ACA Council Reviews Comment Period Procedure, Border Closings, Iowa Legal Case, & Committee Recommendations
ACA Reviews Border Closings, Negative Articles & Comment Period March
5, 2014
ACA Council Reviews Comment Period Procedure, Border Closings, Iowa Legal
Case, & Committee Recommendations
AYR, NE- The American Cervid Alliance Leadership Council met earlier this
week to organize efforts for the Federal Chronic Wasting Disease Program
Standards comment period and discuss other industry concerns.
The council had already distributed its outline of remaining concerns from
the Version 23 standards to serve as a guide for member associations. Cervid
producers and the general public will be able to post comments regarding
concerns until the comment period ends March 31. After the comment period ends,
the USDA/APHIS will consider all comments and publish the final document which
will become the new Program Standards for the cervid industry’s Chronic Wasting
Disease program. It was noted that all comments should include positive elements
of this document as well as those that are detrimental to our industry.
The council made it very clear that the federal program will have an
accompanying standards document. There has been some misconception that the
federal rule could be left in place without program standards. Travis Lowe,
representing the Kansas Cervid Breeders Association, told the council that since
there is a Federal Rule there will be a set of standards to serve as the
companion document and encouraged utilization of the comment period in a
professional manner . “We have been trying for over a year to make the standards
document better and this comment period will be our last opportunity for
improvement. Once USDA/APHIS publishes the final version, the ACA can then meet
to see what changes have been made and if they are acceptable.” This has been
the ACA’s intention. Clint Patty, the ACA’s attorney, told the council there are
several legal options in the event the final version of the standards is still
unacceptable. These options would have no impact on the federal rule itself.
Another thoroughly discussed topic was the ACA’s response to the damaging
article written by columnist Pat Durkin entitled “New chronic wasting disease
rules enhance risks”. The article featured several negative quotes from Dr. John
Fischer of the University of Georgia. Cervid industry leaders believe several
statements made, by Dr. Fischer, in this article, were biased and not based on
science. Dr Fischer is a member of the USDA/APHIS Chronic Wasting Disease
Program Standards Working Group, as a wildlife representative and a member of
the new USAHA Farmed Cervid Subcommittee. The ACA Media Review Committee,
chaired by Charly Seale, was flooded with requests from deer and elk farmers
encouraging a response. After council discussion, a motion was made by Tim
Condict, councilman representing the Deer Breeders Corp, to have ACA Attorney,
Clint Patty, draft and send a letter objecting to Dr Fischer’s remarks and
request that any future statements be based on the best know science. Condict’s
motion also included sending a letter to the United States Animals Health
Association’s Executive Committee citing Dr Fischer’s public bias and asking
them to reconsider his membership on the Farmed Cervid Subcommittee.
Clint Patty answered questions from the council regarding the commerce
clause research and the letter sent to the Missouri Conservation Department
Commissioners. Mr. Patty told the council the commissioners were now in receipt
of the letter. Currently there is only talk and not an actual proposal to close
the Missouri borders.
Warren Bluntzer, chairman of the ACA’s Terminology Committee, presented
several terms and ideas the council should consider and then discuss at a future
meeting.
The council also received an update from Rhonda Brakke regarding the news
of their recent legal victory regarding their suit against the Iowa Department
of Natural Resources.
Angie Kerry, ACA Councilwoman for the New York Deer & Elk Farmers
Association, provided an update on their border closure and said their
association would welcome any financial support. The ACA Council also reviewed
and approved the monthly financial statement.
37th Annual Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting in Athens, Georgia (CWD TSE
Prion abstracts)
Greetings, lot of good info from this study group I did not post. I only
posted on cwd. see the pdf file link to see all abstracts.
37th Annual Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting in Athens, Georgia
THE SOUTHEAST DEER STUDY GROUP
The Southeast Deer Study Group was formed as a subcommittee of the Forest
Game Committee of the Southeastern Section of The Wildlife Society. The
Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting is hosted with the support of the directors
of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The first meeting
was held as a joint Northeast-Southeast Meeting at Fort Pickett, Virginia, on
September 6-8, 1977. Appreciating the economic, aesthetic, and biological value
of the white-tailed deer in the southeastern United States, the desirability of
conducting an annual Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting was recognized and urged
by the participants. Since February 1979, these meetings have been held annually
for the purpose of bringing together managers, researchers, administrators, and
users of this vitally important renewable natural resource. A list of the
meetings, their location, and theme are listed below. These meetings provide an
important forum for the sharing of research results, management strategies, and
discussions that can facilitate the timely identification of, and solutions to,
problems relative to the management of white-tailed deer in our region. The Deer
Subcommittee was given full committee status in November 1985 at the
Southeastern Section of The Wildlife Society’s annual business meeting. In 2006,
Delaware was approved as a member.
