, Olmsted, Goodhue and Wabasha counties.

 

• And it means she and other DNR wildlife officials will be able to concentrate on other things besides CWD this fall.

 

But it doesn't mean the DNR will stop keeping an eye out for the disease that is always fatal to deer, said Don Nelson, area DNR wildlife supervisor in Rochester. The DNR will continue checking any deer acting strangely or having any indication of CWD. With Wisconsin and its heavy CWD infestations so close, Minnesota can never let down its guard, he said.

 

"We're not out of the woods yet," he said.

 

The DNR began an intensive look for CWD after an old doe shot by a bow hunter in late 2010 near Pine Island was tested in early 2011 and found to have CWD. That winter, landowners and those they allowed on their land were allowed and encouraged to shoot deer so they could be tested; any deer killed by a vehicle in the large zone that centered around Pine Island was also tested.

 

In the next three hunting seasons, the DNR established a special zone that allowed hunters to take many deer. This allowed the DNR to test more animals — and to cull the herd, thus reducing the chances of any more being infected by contact with an infected deer. All feeding of deer was banned so deer wouldn't concentrate.

 

If a deer had tested positive and the DNR had to keep up its intensive testing programs, the region could be at risk for "CWD fatigue" similar to what is settling into Wisconsin, Carstensen said. In that state, hunters are pretty much ignoring CWD and any testing. It's now just a fact of life.

 

All the testing was a headache for hunters who couldn't take a deer out of the zone until it was tested, Nelson said. Highway departments couldn't pick up road-killed deer because they couldn't be taken out of the zone.

 

It was also a headache for the DNR, which spent more than $1 million on overtime and other work, Carstensen said. The department has spent nearly $6 million statewide in similar work since 2002 when it did the first surveillance for CWD near a captive elk herd in Aitkin. Bovine tuberculosis found in deer and cattle in northwestern Minnesota also required a big chunk of DNR resources, she said.

 

Now, for the first time in more than a decade, the DNR doesn't have an active testing area for CWD or bovine TB. "I welcome the break," said said. "I feel good about it."

 

Nelson said hunters knocked down the herd in the area maybe by 20 percent, but it will recover quickly. "We have learned those deer are pretty productive down here," he said.

 

One good thing about the CWD testing is that it was a good model in case something similar has to be done again, Nelson said. Cooperation of landowners, hunters and the general public "was just incredible," Nelson said. "We didn't know how the public would react."

 

When it offered special shooting permits in early 2011, the DNR expected maybe 10 or 20 would ask for them. It gave out more than 300 permits. Businesses at the five check-in stations let the DNR set up places to work and sample, he said.

 

Of course, people are still asking and wondering: Where did that one deer get the disease? Where did the deer come from? It did appear on a trail camera earlier in the year, so it wasn't just released, and it wasn't a recent arrival

 

The doe was unusually old, but there was no indication it was from a captive herd, Carstensen said. But CWD doesn't occur spontaneously. "I don't think it came out of the sky," she said.

 

Not finding another case "is extremely unusual," Nelson agreed. "The odds of probability don't favor that we sampled the only deer that was infected with CWD. It just doesn't make sense that we got it all."

 

Reporter John Weiss has covered the outdoors for the Post-Bulletin for more than 37 years. If you have a comment or story idea, call John at 507-285-7749.

 


 

 

 

Greetings Mr. Weiss, Minnesota hunters et al,

 

>>> Minnesota John Weiss: With every test passed, CWD zone is no more. All Clear.

 

 

 wishful thinking Sir, wishful thinking.

 

I wish to kindly submit the following science on the TSE prion CWD disease ;

 

 

• It means the special 602 zone, which was in effect for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 hunting seasons, is history. The area will go back to its normal zones this fall. ???

 

 

• It will mean the deer feeding ban, put into effect three years ago, expires March 1 for Dodge, Olmsted, Goodhue and Wabasha counties.

 

 

SO, 3 years and the all clear sign is given i.e. ‘’CWD ZONE NO MORE’’, even though the infectious TSE prion can persist in the environment for at least 16 years ???

 

 

PLEASE SEE ;

 

 

Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years

 

 

Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3

 

+ Author Affiliations 1Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland, Keldur v/vesturlandsveg, IS-112 Reykjavík, Iceland 2Laboratory of the Chief Veterinary Officer, Keldur, Iceland 3Bethesda, Maryland, USA Correspondence Gudmundur Georgsson ggeorgs@hi.is Received 7 March 2006. Accepted 6 August 2006.

 

Abstract

 

In 1978, a rigorous programme was implemented to stop the spread of, and subsequently eradicate, sheep scrapie in Iceland. Affected flocks were culled, premises were disinfected and, after 2–3 years, restocked with lambs from scrapie-free areas. Between 1978 and 2004, scrapie recurred on 33 farms. Nine of these recurrences occurred 14–21 years after culling, apparently as the result of environmental contamination, but outside entry could not always be absolutely excluded. Of special interest was one farm with a small, completely self-contained flock where scrapie recurred 18 years after culling, 2 years after some lambs had been housed in an old sheep-house that had never been disinfected. Epidemiological investigation established with near certitude that the disease had not been introduced from the outside and it is concluded that the agent may have persisted in the old sheep-house for at least 16 years.

 

 

snip...see full text ;

 


 

 

PO-248: TSE infectivity survives burial for five years with little reduction in titer

 

 

 

Allister Smith, Robert Somerville, Karen Fernie The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh, UK

 

 

BSE infected animals, BSE-contaminated materials and other sources of TSE (prion) infection, such as carcasses from scrapie infected sheep, CWD infected deer and cadavers of individuals infected with CJD may all end up in the environment through burial or other methods of disposal. They may continue to act as a reservoir of TSE infectivity if cattle or other susceptible animals were to be exposed to these sources in the future. In order to address these concerns, we performed two large scale demonstration experiments under field conditions which were designed to mimic some of the ways by which TSE infected materials may have been disposed of. The project examined the fate of TSE infectivity over a period of five years in two scenarios; when the infectivity was contained within bovine heads and when the infectivity was buried without any containment. Two soil types were compared: a sandy loam and a clay loam. We used the 301V TSE strain which was derived by serial passage of BSE in VM mice.

