Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Cases Confirmed In New Mexico 2013 and 2014 UPDATE 2015

Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 9:43 PM
Subject: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Chronic Wasting Disease CWD update 2002-2014
 

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Chronic Wasting Disease CWD update 2002-2014
 
 
Greetings,
 
I finally got the latest figures for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE prion disease in the great state of New Mexico.
 
year 2013 there were 3 elk confirmed positive for CWD in New Mexico.
 
year 2013-2014 to date (some sample tissue still not tested for CWD...’’I still have a number of tissues collected during the 2014 hunting season to test.’’), there have been two positive cases to date in deer in the state of New Mexico early 2014. more information later, as sample tissue comes in.
 
seems there is no links to any data on CWD statistics in New Mexico, and this has been going on for years (since complaints waged against them in 2004 by others, see below ProMed), but seems they _might_ be working on an updated website for CWD, maps, containment zones, and such, maybe later. that sure would help out for the hunters trying to be vigilant about CWD. but how could a hunter be vigilant about CWD, if one does not know about it? I can’t emphasize enough, the importance of this, and I hope the state of New Mexico changes this soon.
 
I want to thank Dr. Mower kindly for the following updated information on Chronic Wasting Disease CWD in New Mexico. seems he has his hands full, and is the only one working on CWD issues. ...terry
 
 
 
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 12:57 PM
Subject: New Mexico Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Statistics To Date
 