TWS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The 37th Annual Southeast Deer Study Group meeting can be counted as
contact hours for Professional Development/Certification. Each hour of actual
meeting time counts as one credit hour (no social time credit). For more
information about professional development, visit The Wildlife Society web site,
www.wildlife.org.
QUALIFYING STATEMENT
Abstracts in the Proceedings and presentations at the Southeast Deer Study
Group meeting often contain preliminary data and conclusions that have not
undergone the peer-review process. This information is provided to foster
communication and interaction among researchers, biologists and deer managers.
Commercial use of any of the information presented in conjunction with the
Southeast Deer Study Group Annual Meeting is prohibited without written consent
of the author(s).
Participation of any vendor/donor/exhibitor with the Southeast Deer Study
Group Annual Meeting does not constitute nor imply endorsement by the Southeast
Deer Study Group, the SE Section of The Wildlife Society Deer Committee, the
host state, or meeting participants.
snip...
Gassett – Wildlife Management Institute
ABSTRACT: Currently, one of the greatest challenges facing state fish and
wildlife agencies is the shift from a science-based management approach to one
more driven by public opinion and political pressures. State fish and wildlife
agencies are becoming increasingly politicized, with Directors being replaced at
an unprecedented rate, state legislatures increasing their scrutiny in wildlife
agency decision-making, and increasing involvement and input by outside entities
(state agriculture departments, federal agencies, production-oriented
industries, insurance companies, etc.). This has resulted in decreased stability
of agencies and a subsequent decrease in their ability to make informed
decisions based on science. One of the seven tenets of the North American Model
for Wildlife Management is the use of “best science” in the management of our
resources, and that tenet is under a direct attack by these influences. The
motivating factors behind this push presents mid and upper-level managers with
increasing levels of risk and uncertainty. State agencies must adapt to these
rapid shifts in pressure to successfully blend science, policy, and common sense
in order to reduce this threat to the North American Model to an acceptable
level.
snip...
Monday, 1:40 PM
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN DEER MANAGEMENT – A COMPARISON AMONG STATE WILDLIFE
AGENCIES
Kip Adams – Quality Deer Management Association; Brian Murphy – Quality
Deer Management Association; Matt Ross – Quality Deer Management
Association
ABSTRACT: A key component of the North American Model of Wildlife
Conservation is that wildlife are public trust resources managed by state
agencies. We surveyed all 37 state wildlife agencies in the Midwest, Northeast
and Southeast to determine their level and means for engaging the public on deer
management issues. Only 18 of 37 states had a published deer management plan.
All allowed the public to provide input to it and 11 of 14 allowed the public to
serve on the plans’ steering committees. Twenty-seven of 31 states were required
to provide public involvement in regulatory changes involving deer. Only 3 of 33
states rated their agency’s effectiveness at communicating with the public as
excellent. Excluding Texas, states averaged 2.3 active deer staff, and this
number remained stable in 26 of 37 states during the last five years. On a scale
of 1 to10, science ranked 7.0 and public desire ranked 5.7 for their impact on
deer hunting regulations. Nine of 30 states reported public desire outranked
science in these decisions. The most popular means for gauging public sentiment
or accepting public comments on deer management/regulatory issues were public
meetings (35 of 37 states), email (31 of 37), and traditional mail (30 of 37).
Sportsmen and women are becoming increasingly engaged in their states’ deer
management program. This is important as white-tailed deer are the most popular
big game animal in the United States, and whitetail hunters are the foundation
of the $87 billion hunting industry.
snip...
Monday 9:00 AM
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE: THE POLITICAL DISEASE THAT KILLS
John R. Fischer - Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College
of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia
ABSTRACT: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy that naturally affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose,
red deer, and sika deer. CWD was known to occur in wild cervids in a portion of
Colorado and Wyoming from the 1980s until 1996, when it first was found in
captive elk in Saskatchewan, in 1997, when it was detected in captive elk herds
in South Dakota, and in 2001, when it first was found in captive white-tailed
deer. CWD was regarded as a ‘western disease’ until it was confirmed in wild
deer in Wisconsin in 2002. To date, CWD has been found in wild cervids in 16
states, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, and in captive cervids in 13 states, Alberta,
Saskatchewan, and the Republic of Korea. CWD management is confounded by several
epidemiological unknowns, as well as by long incubations periods that may vary
with host genotype, and by environmental persistence of the disease agent. A
national CWD management plan for wild and captive cervids was published in 2002,
and USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services published a Proposed Rule for a national CWD
Herd Certification Program and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer,
Elk, and Moose in 2003. The Interim Final Rule and accompanying CWD Program
Standards were implemented in 2012, and a revised version of the CWD Program
Standards is available for public comment through March 2014. Deer managers and
their agencies should scrutinize the revised standards and provide comments that
promote adequate disease control measures.
snip...