 

 

TSE infectivity was recovered from all the heads exhumed annually for five years from both types of soil, with little reduction in the amount of infectivity throughout the period of the experiment. Small amounts of infectivity were found in the soil immediately surrounding the heads, but not in samples remote from them. Similarly there was no evidence of significant lateral movement of infectivity from the buried bolus. However large amounts of TSE infectivity were recovered at the site of burial of both boluses. There was limited vertical upward movement of infectivity from the bolus buried in clay soil and downward movement from the bolus buried in sandy soil.

 

 

Now that these experiments are completed we conclude that TSE infectivity is likely to survive burial for long periods of time with minimal loss of infectivity and restricted movement from the site of burial. These experiments emphasize that the environment is a viable reservoir for retaining large quantities of TSE infectivity, and reinforce the importance of risk assessment when disposing of this type of infectious material.

 

 


 

 

see more about soil content and CWD here ;

 

 


 

 

 

In summary, in endemic areas, there is a medium probability that the soil and surrounding environment is contaminated with CWD prions and in a bioavailable form. In rural areas where CWD has not been reported and deer are present, there is a greater than negligible risk the soil is contaminated with CWD prion.

 


 

 

 

please remember ;

 

 

 

Inactivation of the TSE Prion disease

 

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD, and other TSE prion disease, these TSE prions know no borders.

 

these TSE prions know no age restrictions.

 

The TSE prion disease survives ashing to 600 degrees celsius, that’s around 1112 degrees farenheit.

 

you cannot cook the TSE prion disease out of meat.

 

you can take the ash and mix it with saline and inject that ash into a mouse, and the mouse will go down with TSE.

 

Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production as well.

 

the TSE prion agent also survives Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes.

 

IN fact, you should also know that the TSE Prion agent will survive in the environment for years, if not decades.

 

you can bury it and it will not go away.

 

The TSE agent is capable of infected your water table i.e. Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area.

 

it’s not your ordinary pathogen you can just cook it out and be done with. that’s what’s so worrisome about Iatrogenic mode of transmission, a simple autoclave will not kill this TSE prion agent.

 

 

 

New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication

 

The infectious agents responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) are notoriously resistant to most physical and chemical methods used for inactivating pathogens, including heat. It has long been recognized, for example, that boiling is ineffective and that higher temperatures are most efficient when combined with steam under pressure (i.e., autoclaving). As a means of decontamination, dry heat is used only at the extremely high temperatures achieved during incineration, usually in excess of 600°C. It has been assumed, without proof, that incineration totally inactivates the agents of TSE, whether of human or animal origin.

 


 


Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production

 

Histochemical analysis of hamster brains inoculated with the solid residue showed typical spongiform degeneration and vacuolation. Re-inoculation of these brains into a new cohort of hamsters led to onset of clinical scrapie symptoms within 75 days, suggesting that the specific infectivity of the prion protein was not changed during the biodiesel process. The biodiesel reaction cannot be considered a viable prion decontamination method for MBM, although we observed increased survival time of hamsters and reduced infectivity greater than 6 log orders in the solid MBM residue. Furthermore, results from our study compare for the first time prion detection by Western Blot versus an infectivity bioassay for analysis of biodiesel reaction products. We could show that biochemical analysis alone is insufficient for detection of prion infectivity after a biodiesel process.

 


 


Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area

 

The data presented here demonstrate that sPMCA can detect low levels of PrPCWD in the environment, corroborate previous biological and experimental data suggesting long term persistence of prions in the environment2,3 and imply that PrPCWD accumulation over time may contribute to transmission of CWD in areas where it has been endemic for decades. This work demonstrates the utility of sPMCA to evaluate other environmental water sources for PrPCWD, including smaller bodies of water such as vernal pools and wallows, where large numbers of cervids congregate and into which prions from infected animals may be shed and concentrated to infectious levels.

 


 

 

A Quantitative Assessment of the Amount of Prion Diverted to Category 1 Materials and Wastewater During Processing

 

Keywords:Abattoir;bovine spongiform encephalopathy;QRA;scrapie;TSE

 

In this article the development and parameterization of a quantitative assessment is described that estimates the amount of TSE infectivity that is present in a whole animal carcass (bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE] for cattle and classical/atypical scrapie for sheep and lambs) and the amounts that subsequently fall to the floor during processing at facilities that handle specified risk material (SRM). BSE in cattle was found to contain the most oral doses, with a mean of 9864 BO ID50s (310, 38840) in a whole carcass compared to a mean of 1851 OO ID50s (600, 4070) and 614 OO ID50s (155, 1509) for a sheep infected with classical and atypical scrapie, respectively. Lambs contained the least infectivity with a mean of 251 OO ID50s (83, 548) for classical scrapie and 1 OO ID50s (0.2, 2) for atypical scrapie. The highest amounts of infectivity falling to the floor and entering the drains from slaughtering a whole carcass at SRM facilities were found to be from cattle infected with BSE at rendering and large incineration facilities with 7.4 BO ID50s (0.1, 29), intermediate plants and small incinerators with a mean of 4.5 BO ID50s (0.1, 18), and collection centers, 3.6 BO ID50s (0.1, 14). The lowest amounts entering drains are from lambs infected with classical and atypical scrapie at intermediate plants and atypical scrapie at collection centers with a mean of 3 × 10−7 OO ID50s (2 × 10−8, 1 × 10−6) per carcass. The results of this model provide key inputs for the model in the companion paper published here.

 


 

 
PPo4-4:

 

Survival and Limited Spread of TSE Infectivity after Burial

 

Karen Fernie, Allister Smith and Robert A. Somerville The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS; University of Edinburgh; Roslin, Scotland UK

 

Scrapie and chronic wasting disease probably spread via environmental routes, and there are also concerns about BSE infection remaining in the environment after carcass burial or waste 3disposal. In two demonstration experiments we are determining survival and migration of TSE infectivity when buried for up to five years, as an uncontained point source or within bovine heads. Firstly boluses of TSE infected mouse brain were buried in lysimeters containing either sandy or clay soil. Migration from the boluses is being assessed from soil cores taken over time. With the exception of a very small amount of infectivity found 25 cm from the bolus in sandy soil after 12 months, no other infectivity has been detected up to three years. Secondly, ten bovine heads were spiked with TSE infected mouse brain and buried in the two soil types. Pairs of heads have been exhumed annually and assessed for infectivity within and around them. After one year and after two years, infectivity was detected in most intracranial samples and in some of the soil samples taken from immediately surrounding the heads. The infectivity assays for the samples in and around the heads exhumed at years three and four are underway. These data show that TSE infectivity can survive burial for long periods but migrates slowly. Risk assessments should take into account the likely long survival rate when infected material has been buried.