Sample_Number GMU Sampling_Date DOK Zone Easting Northing Kill_Location CWD_Test SignsORComments Kill_Info Tissue Species_Type
NM02-09 19 6/1/2002 6/1/2002 13 359899 3583583 WSMR main post (first CWD Positive in NM) Positive First CWD positive deer in New Mexico CWD Area Obex Deer
NM03-50-12 19 11/4/2002 11/4/2002 13 361000 3582000 WSMR Post Positive       Deer
NM03-50-16 19 11/12/2002 11/12/2002 13 361000 3582000 WSMR Post Positive       Deer
NM03-232-42 19 12/17/2002 12/17/2002 13 361000 3581000 WSMR Positive took tonsil sample, eartag 476 purple Tonsil Biopsy Tonsil & Lymph node Deer
NM03-232-41 19 1/1/2003 1/1/2003 13 351000 3581000 Organ Mtns. Positive no signs Hunter Harvest Lymph node & Obex Deer
NM03-227-17 19 1/4/2003 1/4/2003 13 348000 3577900 Dripping Springs Positive looked healthy Hunter Harvest Lymph node Deer
NM04-BURKETT-1114-004 19 11/14/2003 11/14/2003 13 359919 3583574 WSMR MAIN POST, BLDG. 100 Positive DOE SEVERELY EMACIATED, CAUSE OF DEATH UNKN. CWD Area Lymph node Deer
NM05-232-07 34 1/13/2004 1/13/2005 13 463977 3608839 15 miles NE of Pinon Positive Hunter reported convulsions, vomit, death CWD Suspect Obex Deer
NM05-50-38 19 12/14/2004 12/14/2004 13 346464 3566415 West Organs, W of Massey Tank Positive Tonsil Biopsy, eartag 478 Orange Tonsil Biopsy Tonsil Deer
NM05-50-36 19 12/14/2004 12/14/2004 13 349493 3578747 West Organs, W of Dripping Spring Visitor Center Positive Tonsil Biopsy, eartag # 249 Orange, 1st recapture (doe found & put down on 5/5/2005) Tonsil Biopsy Tonsil Deer
NM06-48-16 19 4/5/2005 4/5/2005 13 347623 3579382 WSMR - Tag # 482 Positive   Tonsil Biopsy Tonsil Deer
NM05-50-85 19 4/11/2005   13 358175 3588385 WSMR, SW of Antelope Hill Positive eartag: 484 Purple CWD Area Tonsil Deer
NM05-50-59 19 4/15/2005 4/15/2005 13 346855 3577310 SW of Dripping springs Positive eartag: 490 Purple CWD Area Tonsil Deer
NM05-12-02 34 6/6/2005 6/5/2005 13 435000 3611500 Timberon Positive Very Poor BC, old doe CWD Suspect Lymph node Deer
NM06-10-01 34 10/1/2005 10/1/2005 13 445449 3623454 Hughes Canyon Positive Poor condition, could not stand CWD Suspect Obex Elk
NM06-206-03 34 10/3/2005 10/3/2005 13 440452 3625273 Wayland Canyon Positive Healthy, herding cows Hunter Harvest Obex Elk
NM06-48-05 19 12/10/2005   13 360273 3587275 Antelope Hill Positive 708 Tonsil Biopsy Tonsil Deer
NM06-127-15 34 3/24/2006 3/24/2006 13 433877 3612203 123 Waialae Dr. Timberon Positive Drooling, wobbly, and losing weight CWD Suspect Lymph node Deer
NM06-50-09 19 4/21/2006 4/21/2006 13 346665 3563768 N of sewage plant (Bishops Cap) Positive Capture #224, Game and fish tag 575 purple, 207 orange CWD Area Tonsil Deer
NM06-WSMR-08 19 6/2/2006 6/2/2006 13 343263 3743696 WSMR SW of Red Butte-Stallion range Positive Lion depredation study animal #19, Game and fish tag #246, orange lymph nodes collected Found Dead Lymph node Deer
NM06-147-02 34 8/12/2006 8/12/2006 13 432633 3612182 Abbyville St. Timberon, NM Positive Stumbling, foaming at mouth, disoriented CWD Area   Deer
NM07-WMD-70 34 10/27/2006 10/27/2006 13 445000 3608000 West of Pinon Positive NA Hunter Harvest Lymph node Deer
07-16149 19 7/13/2007 7/13/2007 13 349000 3564000 South of Bishop's Cap Positive Sick, emaciated, salivating, urinating. Collectey by Richard McDonald. CWD Suspect   Deer
NM08-0145 28 10/14/2007 10/14/2007 13 427000 3598000 Mc Gregor Positive none Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM08-0528 34 10/30/2007 10/28/2007 13 451000 3578000 Southern Cross Ranch Positive   Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM07-WSMR-81 19 12/13/2007 12/13/2007 13 361084 3588638 MAIN POST Positive RECAPTURE DOE SEQ #80 CWD Area   Deer
NM08-0630 28 10/12/2008 10/12/2008 13 441500 3599300 McGregor Range Positive   Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM08-0635 28 10/13/2008 10/12/2008 13 442600 3600300 McGregor Positive   Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM09-321 34 10/29/2008 10/25/2008 13 443000 3603000 Chuck Brown's Ranch Positive Small, emaciated, tick infested Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM09-241 34 3/2/2009 3/1/2009 13 439367 3634869 Rio Penasco Positive Sick, reported by landowner, collected by Ben Byrd CWD Suspect   Elk
NM10-302 34 12/6/2009 12/6/2009 13 439522 3632464 Wills Canyon Positive Sunken hips, Drewling, Not moving well (possible wounded) CWD Suspect   Elk
NM09-339 28 5/9/2010   13 435976 3598058   Positive R 44 Ylw  Lft 149.244 CWD Area   Deer
NM09-182 28 10/10/2010 10/10/2010 13 434000 3602000 TA 13, GU4 Positive   Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM11-201 28 11/17/2010 11/17/2010 13 432402 3595093 McGregor Positive R ear 12 purple
l ear 149.484		 CWD Area   Deer
NM08-0253 34 11/27/2010 11/27/2010 13 431000 3621000 Sac. Lookout Positive   Hunter Harvest   Elk
NM11-364 28 3/12/2011 3/12/2011 13 435747 3599058 McGregor Positive Rt ear: 10 pur
Lft ear: 149.323		 CWD Area   Deer
NM11-367 28 3/13/2011 3/13/2011 13 430236 3596459 McGregor Positive Rt ear: 9 pur
Lft ear: 149.426		 CWD Area   Deer
NM11-368 28 3/13/2011 3/13/2011 13 436668 3594474 McGregor Positive Rt ear: 25 Blue
Lft ear: 149.184		 CWD Area   Deer
NM08-062 28 10/9/2011 10/9/2011 13 406700 3544700 McGregor Range South End Positive   Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM08-061 28 10/9/2011 10/9/2011 13 463900 3598800 McGregor Range Positive   Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM08-066 28 10/10/2011 10/9/2011 13 405238 3542644 McGregor Range Positive   Hunter Harvest   Deer
NM11-388 28 2/17/2012 2/17/2012 13 403607 3546117 Ft Bliss- McGregor Positive Left ear 60 yellow, Pregnant   Collar 150.662 Rectal Biopsy   Deer
NM11-391 28 2/18/2012 2/18/2012 13 416507 3576920 McGregor Positive Rt ear 56 yellow
Collar 151.761
4 dars 1 stick 1 break 1 miss		 Rectal Biopsy   Deer
NM14-4 28 12/11/2013 12/9/2013 13 432000 3606000 McGregor Positive   Hunter Harvest   Elk
NM14-6 28 12/11/2013 12/11/2013 13 431000 3604000 McGregor Positive   Hunter Harvest   Elk
NM14-5 28 12/11/2013 12/11/2013 13 431000 3604000 McGregor Positive   Hunter Harvest   Elk
NM14-62 19 2/12/2014 2/12/2014 13 348333 3598384 NASA Positive   CWD Suspect   Deer
NM14-343 19 4/6/2014 4/5/2014 13 343000 3575000 Mathis home Positive Suspect- near water, sick. Study deer. Collected by Pat Mathis. CWD Suspect   Deer
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
 