Monday, 11:30 AM
NEGATIVE HUNTER ATTITUDE TOWARDS CWD; IMPLICATIONS FOR HARVEST AND
MANAGEMENT
Jacob M. Haus – University of Delaware; Jacob L. Bowman – University of
Delaware; Brian Eyler – Maryland Department of Natural Resources
ABSTRACT Previous research has reported negative hunter attitudes towards
CWD and disease related regulations that may limit participation, reduce
harvest, and generally complicate management. We surveyed 1,519 Maryland deer
hunters from 3 counties of varying proximity to the disease management area
(CWDMA) regarding behavioral changes due to CWD. We linked responses to each
individual’s 5 year harvest history to examine hunter retention, estimate the
reductions in harvest attributable to CWD, and determine the degree to which
distance from the disease affected behavior. Overall, 1.1% of respondents
claimed to have stopped hunting because of CWD; however 47.1% of those
respondents continued to register deer after disease discovery, resulting in a
true decrease in retention of no > 0.6%. In the county containing the CWDMA,
we observed the greatest percentage of hunters with negative attitudes (22.6%)
and the largest reduction in harvest attributable to CWD (7.0%). In the county
adjacent to the CWDMA and another county 170 miles southeast of the CWDMA, we
observed a decrease in negative attitudes (14.1-16.8%) and no reduction in
harvest due to the disease. Negative hunter attitude did not directly correlate
with behavior. Behavioral shifts due to CWD were highly localized and had no
more impact on annual harvest than normal year to year stochastic variability.
Upon initial detection of CWD, we recommend managers implement necessary
protocols for disease reduction and containment with the understanding that
negative hunter attitude will have negligible impact on harvest.
* Student Presenter
snip...
Tuesday, 4:30 PM
RELEASING PEN-RAISED BUCKS TO INCREASE ANTLER SIZE OF WILD DEER
POPULATIONS: SIMULATED LONG-TERM GENETIC AND PHENOTYPIC IMPACT
Steve Demarais – Mississippi State University; B.K. Strickland – Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University; S. Webb –
Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation; C. McDonald – Mississippi Department of
Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks; T. Smith – Department of Animal and Dairy
Sciences, Mississippi State University
ABSTRACT: Development of large antlers in penned deer, combined with other
social influences, has increased interest in releasing pen-raised deer to
“improve genetic composition of wild deer populations.” We modeled impact of
such releases on average antler size using a livestock model with no
ingress/egress to represent a fenced property (Fenced Model) and a model
developed at the MSU Deer Lab that includes 10% dispersal/immigration to
represent a free-ranging population (Free Model). We modeled release of fawns
from pens with an antler distribution averaging 200 gross Boone and Crockett
score at five intensities relative to the total population (1%, 5%, 10%, 25% and
50% replacement of the existing native population). After recruitment, we
maintained a population of 2,000 animals by removing individuals using natural
and harvest mortality. We report the results ten years after release. The impact
of releasing pen-raised deer into native populations of white-tailed deer is
limited below the 25% release rate (replacing 25% of the native population).
Replacing 5% of a free-ranging population with 100 pen-raised deer in a
free-ranging population increased B&C score by only 0.8 inch. Replacing 25%
of free-ranging population with 500 pen-raised deer improved the score by 12
inches. Releasing pen-raised deer into a fenced property is twice as effective
as releasing them into a fenced property; a replacement of only 10% (200 deer)
accomplished a 12-inch impact. Assuming a cost of $2,792 per fawn, the cost to
produce a one-inch increase in B&C score was $115,000 in a free-ranging
population and $56,000 in a fenced property. The increases in B&C score
produced by releasing pen-raised deer will not be maintained without intensive
management and/or continued release of pen-raised deer.
snip...