 

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from DEFRA.

 


 
 

PPo3-22:

 

Detection of Environmentally Associated PrPSc on a Farm with Endemic Scrapie

 

Ben C. Maddison,1 Claire A. Baker,1 Helen C. Rees,1 Linda A. Terry,2 Leigh Thorne,2 Susan J. Belworthy2 and Kevin C. Gough3 1ADAS-UK LTD; Department of Biology; University of Leicester; Leicester, UK; 2Veterinary Laboratories Agency; Surry, KT UK; 3Department of Veterinary Medicine and Science; University of Nottingham; Sutton Bonington, Loughborough UK

 

Key words: scrapie, evironmental persistence, sPMCA

 

Ovine scrapie shows considerable horizontal transmission, yet the routes of transmission and specifically the role of fomites in transmission remain poorly defined. Here we present biochemical data demonstrating that on a scrapie-affected sheep farm, scrapie prion contamination is widespread. It was anticipated at the outset that if prions contaminate the environment that they would be there at extremely low levels, as such the most sensitive method available for the detection of PrPSc, serial Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (sPMCA), was used in this study. We investigated the distribution of environmental scrapie prions by applying ovine sPMCA to samples taken from a range of surfaces that were accessible to animals and could be collected by use of a wetted foam swab. Prion was amplified by sPMCA from a number of these environmental swab samples including those taken from metal, plastic and wooden surfaces, both in the indoor and outdoor environment. At the time of sampling there had been no sheep contact with these areas for at least 20 days prior to sampling indicating that prions persist for at least this duration in the environment. These data implicate inanimate objects as environmental reservoirs of prion infectivity which are likely to contribute to disease transmission.



 

 
Wednesday, July 10, 2013

 

Rapid assessment of bovine spongiform encephalopathy prion inactivation by heat treatment in yellow grease produced in the industrial manufacturing process of meat and bone meals

 

BMC Veterinary Research 2013, 9:134 doi:10.1186/1746-6148-9-134

 


 

 

Friday, February 25, 2011

 

Soil clay content underlies prion infection odds Soil clay content underlies prion infection odds

 


 

 
 

>>> Minnesota John Weiss: With every test passed, CWD zone is no more. All Clear.

 

 

• It will mean the deer feeding ban, put into effect three years ago, expires March 1 for Dodge, Olmsted, Goodhue and Wabasha counties.

 

SO, we are now going to go back to congregating cervids and other species over tainted and infectious grounds, and feed them more animal protein ???

 

I urge you all to understand, animal protein is still allowed to be fed to cervids. it is only a voluntary ban on cervids still in 2014. please see ;

 
 

Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; CVM Updates on Deer and Elk Withdrawn FDA Veterinarian Newsletter July/August 2003 Volume XVIII, No 4

 

FDA has announced the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled “Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed.” This draft guidance document (GFI #158), when finalized, will describe FDA’s current thinking regarding the use in animal feed of material from deer and elk that are positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) or that are at high risk for CWD.

 

CWD is a neurological (brain) disease of farmed and wild deer and elk that belong in the cervidae animal family (cervids). Only deer and elk are known to be susceptible to CWD by natural transmission. The disease has been found in farmed and wild mule deer, white-tailed deer, North American elk, and farmed black-tailed deer. CWD belongs to a family of animal and human diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). TSEs are very rare, but are always fatal.

 

This draft Level 1 guidance, when finalized, will represent the Agency’s current thinking on the topic.

 

***It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind FDA or the public.

 

An alternate method may be used as long as it satisfies the requirements of applicable statutes and regulations.

 

Draft guidance #158 is posted on the FDA/Center for Veterinary Medicine Home Page. Single copies of the draft guidance may be obtained from the FDA Veterinarian.

 

- - Page Last Updated: 04/16/2013

 


 

 

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS

 

158

 

Guidance for Industry

 

Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed

 

Comments and suggestions regarding the document should be submitted to Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Submit electronic comments to http://www.regulations.gov. All comments should be identified with the Docket No. 03D-0186.

 

For questions regarding this guidance, contact Burt Pritchett, Center for Veterinary Medicine (HFV- 222), Food and Drug Administration, 7519 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855, 240-453-6860, E-mail: burt.pritchett@fda.hhs.gov. Additional copies of this guidance document may be requested from the Communications Staff (HFV-12), Center for Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration, 7519 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855, and may be viewed on the Internet at http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/default.htm.

 

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 

Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine September 15, 2003

 

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS

 

158

 

Guidance for Industry1

 

Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed

 

This guidance represents the Food and Drug Administration’s current thinking on the use of material from deer and elk in animal feed. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind FDA or the public.

 

You can use an alternative approach if the approach satisfies the requirements of applicable statutes or regulations. If you want to discuss an alternative approach, contact the FDA staff responsible for implementing this guidance. If you cannot identify the appropriate FDA staff, call the appropriate number listed on the title page of this guidance.

 

I. Introduction

 

 *** FDA’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities. Instead, guidances describe the Agency’s current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited. The use of the word “should” in Agency guidances means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required. ***

 

Under FDA’s BSE feed regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) most material from deer and elk is prohibited for use in feed for ruminant animals. This guidance document describes FDA’s recommendations regarding the use in all animal feed of all material from deer and elk that are positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) or are considered at high risk for CWD. The potential risks from CWD to humans or non-cervid animals such as poultry and swine are not well understood. However, because of recent recognition that CWD is spreading rapidly in white-tailed deer, and because CWD’s route of transmission is poorly understood, FDA is making recommendations regarding the use in animal feed of rendered materials from deer and elk that are CWD-positive or that are at high risk for CWD.