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Confirmed Texas Trans Pecos March 18, 2015
 
 
Friday, April 04, 2014
 
No New Positives Found in 2013-14 Trans Pecos CWD Surveillance
 
 
Monday, February 11, 2013
 
TEXAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD Four New Positives Found in Trans Pecos
 
 
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
 
Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Far West Texas
 
 
Monday, March 26, 2012
 
Texas Prepares for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Possibility in Far West Texas
 
 
 ***for anyone interested, here is some history of CWD along the Texas, New Mexico border, and my attempt to keep up with it...terry
 
 snip...see history CWD Texas, New Mexico Border ;
 
Monday, March 26, 2012
 
3 CASES OF CWD FOUND NEW MEXICO MULE DEER SEVERAL MILES FROM TEXAS BORDER
 
 
Sunday, October 04, 2009
 
CWD NEW MEXICO SPREADING SOUTH TO TEXAS 2009
 
2009 Summary of Chronic Wasting Disease in New Mexico New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
 
 
 
New Mexico:
 
Press Release from New Mexico Game and Fish (August 28, 2007):
 
LAS CRUCES: New Mexico recorded its 19th case of chronic wasting disease in deer in a sick animal found in the Bishop's Cap area of the Organ Mountains.
 
Officer Richard McDonald investigated a report of an emaciated deer July 12. The animal was unaware of human presence, chronically thirsty, urinating often, and staying in and near a water source. Officer McDonald followed the state's protocol for disease surveillance by killing the animal and sending it to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Albuquerque for testing. Based on the symptoms and the area from which the deer came, the laboratory was instructed that chronic wasting disease (CWD) was highly probable. Laboratory diagnostic testing confirmed presence of CWD in this deer. This is the 19th deer with confirmed CWD found since it was first detected in New Mexico in 2002. Two elk have also been found with CWD. This deer was in Game Management Unit 19, where special CWD restrictions already exist for hunters.
 
Anyone who finds a deer or elk that appears unaware of human presence and displays symptoms including droopy ears, emaciation, chronic thirst, frequent urination, and reluctance to leave water, should report their observations to the Department of Game and Fish, Wildlife Management Division, (505) 476-8127.
 
New Mexico Game & Fish CWD information is at:
 
 
Press Release is at:
 
 
Subject: CWD NEW MEXICO RECORDS IT'S 19 CASE (near Texas border again)
 
Date: August 29, 2007 at 6:39 pm PST
 
ANOTHER DEER TESTS POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
LAS CRUCES ? New Mexico recorded its 19th case of chronic wasting disease in deer in a sick animal found in the Bishop's Cap area of the Organ Mountains .
 
Officer Richard McDonald investigated a report of an emaciated deer July 12. The animal was unaware of human presence, chronically thirsty, urinating often, and staying in and near a water source. Officer McDonald followed the state's protocol for disease surveillance by killing the animal and sending it to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Albuquerque for testing.
 
Based on the symptoms and the area from which the deer came, the laboratory was instructed that chronic wasting disease (CWD) was highly probable. Laboratory diagnostic testing confirmed presence of CWD in this deer. This is the 19th deer with confirmed CWD found since it was first detected in New Mexico in 2002. Two elk have also been found with CWD.
 
This deer was in Game Management Unit 19, where special CWD restrictions already exist for hunters.
 
Anyone who finds a deer or elk that appears unaware of human presence and displays symptoms including droopy ears, emaciation, chronic thirst, frequent urination, and reluctance to leave water, should report their observations to the Department of Game and Fish, Wildlife Management Division, (505) 476-8127.
 
 
 
 
----- Original Message -----
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
 
Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2006 1:47 PM
 
Subject: CWD in New Mexico 35 MILES FROM TEXAS BORDER and low testing sampling figures -- what gives TAHC ???
 
 
THREE NEW CASES OF CWD were announced in this same location this month ;. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JULY 7, 2006:. 3 SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO DEER TEST POSITIVE FOR ...
 
 
IF we could only put up the imaginary fence that seems to work so well per TAHC keeping these deer and elk from coming into TEXAS from New Mexico with CWD, if we could just use the same one for the illegal aliens, we would same a bunch of money, and it probably would works just as bad as the one that's there now, or NOT. ...TSS
 
 
Subject: CWD 3 NEW CASES SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
 
Date: July 10, 2006 at 8:51 am PST
 
 
----- Original Message -----
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
 
To:
 
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 6:51 PM
 
Subject: CWD TWO NEW CASES NEAR WHITE SANDS MISSLE RANGE NEW MEXICO
 
##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #####################
 
From: TSS
 
Subject: CWD TWO NEW CASES NEAR WHITE SANDS MISSLE RANGE NEW MEXICO
 
Date: June 27, 2005 at 4:43 pm PST
 
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
 
Contact: Dan Williams, (505) 476-8004
 
dan.williams@state.nm.us
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JUNE 24, 2005:
 
TWO MULE DEER TEST POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
ANGLER LANDS STATE RECORD BLUE CATFISH AT ELEPHANT BUTTE LAKE
 
TWO MULE DEER TEST POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
SANTA FE – Two mule deer captured in the Organ Mountains as part of an ongoing research project near White Sands Missile Range have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that attacks the brains of infected deer and elk, the Department of Game and Fish announced.
 