Saturday, February 22, 2014
New chronic wasting disease rules enhance risks professor John Fischer of
the University of Georgia told the 37th meeting of the Southeast Deer Study
Group
thanks to the Southeast Deer Study Group !
some additional information on cwd, for those interested. ...tss
*** 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.
Monday, March 03, 2014
*** APHIS to Offer Indemnity for CWD Positive Herds as Part of Its Cervid
Health Activities ***
Monday, December 02, 2013
WISCONSIN CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD DISCOVERED MARATHON COUNTY HUNTING
PRESERVE
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Wisconsin tracks 81 deer from game farm with CWD buck to seven other states
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Test results provide current snapshot of CWD in south-central Wisconsin
Dane and Eastern Iowa counties Prevalence has increased in all categories
Thursday, October 03, 2013
*** TAHC ADOPTS CWD RULE THAT the amendments **REMOVE** the requirement for
a specific fence height for captives
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) ANNOUNCEMENT October 3, 2013
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
*** cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the
wild
Saturday, February 22, 2014
New chronic wasting disease rules enhance risks professor John Fischer of
the University of Georgia told the 37th meeting of the Southeast Deer Study
Group
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Iowa Brakke Family Wins DNR Legal Case
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
IOWA DNR EMERGENCY CONSENT ORDER IN THE MATTER OF TOM & LINDA BRAKKE
D/B/A PINE RIDGE HUNTING LODGE UPDATE AUGUST 21, 2013
snip...
5. On July 16, 2012, DNR received a notice from the Texas Veterinary
Medical Diagnostic Lab ("Texas Vet Lab”) that a sample from an adult male deer
killed at Pine Ridge tested presumptively positive for CWD. (DNR has an
agreement with the Texas Vet Lab to run these preliminary tests.) Because the
Texas Vet Lab found this presumptive positive result, protocols required the
sample to be sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory ("National
Lab”) in Ames, Iowa for final confirmation. On July 18, 2012, the National Lab
confirmed the positive CWD result in the deer.
6. On July 19, 2012, DNR notified the Brakkes of the positive test by
phone. Mr. Brakke was out of state.
snip...
12. The Brakkes depopulated the Hunting Preserve, as specified in the
Agreement, from September 10, 2012 to January 31, 2013. As part of this effort,
the Brakkes, the staff and their customers killed 199 captive deer and nine
captive elk. The DNR obtained 170 CWD samples. (Samples were not taken from
fawns and one adult female who was killed in a manner that made sampling
impossible.) Of these 199 deer, two additional adult male deer tested positive
for CWD. Information provided by the Brakkes confirmed that these two additional
deer originated from the Brakke Breeding Facility.
13. DNR installed, with the Brakke's permission, an interior electric fence
on October 1 and 2, 2012.
14. The Brakkes cleaned and disinfected, under DNR supervision, the feeders
and ground surrounding the feeders on April 5, 2013.
15. On April 26, 2013, the Brakkes hand-delivered a notice to the DNR’s
Chief of Law Enforcement Bureau, notifying the DNR that they would no longer
operate a hunting preserve on the Quarantined Premises. The Brakkes did not
reveal any plans to remove the fence around the Quarantined Premises or to
remove the gates to and from the Quarantined Premises in this April 26, 2013
letter.
16. On June 3, 2013, DNR became aware that sections of the exterior fence
surrounding the Quarantined Premises had been removed and that some, if not all,
of the exterior gates to and from the Quarantined Premises were open.
17. On June 4, 2013, DNR received reports from the public in the area that
four wild deer were observed inside the Quarantined Premises.
18. On June 5, 2013, DNR conducted a fence inspection, after gaining
approval from surrounding landowners, and confirmed that the fenced had been cut
or removed in at least four separate locations; that the fence had degraded and
was failing to maintain the enclosure around the Quarantined Premises in at
least one area; that at least three gates had been opened; and that deer tracks
were visible in and around one of the open areas in the sand on both sides of
the fence, evidencing movement of deer into the Quarantined Premises.
IV. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
snip...
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
IOWA DNR EMERGENCY CONSENT ORDER IN THE MATTER OF TOM & LINDA BRAKKE
D/B/A PINE RIDGE HUNTING LODGE UPDATE AUGUST 21, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Iowa Brakke Family Farmed CWD livestock update July 3, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
IOWA Second Deer Positive for CWD at Davis County Hunting Preserve Captive
Shooting Pen
Friday, September 21, 2012
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD raises concerns about deer farms in Iowa
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Agreement Reached with Owner to De-Populate CWD Deer at Davis County
Hunting Preserve Iowa
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Additional Facility in Pottawatamie County Iowa Under Quarantine for CWD
after 5 deer test positive
Friday, July 20, 2012
CWD found for first time in Iowa at hunting preserve
Update: The quarantine placed on the property in Davis County, which
resulted from the positive CWD tests described above, was recently violated.