 

II. Background

 

CWD is a neurological (brain) disease of farmed and wild deer and elk that belong in the animal family cervidae (cervids). Only deer and elk are known to be susceptible to CWD by natural transmission. The disease has been found in farmed and wild mule deer,

 

1 This guidance has been prepared by the Division of Animal Feeds in the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) at the Food and Drug Administration.

 

1

 

CONTAINS NON-BINDING RECOMMENDATIONS

 

2

 

white-tailed deer, North American elk, and in farmed black-tailed deer. CWD belongs to a family of animal and human diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or “mad cow” disease) in cattle; scrapie in sheep and goats; and classical and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases (CJD and vCJD) in humans. There is no known treatment for these diseases, and there is no vaccine to prevent them. In addition, although validated postmortem diagnostic tests are available, there are no validated diagnostic tests for CWD that can be used to test for the disease in live animals.

 

 

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

*******************************************

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

 

 

III.

 

Use in animal feed of material from CWD-positive deer and elk

 

Material from CWD-positive animals may not be used in any animal feed or feed ingredients. Pursuant to Sec. 402(a)(5) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, animal feed and feed ingredients containing material from a CWD-positive animal would be considered adulterated. FDA recommends that any such adulterated feed or feed ingredients be recalled or otherwise removed from the marketplace.

 

IV.

 

Use in animal feed of material from deer and elk considered at high risk for CWD

 

Deer and elk considered at high risk for CWD include:

 

(1) animals from areas declared by State officials to be endemic for CWD and/or to be CWD eradication zones; and

 

(2) deer and elk that at some time during the 60-month period immediately before the time of slaughter were in a captive herd that contained a CWD-positive animal.

 

FDA recommends that materials from deer and elk considered at high risk for CWD no longer be entered into the animal feed system. Under present circumstances, FDA is not recommending that feed made from deer and elk from a non-endemic area be recalled if a State later declares the area endemic for CWD or a CWD eradication zone. In addition, at this time, FDA is not recommending that feed made from deer and elk believed to be from a captive herd that contained no CWD-positive animals be recalled if that herd is subsequently found to contain a CWD-positive animal.

 

V. Use in animal feed of material from deer and elk NOT considered at high risk for CWD

 

FDA continues to consider materials from deer and elk NOT considered at high risk for CWD to be acceptable for use in NON-RUMINANT animal feeds in accordance with current agency regulations, 21 CFR 589.2000.

 

Deer and elk not considered at high risk include:

 

(1) deer and elk from areas not declared by State officials to be endemic for CWD and/or to be CWD eradication zones; and

 

(2) deer and elk that were not at some time during the 60-month period immediately before the time of slaughter in a captive herd that contained a CWD-positive animal.

 


 

 

 

 

-------- 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-0186FDA 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;

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 


 

 

 

now, just what is in that mad 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-LTo: BSE-L

 

8420-20.5% Antler DeveloperFor Deer and Game in the wildGuaranteed Analysis Ingredients / Products Feeding Directions

 

snip...

 

_animal protein_

 


 

 

 

snip...

 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICESPUBLIC HEALTH SERVICEFOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATIONApril 9, 2001 WARNING LETTER01-PHI-12CERTIFIED MAILRETURN 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 cattleor 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 fromthe regulations. As a manufacturer of materials intended for animalfeed use, you are responsible for assuring that your overall operation and the products you manufacture and distribute are in compliance withthe law. We have enclosed a copy of FDA's Small Entity Compliance Guideto assist you with complying with the regulation...

 


 


snip...end...full text ;

 
 

2003D-0186 Guidance for Industry: Use of Material From Deer and Elk In Animal Feed

 

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

 


 



 


see my full text submission here ;

 





Preventive Veterinary Medicine Available online 26 November 2013



Impacts of wildlife baiting and supplemental feeding on infectious disease transmission risk: A synthesis of knowledge



Anja Sorensena, Floris M. van Beesta, b, Ryan K. Brooka, Corresponding author contact information, E-mail the corresponding author

a Department of Animal and Poultry Science & Indigenous Land Management Institute, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada

b Department of Bioscience, Arctic Environment, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark Abstract

Baiting and supplemental feeding of wildlife are widespread, yet highly controversial management practices, with important implications for ecosystems, livestock production, and potentially human health. An often underappreciated threat of such feeding practices is the potential to facilitate intra- and inter-specific disease transmission. We provide a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence of baiting and supplemental feeding on disease transmission risk in wildlife, with an emphasis on large herbivores in North America. While the objectives of supplemental feeding and baiting typically differ, the effects on disease transmission of these practices are largely the same. Both feeding and baiting provide wildlife with natural or non-natural food at specific locations in the environment, which can result in large congregations of individuals and species in a small area and increased local densities. Feeding can lead to increased potential for disease transmission either directly (via direct animal contact) or indirectly (via feed functioning as a fomite, spreading disease into the adjacent environment and to other animals). We identified numerous diseases that currently pose a significant concern to the health of individuals and species of large wild mammals across North America, the spread of which are either clearly facilitated or most likely facilitated by the application of supplemental feeding or baiting. Wildlife diseases also have important threats to human and livestock health. Although the risk of intra- and inter-species disease transmission likely increases when animals concentrate at feeding stations, only in a few cases was disease prevalence and transmission measured and compared between populations. Mostly these were experimental situations under controlled conditions, limiting direct scientific evidence that feeding practices exacerbates disease occurrence, exposure, transmission, and spread in the environment.

Vaccination programs utilizing baits have received variable levels of success. Although important gaps in the scientific literature exist, current information is sufficient to conclude that providing food to wildlife through supplemental feeding or baiting has great potential to negatively impact species health and represents a non-natural arena for disease transmission and preservation. Ultimately, this undermines the initial purpose of feeding practices and represents a serious risk to the maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, human health, and livestock production. Managers should consider disease transmission as a real and serious concern in their decision to implement or eliminate feeding programs. Disease surveillance should be a crucial element within the long-term monitoring of any feeding program in combination with other available preventive measures to limit disease transmission and spread.


Keywords Artificial feeding; Baiting; Bovine tuberculosis; Chronic wasting disease; Elk; Vaccination; White-tailed deer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are no figures or tables for this document.