The number of confirmed CWD cases in New Mexico now stands at 11 since 2002, when the disease was first confirmed in a deer found near the eastern foothills of the Organ Mountains. All 11 CWD-infected deer were found in the same general area of southern New Mexico. The origin of the disease in New Mexico remains unknown.
 
The carcasses of the infected deer will be incinerated, said Kerry Mower, the Department’s lead wildlife disease biologist.
 
Chronic wasting disease causes animals to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose bodily functions and die. The disease has been found in wild deer and elk, and in captive deer and elk, in eight states and two Canadian provinces. There currently is no evidence of CWD being transmitted to humans or livestock.
 
Mower said the most recent CWD-positive deer showed no obvious physical signs of having the disease. They were captured in April 2005 and tested as part of a 3-year-old research project studying deer population dynamics in southern New Mexico. More than 140 deer have been captured alive and tested for the study, in which researchers hope to find the cause of a 10-year decline in the area deer population. Study participants include the Department of Game and Fish, the U.S. Army at White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey at New Mexico State University, and San Andres National Wildlife Refuge.
 
Hunters can assist the Department in its CWD research and prevention efforts by bringing their fresh, legally harvested deer or elk head to an area office, where officers will remove the brain stem for testing. Participants will be eligible for drawings for an oryx hunt on White Sands Missile Range and a trophy elk hunt on the Valle Vidal.
 
For more information about the drawing and chronic wasting disease, visit the Department web site at
 
 
 
SEE MAP ;
 
 
Greetings list members,
 
I am deeply concerned with these CWD mad deer so close to the Texas border. WHAT keeps them from crossing the border to Texas ??? IF these illegal aliens can so easily cross our borders, why not these infected deer? maybe we should get these minute men to start watching for mad deer coming in to Texas from New Mexico.
 
I mentioned my concerns several other times before;
 
-------- Original Message --------
 
Subject: Current status of CWD testing in Texas
 
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 09:09:47 –0500
 
From: "kschwaus"
 
To:
 
Mr. Singeltary,
 
I was asked to provide you with the following information. If you have any other questions regarding CWD sampling in Texas, please do not hesitate to give me a call. My office number is below.
 
Below I have included a chart showing CWD samples that have been tested since the fall of 2002 through the present at the eco-region level. The second chart shows the totals on a given year. The unknown location samples come from private individuals sending in samples directly to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab (TVMDL). Due to the confidentiality laws that the TVMDL operates under, they are unable to provide TPWD with the location of those samples.
 
Region Population Estimate
 
Sampling from Fall 2002 to Present
 
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Dan Williams, (505) 476-8004 Public contact: (505) 476-8000 dan.williams@state.nm.us
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DEC. 9, 2005:
 
TWO NEW MEXICO ELK TEST POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
SANTA FE – Two elk killed in the southern Sacramento Mountains of southeast New Mexico have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), the Department of Game and Fish announced. The animals were the first elk in New Mexico to test positive for CWD since the disease was first discovered in mule deer in 2002.
 
Both CWD-afflicted elk were killed in an area 10 to 15 miles southeast of Cloudcroft in Game Management Unit 34, the same general area where the state's most recent case of CWD was detected in a mule deer. One of the elk – a mature male -- was taken Oct. 3 by a hunter and showed no symptoms of the disease. The other elk – a yearling female -- was in very poor condition and unable to stand when a Department of Game and Fish conservation officer found it Oct. 1. Testing and verification of the samples required about two months. Future testing is expected to occur more quickly as the Department of Game and Fish and the Veterinary Diagnostic Services in the New Mexico Department of Agriculture further implement recently achieved in-state CWD testing capabilities.
 
“The range in which the disease is found appears to be expanding, so finding it in more animals in that area is not surprising,” said Kerry Mower, the Department's lead wildlife disease biologist. “But it is disappointing to find our first cases of CWD in free-ranging elk.”
 
Brain stem samples from the two elk were among more than 100 taken from deer and elk in Unit 34 this year and sent to the Veterinary Diagnostic Services Laboratory in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque laboratory's “presumptive positive” samples from the two elk were confirmed as CWD-positive by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
 
“We will continue our efforts to monitor the disease by actively testing animals in Units 34 and 19,” Mower said. “We also encourage all hunters statewide to submit their animals for testing.” The Department personally informs hunters if the tests are positive. Hunters will be able to see the complete list of test results as they become available on the Department Web site, www.wildlife.state.nm.us .
 