Attached below are the Emergency Order DNR issued and the Emergency Consent
Order DNR entered into in response to that violation. The case is currently
pending a hearing, which is scheduled for November of 2013. DNR’s attorneys are
working with the Attorney General’s Office and our staff to defend the DNR in
this case and we look forward to a resolution on this matter that will support
our efforts in Iowa to have a CWD-free deer population.
DNR Emergency Order, issued June 6, 2013
DNR Emergency Consent Order, agreed upon July 3, 2013
Monday, March 03, 2014
$$$ APHIS to Offer Indemnity for CWD Positive Herds as Part of Its Cervid
Health Activities $$$
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
***Risk assessments should take into account the likely long survival rate
when infected material has been buried.
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from DEFRA.
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.
The BSE Inquiry / Statement No 19B (supplementary) Dr Alan Colchester
Issued 06/08/1999 (not scheduled to give oral evidence) SECOND STATEMENT TO THE
BSE INQUIRY Dr A Colchester BA BM BCh PhD FRCP Reader in Neurosciences &
Computing, University of Kent at Canterbury; Consultant Neurologist, Guy’s
Hospital London and William Harvey Hospital Ashford April 1999
snip...
88. Natural decay: Infectivity persists for a long time in the environment.
A study by Palsson in 1979 showed how scrapie was contracted by healthy sheep,
after they had grazed on land which had previously been grazed by
scrapie-infected sheep, even though the land had lain fallow for three years
before the healthy sheep were introduced. Brown also quoted an early experiment
of his own (1991), where he had buried scrapie-infected hamster brain and found
that he could still detect substantial infectivity three years later near where
the material had been placed. 89. Potential environmental routes of infection:
Brown discusses the various possible scenarios, including surface or subsurface
deposits of TSE-contaminated material, which would lead to a build-up of
long-lasting infectivity.
snip...
Infectivity surviving ashing to 600*C is (in my opinion) degradable but
infective. based on Bown & Gajdusek, (1991), landfill and burial may be
assumed to have a reduction factor of 98% (i.e. a factor of 50) over 3 years.
CJD-infected brain-tissue remained infectious after storing at room-temperature
for 22 months (Tateishi et al, 1988). Scrapie agent is known to remain viable
after at least 30 months of desiccation (Wilson et al, 1950). and pastures that
had been grazed by scrapie-infected sheep still appeared to be contaminated with
scrapie agent three years after they were last occupied by sheep (Palsson,
1979).
*** PAUL BROWN SCRAPIE SOIL TEST
More here:
[PDF] BSE INQUIRY Statement of behalf of the Environment Agency ... his
Statement of March 1998 to the BSE Inquiry ... systems subject to regular or
intermittent contamination by rapid movement of recharge water ...
BSE INQUIRY
Statement of behalf of the Environment Agency Concerning Thruxted Mill By
Mr C. P. Young Principal Hydrogeologist, Soil Waste and Groundwater Group WRc
plc; Medmenham, Bucks
Scrapie Agent (Strain 263K) Can Transmit Disease via the Oral Route after
Persistence in Soil over Years Published: May 9, 2007 Discussion
The results of this research project show for the first time that the
scrapie strain 263K remains persistent in soil over a period of at least 29
months and remains highly infectious after oral application to Syrian hamsters.
It has to be pointed out that the key results of our time-course study on the
fate of PrPSc in soil have been validated, in part by examining blinded samples,
at independent laboratories.
Some unofficial information from a source on the inside looking out -
Confidential!!!!
As early as 1992-3 there had been long studies conducted on small pastures
containing scrapie infected sheep at the sheep research station associated with
the Neuropathogenesis Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland. Whether these are
documented...I don't know. But personal recounts both heard and recorded in a
daily journal indicate that leaving the pastures free and replacing the topsoil
completely at least 2 feet of thickness each year for SEVEN years....and then
when very clean (proven scrapie free) sheep were placed on these small
pastures.... the new sheep also broke out with scrapie and passed it to
offspring. I am not sure that TSE contaminated ground could ever be free of the
agent!! A very frightening revelation!!!
---end personal email---
2012
PO-039: A comparison of scrapie and chronic wasting disease in white-tailed
deer
snip...
After a natural route of exposure, 100% of WTD were susceptible to scrapie.
...This work demonstrates that WTD are highly susceptible to sheep scrapie, but
on first passage, scrapie in WTD is differentiable from CWD.
2011
*** After a natural route of exposure, 100% of white-tailed deer were
susceptible to scrapie.