Corresponding author contact information Corresponding author at: Department of Animal and Poultry Science & Indigenous Land Management Institute, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada. Tel.: +1 306 966 4120; fax: +1 306 966 4151. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.



http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167587713003607





Friday, October 26, 2012

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

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2012/10/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.html





CWD, GAME FARMS, BAITING, AND POLITICS



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-game-farms-baiting-and-politics.html



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/08/cwd-feeding-and-baiting-piles.html


 


that voluntary mad cow feed ban that became law, how did that work out for us to 2013 $

 

USDA/FDA inc still feeding cows to cows as well ;

 

FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OIA UPDATE DECEMBER 2013 UPDATE

 

 OAI 2012-2013

 

OAI (Official Action Indicated) when inspectors find significant objectionable conditions or practices and believe that regulatory sanctions are warranted to address the establishment’s lack of compliance with the regulation. An example of an OAI classification would be findings of manufacturing procedures insufficient to ensure that ruminant feed is not contaminated with prohibited material. Inspectors will promptly re-inspect facilities classified OAI after regulatory sanctions have been applied to determine whether the corrective actions are adequate to address the objectionable conditions.

 

 ATL-DO 1035703 Newberry Feed & Farm Ctr, Inc. 2431 Vincent St. Newberry SC 29108-0714 OPR DR, FL, FR, TH HP 9/9/2013 OAI Y

 

DET-DO 1824979 Hubbard Feeds, Inc. 135 Main, P.O. Box 156 Shipshewana IN 46565-0156 OPR DR, FL, OF DP 8/29/2013 OAI Y

 

ATL-DO 3001460882 Talley Farms Feed Mill Inc 6309 Talley Rd Stanfield NC 28163-7617 OPR FL, TH NP 7/17/2013 OAI N

 

NYK-DO 3010260624 Sherry Sammons 612 Stoner Trail Rd Fonda NY 12068-5007 OPR FR, OF NP 7/16/2013 OAI Y

 

DEN-DO 3008575486 Rocky Ford Pet Foods 21693 Highway 50 East Rocky Ford CO 81067 OPR RE, TH HP 2/27/2013 OAI N

 

CHI-DO 3007091297 Rancho Cantera 2866 N Sunnyside Rd Kent IL 61044-9605 OPR FR, OF HP 11/26/2012 OAI Y

 

*** DEN-DO 1713202 Weld County Bi Products, Inc. 1138 N 11th Ave Greeley CO 80631-9501 OPR RE, TH HP 10/12/2012 OAI N

 

Ruminant Feed Inspections Firms Inventory (excel format)

 


 

 

PLEASE NOTE, the VAI violations were so numerous, and unorganized in dates posted, as in numerical order, you will have to sift through them for yourselves. ...tss

 

 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

 

*** Weld County Bi-Products dba Fort Morgan Pet Foods 6/1/12 significant deviations from requirements in FDA regulations that are intended to reduce the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) within the United States

 


 

 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

 

BSE TSE PRION USDA FDA MAD COW FEED COMPLIANCE REPORT and NAI, OAI, and VAI ratings as at June 5, 2013

 

Greetings,

 

since our fine federal friends have decided not to give out any more reports on the USA breaches of the feed ban and surveillance etc. for the BSE TSE prion mad cow type disease in the USDA livestock, I thought I might attempt it. I swear, I just don’t understand the logic of the SSS policy, and that includes all of it. I assure you, it would be much easier, and probably better for the FDA and the USDA INC., if they would simply put some kind of report out for Pete’s sake, instead of me doing it after I get mad, because I am going to put it all out there. the truth.

 

PLEASE BE ADVISED, any breach of any of the above classifications OAI, VAI, RTS, CAN lead to breaches into the feed BSE TSE prion protocols, and CAN lead to the eventual suspect tainted feed reaching livestock. please, if any USDA official out there disputes this, please explain then how they could not. paperwork errors can eventually lead to breaches of the BSE TSE prion mad cow feed ban reaching livestock, or contamination and exposure there from, as well.

 

I would sure like to see the full reports of just these ;

 

 4018 CHI-DO 3007091297 Rancho Cantera 2866 N Sunnyside Rd Kent IL 61044-9605 OPR FR, OF HP 11/26/2012 OAI Y

 

9367 3008575486 Rocky Ford Pet Foods 21693 Highway 50 East Rocky Ford CO 81067 OPR RE, TH HP 2/27/2013 OAI N

 

9446 DEN-DO 1713202 Weld County Bi Products, Inc. 1138 N 11th Ave Greeley CO 80631-9501 OPR RE, TH HP 10/12/2012 OAI N

 

9447 DEN-DO 3002857110 Weld County Bi-Products dba Fort Morgan Pet Foods 13553 County Road 19 Fort Morgan CO 80701-7506 OPR RE HP 12/7/2011 OAI N

 

 see full list of the fda mad cow bse feed follies, toward the bottom, after a short brief update on the mad cow bse follies, and our good friend Lester Crawford that was at the FDA.

 

ALSO, I would kindly like to comment on this FDA BSE/Ruminant Feed Inspections Firms Inventory (excel format)4 format, for reporting these breaches of BSE TSE prion protocols, from the extensive mad cow feed ban warning letters the fda use to put out for each violations. simply put, this excel format sucks, and the FDA et al intentionally made it this difficult to follow the usda fda mad cow follies. this is an intentional format to make it as difficult as possible to follow these breaches of the mad cow TSE prion safety feed protocols. to have absolutely no chronological or numerical order, and to format such violations in a way that they are almost impossible to find, says a lot about just how far the FDA and our fine federal friends will go through to hide these continued violations of the BSE TSE prion mad cow feed ban, and any breaches of protocols there from. once again, the wolf guarding the henhouse $$$

 

 NAI = NO ACTION INDICATED

 

OAI = OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED

 

VAI = VOLUNTARY ACTION INDICATED

 

RTS = REFERRED TO STATE

 

Inspections conducted by State and FDA investigators are classified to reflect the compliance status at the time of the inspection, based upon whether objectionable conditions were documented. Based on the conditions found, inspection results are recorded in one of three classifications:

 

OAI (Official Action Indicated) when inspectors find significant objectionable conditions or practices and believe that regulatory sanctions are warranted to address the establishment’s lack of compliance with the regulation. An example of an OAI classification would be findings of manufacturing procedures insufficient to ensure that ruminant feed is not contaminated with prohibited material. Inspectors will promptly re-inspect facilities classified OAI after regulatory sanctions have been applied to determine whether the corrective actions are adequate to address the objectionable conditions.