This season, hunters who kill animals in a “Control Area” of Unit 34 are required to submit their animals for testing and observe special regulations affecting which body parts of a deer or elk can be removed from the unit. Hunting seasons continue in that area into January.
 
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological illness that afflicts deer, elk and moose. There is no evidence of CWD being transmitted to humans or livestock. The disease causes animals to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior and lose control of bodily functions. To date, it has been found in captive and wild deer, elk and moose in eight states and two Canadian provinces.
 
The origin of CWD in New Mexico is unknown. It has been found in 12 wild deer and two wild elk since 2002, when the disease was first discovered east of Las Cruces. All of the CWD-positive deer and elk in New Mexico were from the southern Sacramento Mountains southeast of Cloudcroft and areas surrounding the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces.
 
For more information about CWD in New Mexico, including special regulations and how hunters can assist in research and prevention, visit the Department Web site at www.wildlife.state.nm.us . More information about CWD also can be found on the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance site at www.cwd-info.org/ or on the Colorado Division of Wildlife site at http://wildlife.state.co.us/.
 
###
 
 
CWD CONTROL MAP NM
 
 
----- Original Message -----
 
From: "ProMED-mail"
 
To:
 
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2005 11:32 AM Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (NM)
 
> CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE, CERVIDS - USA (NEW MEXICO)
 
> ***************************************************
 
> A ProMED-mail post
 
> > ProMED-mail is a program of the
 
> International Society for Infectious Diseases
 
> > > Date: 24 Jun 2005 > From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
 
> Source: New Mexico Wildlife News, Mon, 27 Jun 2005 [edited]
 
> > > > 2 Mule Deer Test Positive For Chronic Wasting Disease
 
> ---------------------------------------------------
 
2 mule deer captured in the Organ Mountains as part of an ongoing research project near White Sands Missile Range have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that attacks the brains of infected deer and elk, the Department of Game and Fish announced.
 
The number of confirmed CWD cases in New Mexico now stands at 11 since 2002, when the disease was first confirmed in a deer found near the eastern foothills of the Organ Mountains. All 11 CWD-infected deer were found in the same general area of southern New Mexico. The origin of the disease in New Mexico remains unknown. The carcasses of the infected deer will be incinerated, said Kerry Mower, the Department's lead wildlife disease biologist.
 
Mower said the most recent CWD-positive deer showed no obvious physical signs of having the disease. They were captured in April 2005 and tested as part of a 3-year-old research project studying deer population dynamics in southern New Mexico. More than 140 deer have been captured alive and tested for the study, in which researchers hope to find the cause of a 10-year decline in the area deer population. Study participants include the Department of Game and Fish, the U.S. Army at White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey at New Mexico State University, and San Andres National Wildlife Refuge. Hunters can assist the Department in its CWD research and prevention efforts by bringing their fresh, legally harvested deer or elk head to an area office, where officers will remove the brain stem for testing. Participants will be eligible for drawings for an oryx hunt on White Sands Missile Range and a trophy elk hunt on the Valle Vidal. For more information about the drawing and chronic wasting disease, visit the Department web site at
 
> > > See map:
 
> > > --
 
> ProMED-mail
 
[Members are strongly encouraged to view the NM CWD map at the URL below. In 2004 they tested 997 deer, each shown. These recent deer are clustered with the others just to the east of Las Cruces in southern New Mexico. The absence of cases elsewhere in the state at this level of surveillance increases one's confidence in the reality of this specific high-risk area. The origin of their infection is still obscure.
 
The New Mexico CWD website is: Unfortunately, other than their admirable map, they have not been updated since 14 Jun 2004.
 
The site being close to Texas and to Mexico has spawned speculation, but as yet without foundation. In the past 3 years Texas has tested  some 9103 deer out of a target population estimate of 3 917 926, all negative. For details of the Texas Chronic Wasting Management Plan, go to: or the Texas Animal Health Commission CWD website:  - Mod.MHJ]
 
> > [see also:
 
> 2003 > ---- > Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (NM) (02) 20030217.0414 > Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (NM) 20030207.0328 > 2002 > ---- > Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (New Mexico) (02) 20020620.4548 > Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (New Mexico) 20020619.4535] > ...............................................lm/mhj/pg/lm
 
> ************************************************************
 
> ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that > are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the > information, and of any statements or opinions based > thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in > using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID > and its associated service providers shall not be held > responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any > damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted > or archived material.
 