Research Project: Virus and Prion Research Unit 2011 Annual Report
In Objective 1, Assess cross-species transmissibility of transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in livestock and wildlife, numerous
experiments assessing the susceptibility of various TSEs in different host
species were conducted.
Most notable is deer inoculated with scrapie, which exhibits similarities
to chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer suggestive of sheep scrapie as an
origin of CWD.
This work conducted by ARS scientists at the National Animal Disease
Center, Ames, IA suggests that an interspecies transmission of sheep scrapie to
deer may have been the origin of CWD. This is important for husbandry practices
with both captive deer, elk and sheep for farmers and ranchers attempting to
keep their herds and flocks free of CWD and scrapie.
White-tailed Deer are Susceptible to Scrapie by Natural Route of Infection
snip...
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 ;
Prevalence of clinical or subclinical CWD infection as detected by
immunohistochemistry (IHC) of lymphoid tissue or brain in captive herds varies
considerably from ,1% in some farmed herds with recent introduction of the
disease to essentially 100% in CWD endemic research facilities.111,117,157
Likewise, prevalence varies widely in free-ranging populations from ,1% in deer
and elk to ;30% in some local populations of deer103 (W. Cook, personal
communication; Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Colorado Division of
Wildlife, unpublished data). Prevalence of CWD in elk is lower than in sympatric
deer.101
snip...
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Detection of Sub-Clinical CWD Infection in Conventional Test-Negative Deer
Long after Oral Exposure to Urine and Feces from CWD+ Deer
Detection of Sub-Clinical CWD Infection in Conventional Test-Negative Deer
Long after Oral Exposure to Urine and Feces from CWD+ Deer
Nicholas J. Haley1, Candace K. Mathiason1, Mark D. Zabel1, Glenn C.
Telling2, Edward A. Hoover1*
1 Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of
Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort
Collins, Colorado, United States of America, 2 Department of Molecular Biology
and Genetics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of
America
Abstract Top Background Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids is a prion
disease distinguished by high levels of transmissibility, wherein bodily fluids
and excretions are thought to play an important role. Using cervid bioassay and
established CWD detection methods, we have previously identified infectious
prions in saliva and blood but not urine or feces of CWD+ donors. More recently,
we identified very low concentrations of CWD prions in urine of deer by cervid
PrP transgenic (Tg[CerPrP]) mouse bioassay and serial protein misfolding cyclic
amplification (sPMCA). This finding led us to examine further our initial cervid
bioassay experiments using sPMCA.
Objectives We sought to investigate whether conventional test-negative
deer, previously exposed orally to urine and feces from CWD+ sources, may be
harboring low level CWD infection not evident in the 19 month observation
period. We further attempted to determine the peripheral PrPCWD distribution in
these animals.
Methods Various neural and lymphoid tissues from conventional test-negative
deer were reanalyzed for CWD prions by sPMCA and cervid transgenic mouse
bioassay in parallel with appropriate tissue-matched positive and negative
controls.
Results PrPCWD was detected in the tissues of orally exposed deer by both
sPMCA and Tg[CerPrP] mouse bioassay; each assay revealed very low levels of CWD
prions previously undetectable by western blot, ELISA, or IHC. Serial PMCA
analysis of individual tissues identified that obex alone was positive in 4 of 5
urine/feces exposed deer. PrPCWD was amplified from both lymphoid and neural
tissues of positive control deer but not from identical tissues of negative
control deer.
Discussion Detection of subclinical infection in deer orally exposed to
urine and feces (1) suggests that a prolonged subclinical state can exist,
necessitating observation periods in excess of two years to detect CWD
infection, and (2) illustrates the sensitive and specific application of sPMCA
in the diagnosis of low-level prion infection. Based on these results, it is
possible that low doses of prions, e.g. following oral exposure to urine and
saliva of CWD-infected deer, bypass significant amplification in the LRS,
perhaps utilizing a neural conduit between the alimentary tract and CNS, as has
been demonstrated in some other prion diseases.
Citation: Haley NJ, Mathiason CK, Zabel MD, Telling GC, Hoover EA (2009)
Detection of Sub-Clinical CWD Infection in Conventional Test-Negative Deer Long
after Oral Exposure to Urine and Feces from CWD+ Deer. PLoS ONE 4(11): e7990.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007990
Editor: Jiyan Ma, Ohio State University, United States of America
Received: September 29, 2009; Accepted: October 29, 2009; Published:
November 24, 2009
Copyright: © 2009 Haley et al. This is an open-access article distributed
under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original author and source are credited.