 

VAI (Voluntary Action Indicated) when inspectors find objectionable conditions or practices that do not meet the threshold of regulatory significance, but warrant an advisory to inform the establishment that inspectors found conditions or practices that should be voluntarily corrected. VAI violations are typically technical violations of the 1997 BSE Feed Rule. These violations include minor recordkeeping lapses or conditions involving non-ruminant feeds.

 

NAI (No Action Indicated) when inspectors find no objectionable conditions or practices or, if they find objectionable conditions, those conditions are of a minor nature and do not justify further actions.

 


 

 

when sound science was bought off by junk science, in regards to the BSE TSE prion mad cow type disease, by the USDA, CFIA, WHO, OIE, et al. $$$

 

when the infamous, and fraudulently USDA, FSIS, APHIS, FDA, gold card was taken away that infamous day in December of 2003, all cards were off the table, it was time to change the science, and change they did. ...tss

 

snip. ...please see full text ;

 

 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

 

BSE TSE PRION USDA FDA MAD COW FEED COMPLIANCE REPORT and NAI, OAI, and VAI ratings as at June 5, 2013

 


 

 

IN A NUT SHELL ;

 

(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 23 May 2006)

 

11. Information published by the OIE is derived from appropriate declarations made by the official Veterinary Services of Member Countries. The OIE is not responsible for inaccurate publication of country disease status based on inaccurate information or changes in epidemiological status or other significant events that were not promptly reported to the Central Bureau,

 


 

 

Thursday, May 30, 2013

 

World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has upgraded the United States' risk classification for mad cow disease to "negligible" from "controlled", and risk further exposing the globe to the TSE prion mad cow type disease

 

U.S. gets top mad-cow rating from international group and risk further exposing the globe to the TSE prion mad cow type disease

 


 


 
 
 

please see full text and more here ;

 

 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

 

FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OIA UPDATE DECEMBER 2013 UPDATE

 


 

 

*** and now, for the really big news about CWD TSE prion disease, just out by the cdc et al ;

 

PLEASE be aware of new science just out by the CDC emerging infectious disease journal on CWD and it’s potential link to sporadic CJD...URGENT UPDATE AS FOLLOWS ;

 

 *** PRICE OF CWD TSE PRION POKER GOES UP 2014 ***

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE PRION update January 2, 2014

 

*** chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of the human prion protein.

 

*** Furthermore, the form of human PrPres produced in this in vitro assay when seeded with CWD, resembles that found in the most common human prion disease, namely sCJD of the MM1 subtype.

 

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

 

Molecular Barriers to Zoonotic Transmission of Prions

 

*** chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of the human prion protein.

 

*** Furthermore, the form of human PrPres produced in this in vitro assay when seeded with CWD, resembles that found in the most common human prion disease, namely sCJD of the MM1 subtype.

 

 


 



 

 

*** The potential impact of prion diseases on human health was greatly magnified by the recognition that interspecies transfer of BSE to humans by beef ingestion resulted in vCJD. While changes in animal feed constituents and slaughter practices appear to have curtailed vCJD, there is concern that CWD of free-ranging deer and elk in the U.S. might also cross the species barrier. Thus, consuming venison could be a source of human prion disease. Whether BSE and CWD represent interspecies scrapie transfer or are newly arisen prion diseases is unknown. Therefore, the possibility of transmission of prion disease through other food animals cannot be ruled out. There is evidence that vCJD can be transmitted through blood transfusion. There is likely a pool of unknown size of asymptomatic individuals infected with vCJD, and there may be asymptomatic individuals infected with the CWD equivalent. These circumstances represent a potential threat to blood, blood products, and plasma supplies.

 


 

 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

 

*** CWD TSE Prion in cervids to hTGmice, Heidenhain Variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease MM1 genotype, and iatrogenic CJD ??? ***

 


 

 

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

 

APHIS-2006-0118-0100 Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer, Elk, and Moose

 


 

 

Friday, November 22, 2013

 

Wasting disease is threat to the entire UK deer population CWD TSE Prion disease Singeltary submission to Scottish Parliament

 


 

 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

 

*** CJD REPORT 1994 increased risk for consumption of veal and venison and lamb

 


 

 

Thursday, January 02, 2014

 

Tests Confirm CWD Case in Pennsylvania Release #001-14

 


 

 

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

 

*** cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the wild

 


 

 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

 

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD surveillance, deer feeding ban continues in southeastern Minnesota

 


 

 

Friday, September 28, 2012

 

Stray elk renews concerns about deer farm security Minnesota

 


 

 

Friday, May 25, 2012

 

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD found in a farmed red deer from Ramsey County Minnesota

 


 

 

Saturday, March 17, 2012

 

Minnesota CWD DNR, Can chronic wasting disease jump from deer to humans? yes, maybe some day YOUTUBE

 


 

 

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

 

Minnesota, National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, has confirmed CWD case near Pine Island

 


 

 

Friday, January 21, 2011

 

MINNESOTA HIGHLY SUSPECT CWD POSITIVE WILD DEER FOUND NEAR PINE ISLAND

 


 

 

Saturday, October 31, 2009

 

Elk from Olmsted County herd depopulated to control CWD Three additional elk from the 558-head herd tested positive

 


 

 

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

 

Chronic Wasting Disease found in a farmed elk from Olmsted County ST. PAUL, Minn.