> ************************************************************
 
> Visit ProMED-mail's web site at . > Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org > (NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your > full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send > commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help, > etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a > human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
 
> ############################################################
 
From: TSS
 
Subject: CWD TWO NEW CASES NEAR WHITE SANDS MISSLE RANGE NEW MEXICO
 
Date: June 27, 2005 at 4:43 pm PST
 
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
 
Contact: Dan Williams, (505) 476-8004
 
dan.williams@state.nm.us
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JUNE 24, 2005:
 
TWO MULE DEER TEST POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
ANGLER LANDS STATE RECORD BLUE CATFISH AT ELEPHANT BUTTE LAKE
 
TWO MULE DEER TEST POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
SANTA FE – Two mule deer captured in the Organ Mountains as part of an ongoing research project near White
 
Sands Missile Range have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that
 
attacks the brains of infected deer and elk, the Department of Game and Fish announced.
 
The number of confirmed CWD cases in New Mexico now stands at 11 since 2002, when the disease was first
 
confirmed in a deer found near the eastern foothills of the Organ Mountains. All 11 CWD-infected deer were found
 
in the same general area of southern New Mexico. The origin of the disease in New Mexico remains unknown.
 
The carcasses of the infected deer will be incinerated, said Kerry Mower, the Department’s lead wildlife disease
 
biologist.
 
Chronic wasting disease causes animals to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose bodily functions
 
and die. The disease has been found in wild deer and elk, and in captive deer and elk, in eight states and two
 
Canadian provinces. There currently is no evidence of CWD being transmitted to humans or livestock.
 
Mower said the most recent CWD-positive deer showed no obvious physical signs of having the disease. They
 
were captured in April 2005 and tested as part of a 3-year-old research project studying deer population dynamics
 
in southern New Mexico. More than 140 deer have been captured alive and tested for the study, in which
 
researchers hope to find the cause of a 10-year decline in the area deer population. Study participants include the
 
Department of Game and Fish, the U.S. Army at White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss, Bureau of Land
 
Management, U.S. Geological Survey at New Mexico State University, and San Andres National Wildlife Refuge.
 
Hunters can assist the Department in its CWD research and prevention efforts by bringing their fresh, legally
 
harvested deer or elk head to an area office, where officers will remove the brain stem for testing. Participants will
 
be eligible for drawings for an oryx hunt on White Sands Missile Range and a trophy elk hunt on the Valle Vidal.
 
For more information about the drawing and chronic wasting disease, visit the Department web site at
 
www.wildlife.state.nm.us.
 
 
SEE MAP ;
 
 
Greetings list members,
 
I am deeply concerned with these CWD mad deer so close to the Texas border. WHAT keeps them from crossing the border to Texas ??? IF these illegal aliens can so easily cross our borders, why not these infected deer? maybe we should get these minute men to start watching for mad deer coming in to Texas from New Mexico.
 
I mentioned my concerns several other times before;
 
-------- Original Message --------
 
Subject: Current status of CWD testing in Texas
 
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 09:09:47 –0500
 
From: "kschwaus" To:
 
Mr. Singeltary,
 
I was asked to provide you with the following information. If you have any other questions regarding CWD sampling in Texas, please do not hesitate to give me a call. My office number is below.
 
Below I have included a chart showing CWD samples that have been tested since the fall of 2002 through the present at the eco-region level. The second chart shows the totals on a given year. The unknown location samples come from private individuals sending in samples directly to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab (TVMDL). Due to the confidentiality laws that the TVMDL operates under, they are unable to provide TPWD with the location of those samples.
 
Region Population Estimate
 
Sampling from Fall 2002 to Present
 
Pineywoods
 
502,521
 
975
 
Gulf Prairie
 
90,664
 
441
 
Post Oak Savannah
 
291,119
 
1146
 
Black Land Prairies
 
54,505
 
153
 
Cross Timbers
 
441,031
 
1015
 
Edwards Plateau
 
1,608,390
 
1618
 
South Texas Plains
 
500,183
 
1253
 
Rolling Plains
 
231,358
 
352
 
High Plains
 
49,981
 
81
 
Trans Pecos
 
148,174
 
173
 
Unknown Location
 
1,896
 
Total
 
3,917,926
 
9,103
 
Samples Collected By
 
2002-03
 
2003-04
 
2004-Present
 
TPWD
 
1,722
 
2,955
 
2,540
 
Private (unknown location)
 
326
 
608
 
952
 
Total
 
2,048
 
3,563
 
3,492
 
Thank you,
 
Kevin Schwausch
 
Big Game Program Specialist
 
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
 
PO Box 1394
 
Burnet, TX 78611
 
512-756-4476
 
===============================
 
I would like to thank Kevin and TPWD for there prompt reply with updated data.
 
I am still concerned about the Texas, New Mexico border and New Mexico's apparent lack of CWD testing updates. Makes one wonder about there CWD testing program. NO report/reply back from New Mexico about there CWD testing update yet. ...
 