Funding: This work was supported by NIH/NCRR Ruth L. Kirschstein
Institutional T32 R07072-03 and NIH/NIAID NO1-AI-25491-02 (EAH, GCT). The
funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to
publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests
exist.
* E-mail: Edward.Hoover@colostate.edu
SNIP...
In summary, we provide evidence for the presence of infectious prions in
the brains of conventional prion-assay-negative deer orally exposed 19 months
earlier to urine and feces from CWD-infected donor deer. This apparent low level
of prion infection was amplified by sPMCA, confirmed by Tg[CerPrP] mouse
bioassay, and detected only in the obex region of the brain. These results
demonstrate the potential for CWD prion transmission via urine and/or feces, and
highlight the application of more sensitive assays such as sPMCA in
identification of CWD infection, pathogenesis, and prevalence.
I suppose one of the most disturbing studies I have ever read, was the one
of Gibbs et al, way back, with electrodes that caused CJD, again, and again.
I am not posting this to scare folks, so be it if it does, but I am posting
this for you to see what you are dealing with. ...this study still amazes me.
read it more than once.
please see ;
1: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1994 Jun;57(6):757-8
*** Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to a chimpanzee by electrodes
contaminated during neurosurgery.
Gibbs CJ Jr, Asher DM, Kobrine A, Amyx HL, Sulima MP, Gajdusek DC.
Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health,
Bethesda, MD 20892.
*** Stereotactic multicontact electrodes used to probe the cerebral cortex
of a middle aged woman with progressive dementia were previously implicated in
the accidental transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) to two younger
patients. The diagnoses of CJD have been confirmed for all three cases. More
than two years after their last use in humans, after three cleanings and
repeated sterilisation in ethanol and formaldehyde vapour, the electrodes were
implanted in the cortex of a chimpanzee. Eighteen months later the animal became
ill with CJD. This finding serves to re-emphasise the potential danger posed by
reuse of instruments contaminated with the agents of spongiform
encephalopathies, even after scrupulous attempts to clean them.
PMID: 8006664 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8006664&dopt=Abstract
New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent:
Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of
replication
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel
Production
Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a
CWD-endemic area
A Quantitative Assessment of the Amount of Prion Diverted to Category 1
Materials and Wastewater During Processing
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
PPo4-4:
Survival and Limited Spread of TSE Infectivity after Burial
I am not one that wants the feds in bed with everything I do, and yet, I am
not one that thinks the states have the better ideas all the time, over the
feds. it’s a fine line to cross either way. but I do know, sometimes, folks
can’t think for themselves when blinded by the almighty dollar. sometimes you
just can’t fix stupid. but in this case, we turn a blind eye to CWD, as has been
done here. we all loose, while the shooting pens laugh all the way to the bank.
for now. ...tss
*** 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. ...
also, see where even decades back, the USDA had the same thought as they do
today with CWD, not their problem...see page 27 below as well, where USDA stated
back then, the same thing they stated in the state of Pennsylvania, not their
damn business, once they escape, and they said the same thing about CWD in
general back then ;
”The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations
in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the
respective wildlife research programmes. Despite it’s subsequent recognition as
a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific
research funding was forthcoming. The USDA veiwed it as a wildlife problem and
consequently not their province!” ...page 26.
”The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations
in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the
respective wildlife research programmes. Despite it’s subsequent recognition as
a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific
research funding was forthcoming. The USDA veiwed it as a wildlife problem and
consequently not their province!” ...page 26.
sound familiar $$$
Sunday, January 06, 2013
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE
*** "it‘s no longer its business.”
According to Wisconsin’s White-Tailed Deer Trustee Dr. James Kroll, people
who call for more public hunting opportunities are “pining for socialism.”
He further states, “(Public) Game management is the last bastion of
communism.”
“Game Management,” says James Kroll, driving to his high-fenced,
two-hundred-acre spread near Nacogdoches, “is the last bastion of communism.”
Kroll, also known as Dr. Deer, is the director of the Forestry Resources
Institute of Texas at Stephen F. Austin State University, and the “management”
he is referring to is the sort practiced by the State of Texas.
The 55-year-old Kroll is the leading light in the field of private deer
management as a means to add value to the land. His belief is so absolute that
some detractors refer to him as Dr. Dough, implying that his eye is on the
bottom line more than on the natural world.