 


 

 

 

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UPDATE September 6, 2002

 

Minnesota has announced the finding of CWD in a captive elk in Aitkin County. The animal was a five-year-old male. It had been purchased from a captive facility in Stearns County in August of 2000. The herd where the elk was found has been placed under quarantine as has two additional facilities where the infected elk had resided prior to it coming to the farm in Aitkin County. Minnesota DNR officials will test wild deer in the area to determine if there is any sign of CWD in the free-ranging population. This is the first case of CWD in either captive or freeranging cervids in Minnesota. Several more states have passed bans on the importation of deer and elk carcasses from states where CWD has been found in wild animals. Previously the states of Colorado, Illinois and Iowa and the province of Manitoba had passed such bans. The states of Vermont, Oregon and Missouri have enacted similar bans. Numerous states have issue voluntary advisories to their out-of-state hunters encouraging them not to bring the carcass or carcass parts of deer and elk into their state. The bans do permit the importation of boned out meat, hides or cape with no meat attached, clean skull cap with antler attached, finished taxidermy heads or the ivories of elk. The state of Georgia has recently banned the importation of live cervids into that state also. Some citizens of Colorado have formed a new political action group called Colorado Wildlife Defense (just happens that the acronym is CWD). The stated goal of this group are; Elimination of big game diseases, especially CWD; promotion of healthy wildlife habitat; promotion of scientifically sound wildlife research; promotion of a discussion of the ethics of hunting and wildlife management; education of the hunting and non hunting public. Their action plan calls for; requiring double fencing of all game farms at owners expense; all game farmers provide annual proof of bonding; prohibit new licenses for deer and elk farms; prohibit expansion in acreage of existing game farms; prohibit the transfer of game farm licenses; prohibit charging for hunting behind high wire; prohibit blocking of traditional migratory paths by high fences; requiring game farms to maintain environmental controls and prohibit the escape of contaminated water or soil; requiring immediate reporting of missing deer or elk from game farms; and requiring all game farm deer and elk to be tested for brucellosis and TB. Wisconsin has announced that 7 more free-ranging deer have tested positive for CWD. They have expanded their eradication zone by an additional 15 square miles to cover these findings. The total number of free-ranging CWD positive in Wisconsin is now 31 white-tail deer.

 

In 2000, a elk farmer in Wisconsin received elk from a CWD exposed herd in Colorado. At that time, the farmer advised the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture that both animals from the exposed herd in Colorado were dead. He has now advised Wisconsin Ag. that he was mistaken and that one of the animals is still alive in his herd. The second draft of the implementation documents for the National CWD Plan was distributed to committee members and others on Friday, August 30. The final documents are due to APHIS and USFWS on Friday, September 13. The herd of captive elk in Oklahoma that had been exposed to CWD will be destroyed this week. This herd had an elk test positive for CWD in 1997 but the depopulation of the herd was not agreed to by the owners and federal representatives until this week. Since the discovery of CWD in the herd, the remaining animals have been under quarantine, however, in the meantime the herd has dropped from 150 animals to 74. Due to a lack of communication, not all of the 76 animals that died in the interim were tested for CWD. All remaining animals will be tested but the true degree of infection rate of the herd will never be known.

 

The owners of the facility will not be permitted to restock the area with cervids for a period of five years. A New York based organization, BioTech Research Fund I LLC has committed a $1 million line of credit to fund commercialization of tests for brain-wasting disorders and production of various vaccines to Gene-Thera of Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Gene-Thera has spent three years developing new ways not only to diagnose CWD, but create vaccines for mad cow disease, E. coli contaminants and foot-and-mouth disease. Its tests for CWD have been successful in more than 100 samples from Colorado and Wisconsin according to company officials. Gene-Thera plans to license and market some o fits disease test kits by the end of the year, then begin volume distribution by mid-2003. The abstracts of the presentations from the CWD Conference in Denver August 6 and 7 have been posted on the Colorado Division of Wildlife web site. You will need adobe acrobat reader to read them.

 


 


 

 

Minnesota: Second case in a game farmed elk discovered in Stearns Co.

 

This is a trace forward from the previously affected game farm in Aitkins Co. An additional game farm in Benton Co is under quarantine.

 

snip...

 

Supporting Documents: Colorado: CWD-Exposed Elk Used in 1990 Study- Wildlife officials call W. Slope move a mistake Date: January 17, 2003 Source: Denver Post Contacts: Theo Stein Environment Writer

 

The Colorado Division of Wildlife knowingly used a herd of captive elk exposed to chronic wasting disease in a grazing study on the Western Slope in January 1990, possibly introducing the disease to the elk-rich area. "It was a bad call," said Jeff Ver Steeg, the division's top game manager. "I can't deny it." About 150 wild elk were allowed to graze in the same pens near Maybell after the research herd was removed and may have picked up the abnormal protein that causes the disease from the feces and urine left by the captive elk. While the Division of Wildlife has expressed concern before that its animals might have helped spread CWD, this is the first time the agency has acknowledged it knowingly moved elk exposed to CWD deep into an area where the disease was not known to already exist. Studies that could help determine the source of CWD on the Western Slope are incomplete, and officials say what data that do exist are so new and so spotty they may not provide all the answers. So far, it appears that less than 1 percent of deer and elk in the area are infected, compared with as much as 15 to 20 percent in hotspots in northeastern Colorado. But as wildlife officials grapple with CWD's appearance in northwestern Colorado, officials now admit the decision to continue the grazing study over the objections of some biologists was an error. At the time, biologists wanted to see whether elk grazing on winter range depleted forage that ranchers wanted for fattening cattle in spring. "I think in hindsight a lot of good people probably did some dumb things, myself included," said Bruce Gill, a retired wildlife manager who oversaw research efforts and remembers the debate over the project. "Had we known CWD would explode into such a potentially volatile ecologic and economic issue, we wouldn't have done it." Elk ranchers, who have been blamed for exporting the disease from its stronghold on the Colorado and Wyoming plains to seven states and two Canadian provinces, say the agency's belated disclosure smacks of a coverup. "It's pure negligence," said Jerry Perkins, a Delta banker and rancher who is now demanding a legislative inquiry. "If I'd have moved animals I knew to be infected around like that, I'd be in jail." Grand Junction veterinarian and sportsman Dick Steele said he faults the agency for not disclosing information about CWD-exposed research animals before October, when information was posted on the Division of Wildlife website. "This went way beyond poor judgment," he said. "My main concern is that this has been hidden for the last 12 years. It would have been real important to our decision-making process on how to deal with CWD." While the Maybell information is new, Perkins and other ranchers have long suspected Division of Wildlife research facilities near Meeker and Kremmling, which temporarily housed mule deer kept in heavily infected pens at the Fort Collins facility, have leaked CWD to the wild. Fear of an outbreak led the agency to sample 450 deer around the Meeker and Kremmling facilities. None tested positive, but the sample size was only large enough to detect cases if the infection rate was greater than 1 percent. This fall, tests on 23,000 deer and elk submitted by hunters statewide have revealed 48 CWD cases north of Interstate 70 and west of the Continental Divide. Biologists believe the infection rate in that area, which includes the Maybell, Meeker and Kremmling sites, is still well below 1 percent. But CWD has never been contained in a wild population, so experts fear the problem will grow worse.