TSS
 
===================
 
-------- Original Message --------
 
Subject: CWD SURVEILLANCE TEXAS UPDATE (kinda)
 
Date: Mon, 9 May 2005 14:52:48 –0500
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
 
Reply-To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
 
To: BSE-L@aegee.org
 
##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #####################
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF A GEOGRAPHICALLY FOCUSED CWD SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM FOR FREE-RANGING CERVIDS
 
A geographically-focused free-ranging cervid Monitoring Program was implemented during the fall 2002 deer-hunting season. Brain stem samples from hunter-killed deer will be obtained from TPWD Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), State Parks, and where otherwise available with hunter and/or landowner permission, from deer taken on private land. Volume 1, Sixth Edition of United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, Regulatory Statistics (Appendix D1 ) indicates that 148 samples is sufficient to detect disease at two per-cent prevalence, regardless of the population size. Therefore the goal is to acquire 148 samples from each of the State's ten ecoregions provided adequate sampling distribution is achieved across each ecoregion. The five year 2002 -2006, goal is to cumulatively collect 459 samples from each of the ten ecoregions. The cumulative sample would be used statistically to detect CWD at one per-cent prevalence level with 99 per-cent confidence. However, funding from APHIS/USDA could provide the necessary funds for sampling at the one per-cent prevalence level each year. TAHC conducted a risk assessment of counties where deer and elk have been imported and where high densities of free-ranging deer occur. The assessment was conducted for USDA funding consideration. The risk assessment was based on limited number of criteria. Since CWD could potentially occur anywhere in Texas, monitoring efforts would be focused to achieve a stratified sampling scheme across each ecoregion of the State.
 
Confidentiality laws restrict the type of data TPWD personnel can collect as it relates to a specific parcel of land. Therefore, personnel will ensure that no property specific information is collected (i.e. ranch name or exact location) without the landowner's written permission. The following are guidelines for data and sample collection distributed to TPWD personnel prior to sample collection:
 
1. A Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) Accession Form must be submitted with brain stem samples. 2. The most important items to be filled out are the TPWD employee name, address and phone number, and "Patient/Deer ID". County of Kill can be recorded on the bottom of the form, but DO NOT report any information that identifies the specific parcel of land. 3. The "Patient/Deer ID" number MUST BE specific to the field data sheet the employee is using to record data. 4. Specific CWD field data sheets will not be provided, as current field data sheets (i.e. Age/Weight Antler Data Sheets, Hunter Check Station Data Sheets, etc.) will be appropriate in most cases. Field staff may produce their own CWD data sheet if necessary. 5. The field data sheet must contain: 1. Employee Name 2. Sample Number (same as Patient/Deer ID on TVMDL Accession Form 3. Sample Date 4. Deer Age 5. Deer Sex 6. County of Kill 7. Hunter Name 8. Hunting License Number 9. Ranch name or tract name/location ONLY with landowner permission. 6. Should a CWD positive be detected, TAHC will use hunter contact information to conduct CWD investigation under their regulatory authority. 7. Make sure the container containing the brain stem sample is legibly identified with the sample number, deer age and sex, county of kill and date. Although the sample number is all that is needed, additional information will help resolve any problems should batches of samples be combined. 8. Should a landowner retain deer heads for our sampling purposes, remind the landowner to issue the hunters a proof of sex document as provided for in TAHC 65.10 (c). In addition, a Wildlife resource document (PWD 905) must accompany the head until the carcass reaches a final destination and finally processed. 9. Samples MAY NOT be taken from legally harvested deer without the hunter's consent.
 
 
ACTIONS SHOULD A CWD POSITIVE BE DETECTED
 
Should sampling detect a CWD positive animal, TAHC and TPWD would activate the Media Response Plan (Appendix F ). TAHC and TPWD would immediately begin review of the information at hand and determine the action to be taken within the Response Plan (Appendix C .) The first action should be to inform landowners adjacent to the property containing the CWD positive and hold a meeting with advisory committees and affected landowner to discuss plans for secondary sampling. Planning for secondary sampling, investigating movements of deer into and away from property for further actions would then be the next step. The secondary sampling is critical for determining distribution and prevalence of the disease.
 
As distribution and prevalence is being determined, information review and discussions with TPWD advisory committees (e.g., Private Lands Advisory Board, Hunting Advisory Committee, White-tailed Deer Advisory Committee etc.) and landowners would take place in order to determine the appropriate management action to be taken.
 