Kroll, who has been the foremost proponent of deer ranching in Texas for
more than thirty years, doesn’t mind the controversy and certainly doesn’t fade
in the heat. People who call for more public lands are “cocktail
conservationists,” he says, who are really pining for socialism. He calls
national parks “wildlife ghettos” and flatly accuses the government of gross
mismanagement. He argues that his relatively tiny acreage, marked by eight-foot
fences and posted signs warning off would-be poachers, is a better model for
keeping what’s natural natural while making money off the land.
snip...
What does this all mean?
My initial reaction, which is one that I predicted when Kroll was named to
the state’s deer trustee position, is that his team’s final recommendations — if
implemented — will be heavily skewed toward the state’s larger landowners (500+
acres) and folks who own small parcels in areas comprised mostly of private
land. It is also my prediction that the final recommendations (again, if
implemented) will do little, if anything, to improve deer herds and deer hunting
on Wisconsin’s 5.7 million acres of public land. Where does this leave the
public-land hunter? “It will suck to be you,” said one deer manager who asked to
remain anonymous out of fear for his job. “The resources and efforts will go
toward improving the private land sector. This is all about turning deer hunting
away from the Public Land Doctrine and more toward a European-style of
management — like they have in Texas.”
Friday, June 01, 2012
*** TEXAS DEER CZAR TO WISCONSIN ASK TO EXPLAIN COMMENTS
Monday, February 11, 2013
TEXAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD Four New Positives Found in Trans Pecos
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
*** cwd - cervid captive livestock escapes, loose and on the run in the
wild
Thursday, August 08, 2013
Characterization of the first case of naturally occurring chronic wasting
disease in a captive red deer (Cervus elaphus) in North America
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Louisiana business, 3 men accused of smuggling deer into Mississippi
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD quarantine Louisiana via CWD index herd
Pennsylvania Update May 28, 2013
6 doe from Pennsylvania CWD index herd still on the loose in Louisiana,
quarantine began on October 18, 2012, still ongoing, Lake Charles premises.
Monday, June 24, 2013
The Effects of Chronic Wasting Disease on the Pennsylvania Cervid Industry
Following its Discovery
Monday, June 11, 2012
OHIO Captive deer escapees and non-reporting
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Indiana 6 deer missing from farm pose health risk to state herds INDIANA
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 ???
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.
SUMMARY:
shooting pens and their cwd testing program is a sham, when they do NOT
test all deer. all cervids, of all ages, must be tested for CWD, at least once a
year. the excuse of not having a validated cwd test, is just that, an excuse,
one that does not hold water with me anymore. same with scrapie and bse. ...tss
Saturday, February 04, 2012
*** Wisconsin 16 age limit on testing dead deer Game Farm CWD Testing
Protocol Needs To Be Revised ***
Friday, November 22, 2013
*** Wasting disease is threat to the entire UK deer population CWD TSE
PRION disease in cervids SINGELTARY SUBMISSION
The Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment
Committee has been looking into deer management, as you can see from the
following press release, ***and your email has been forwarded to the committee
for information:
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Welsh Government and Food Standards Agency Wales Joint Public Consultation
on the Proposed Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (Wales) Regulations
2013 Singeltary Submission WG18417
Friday, December 14, 2012
DEFRA U.K. What is the risk of Chronic Wasting Disease CWD being introduced
into Great Britain? A Qualitative Risk Assessment October 2012
Saturday, June 09, 2012
USDA Establishes a Herd Certification Program for Chronic Wasting Disease
in the United States
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
USDA Officials: CWD Standards Going to Public Comment Soon
Friday, March 07, 2014
37th Annual Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting in Athens, Georgia (CWD TSE
Prion abstracts)
Monday, March 03, 2014
APHIS to Offer Indemnity for CWD Positive Herds as Part of Its Cervid
Health Activities
Sunday, March 09, 2014
*** Lesion Profiling and Subcellular Prion Localization of Cervid Chronic
Wasting Disease in Domestic Cats
Sunday, November 3, 2013
*** Environmental Impact Statements; Availability, etc.: Animal Carcass
Management [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0044]
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
*** 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 ??? ***
***However, they also show that there is no absolute barrier ro conversion
of human prion protein in the case of chronic wasting disease.
PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS CWD
Sunday, August 25, 2013
***Chronic Wasting Disease CWD risk factors, humans, domestic cats, blood,
and mother to offspring transmission
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 15, 2014
INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF CJD, VCJD AND OTHER HUMAN PRION
DISEASES IN HEALTHCARE AND COMMUNITY SETTINGS Variably Protease-Sensitive
Prionopathy (VPSPr) January 15, 2014
OLD HISTORY ON CWD AND GAME FARMS IN USA
TSS
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
10:12 PM
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