 

The Division of Wildlife says it will be months before a statistical analysis of the fall's sampling results can be completed, an exercise that may shed light on the disease's origin on the Western Slope. "We're just not going to speculate at this point," said Ver Steeg of the possible Maybell connection. "This is one possibility, but certainly not the only possibility." Some biologists think a defunct elk ranch near Pagoda, which had dozens of unexplained deaths in the mid-'90s, is another, a suggestion Perkins rejects. "It may be inconclusive to them," said Perkins. "It isn't inconclusive to us."

 


 

 

To date, 19 CWD-positive animals have been found on six Wisconsin farms. All have been white-tailed deer except for one elk imported from a Minnesota herd later found to be infected. More than 8,000 farm-raised deer and elk have been tested in Wisconsin, and about 540 herds are enrolled in the CWD monitoring program.

 


 

 

 

CWD disease detected on Lac qui Parle County cervid farm southwestern Minnesota (2006-03-15)

 

Date: March 15, 2006 at 12:36 pm PST

 

 Chronic wasting disease detected on Lac qui Parle County cervid farm (2006-03-15) The Board of Animal Health announced today that chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in one domestic white-tailed deer on a cervid farm in Lac qui Parle County, which is located in southwestern Minnesota.

 

Immediately, DNR officials will conduct a local deer survey to determine the number of wild deer in the area. It is expected that not many deer will be found because the area is highly agricultural, with little deer habitat surrounding the farm. DNR will conduct opportunistic sampling of deer, like road kills, in the immediate area now and will conduct intensive hunter-harvested surveillance during the 2006 firearm deer season.

 

Although this positive animal is a captive deer, DNR has conducted surveillance for CWD in wild deer in the area. The farm is located near the northern boundary of deer permit area 447, where wild deer surveillance for CWD last occurred in 2003.

 

Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator, said, "In 2003, we conducted wild deer CWD surveillance in adjoining permit areas 433, 446 and 447. In total, we collected 392 samples from those permit areas during the regular firearm deer season and CWD was not detected."

 

The sampling of wild deer was designed statistically to have a 95 percent confidence of detecting a 1 percent infection rate, according to Mike DonCarlos, DNR wildlife programs manager.

 

"This situation is very similar to the positive elk farm discovered in Stearns County in 2003, which followed the first discovery of CWD in an Aitkin County elk farm," DonCarlos said. “The DNR response will be similar to the Stearns County action and will include an initial assessment of wild deer populations in the area and development of a surveillance program for next fall."

 

From 2002 to 2004, DNR staff collected nearly 28,000 CWD samples statewide and no disease found in the wild herd.

 

"The intensive surveillance conducted in 2003 indicated CWD was not present in wild deer," Cornicelli said. “In addition, all indications are that this positive captive deer has not contacted any wild deer, but we will conduct additional surveillance this fall to be sure."

 


 


 

 

CWD disease detected on Lac qui Parle County cervid farm southwestern Minnesota (2006-03-15) Date: March 15, 2006 at 12:36 pm PST

 

Chronic wasting disease detected on Lac qui Parle County cervid farm (2006-03-15) The Board of Animal Health announced today that chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in one domestic white-tailed deer on a cervid farm in Lac qui Parle County, which is located in southwestern Minnesota.

 

Immediately, DNR officials will conduct a local deer survey to determine the number of wild deer in the area. It is expected that not many deer will be found because the area is highly agricultural, with little deer habitat surrounding the farm. DNR will conduct opportunistic sampling of deer, like road kills, in the immediate area now and will conduct intensive hunter-harvested surveillance during the 2006 firearm deer season.

 

Although this positive animal is a captive deer, DNR has conducted surveillance for CWD in wild deer in the area. The farm is located near the northern boundary of deer permit area 447, where wild deer surveillance for CWD last occurred in 2003.

 

Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator, said, "In 2003, we conducted wild deer CWD surveillance in adjoining permit areas 433, 446 and 447. In total, we collected 392 samples from those permit areas during the regular firearm deer season and CWD was not detected."

 

The sampling of wild deer was designed statistically to have a 95 percent confidence of detecting a 1 percent infection rate, according to Mike DonCarlos, DNR wildlife programs manager.

 

"This situation is very similar to the positive elk farm discovered in Stearns County in 2003, which followed the first discovery of CWD in an Aitkin County elk farm," DonCarlos said. “The DNR response will be similar to the Stearns County action and will include an initial assessment of wild deer populations in the area and development of a surveillance program for next fall."

 

From 2002 to 2004, DNR staff collected nearly 28,000 CWD samples statewide and no disease found in the wild herd.

 

"The intensive surveillance conducted in 2003 indicated CWD was not present in wild deer," Cornicelli said. “In addition, all indications are that this positive captive deer has not contacted any wild deer, but we will conduct additional surveillance this fall to be sure."

 


 


 

 

PLEASE DO NOT FORGET THESE STUDIES ON SCRAPIE AND CWD ;

 

 

*** 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

 


 


 

 

Good luck Minnesota, with your CWD efforts.

 

however, I think it is a big mistake claiming the ALL CLEAR, for special 602 zone, which was in effect for the 2011, 2012 and 2013, just after 3 years, considering the infectious TSE agent can still be infectious from environmental contamination after 16 years, and giving the all clear for baiting again, when science tells us that baiting and feeding enhances the spread of CWD TSE prion agent, due to environmental contamination and and also the feeding practices of using animal protein some shooting pens and hunters use, again only will enhance your states chances of spreading Chronic Wasting Disease CWD. ...good luck!

 

 

layperson

 

mom dod 12/14/97 confirmed hvCJD...just made a promise, never forget, and never let them forget. ...

 

 

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

 

posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at 11:56 AM

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