 
APPENDIX A: Results of CWD Sampling
 
Sampling and testing results for CWD from June, 2002 to April 1, 2003 are presented below:
 
Sampling and testing results for CWD from June, 2002 to April 1, 2003 TPWD TAHC Private Sector 1349 CWD Negative Deer 335 CWD Negative Deer 336 CWD Negative Deer 23 CWD Negative Exotics No Exotics No Exotics 1372 Total 335 Total 336 Total
 
The Grand Total of all samples collected and known 4/1/03 is 2043 of which 2020 deer and 23 exotics were found CWD negative. Samples were collected from 143 of 254 counties in Texas, and seven counties had 50 or more samples collected. Five ecoregions had 160 or more samples collected (150 samples from each ecoregion was the goal). The geographic distribution of sampling is currently not considered adequate for determining whether or not CWD exists in Texas (see map pg. 15). The goal is to improve upon distribution of samples collected within ecoregions and within counties. The goal of 2003-2004 and the next three to five years, is to collect 5000 samples (500 from each ecoregion) each sample year. The increased sampling is to have a 99 per-cent confidence level in detecting CWD if only one per-cent of the population is infected. Long-term surveillance sampling for CWD is required, as little is known about the incubation and infectious periods of the disease.
 
fig1AppendixA (18K)
 
SEE MAP OF TEXAS CWD TESTING
 
 
 
APPENDIX B: Chronic Wasting Disease - Status of Current Knowledge
 
Occurrence and Distribution
 
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, which is a disease that alters the structure of the brain, in a way that resembles a sponge-like appearance and texture. Much is not known about CWD, including its origin, exact mode of transmission, and the causative or etiological agent. The source of CWD may be related in some way to scrapie in domestic sheep; it may "represent a spontaneous, naturally occurring" form of this disease in cervids thought to be caused by a "low virus infection." A more plausible theory is that CWD is caused by a point mutation of a membrane-bound protein resulting in accumulations of proteinase-resistant proteins called "prions" in the brain (medulla oblongata), tonsils (in deer only), and lymphoid tissue.
 
The only known long-term distribution of CWD in free-ranging susceptible cervids includes two contiguous local areas in northeastern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming. Up to 15% and less than 1% prevalence were reported for mule deer and elk, respectively, in certain management units. Two cases of CWD occurred in mule deer in the southwestern corner of the panhandle of Nebraska, which is close to the endemic area of Colorado and Wyoming. Both of these latter animals were close enough to have originated from the endemic area. More recently, CWD was diagnosed in deer in Nebraska within and outside a fenced pasture of a captive operation where elk were diagnosed with the disease. Infections in captive elk also have been documented in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Kansas. In early 2002, CWD was detected in free-ranging white-tailed deer in South Dakota and Wisconsin, later the disease was found in breeder pens in northern Wisconsin. Cases of CWD have been documented in captive elk and free ranging mule deer in Saskatchewan and Ontario as well. New Mexico discovered CWD in a free-ranging mule deer on the White Sands Missile Range, Minnesota found CWD in a captive elk herd, Illinois detected CWD in a free-ranging white-tailed deer and an infected white-tailed deer was found in a breeding facility in Alberta.
 
Incubation, Transmission, and Clinical Course of CWD
 
Incubation time, that time from infection to appearance of clinical signs, typically is less than 2 years (18-24 months). However, incubation time can be variable and ranges up to 36 months. The exact mode of transmission of CWD is unknown; however, circumstantial and experimental data indicate horizontal (or lateral) transmission in captive susceptible cervids, either by direct animal-to-animal contact or by environmental contamination. For susceptible cervids, the routes of transmission are presumed to be by exposure to saliva, urine, feces, or placental tissue, with infection occurring through the alimentary canal (mouth/nose - esophagus - stomach - intestines). If this transmission mode is confirmed for free-ranging deer or elk, it could potentially exacerbate the risk of infection. In contrast to outbreaks of mad cow disease, where exposure to animal protein-contaminated feed was documented, this has not been the case for captive or wild cervids infected with CWD. Presently, feed contamination is not considered a likely underlying transmission mechanism. Whereas, the importance of maternal transmission (mother to fetus or nursing young) as a mode of scrapie transmission in domestic sheep has at least been debated, its importance relative to CWD persistence in captive and wild cervid herds has been contraindicated thus far by current reports. Although the route of agent shedding from infected individuals is presently unknown, it is believed that the rate of agent shedding may very well increase as the disease progresses. Thus far, evidence also indicates that there is no difference between males and females or across age classes in susceptibility to CWD.
 
Importantly, natural transmission of TSEs (i.e., BSE, CWD) between domesticated bovines (i.e., cattle, bison), sheep and cervids has not been documented. Deer, domestic cattle and sheep have been experimentally inoculated with brain tissue containing (PrP(res)) from CWD - infected mule deer, and 2 years later, only the deer have become infected with CWD. However, healthy deer have been inoculated with brain tissue from scrapie-infected sheep, and the deer developed spongiform encephalopathy.
 
The clinical course of CWD is about 12 months. That is, once clinical signs are apparent, cervids rarely survive more than 12 months. Chronic wasting disease is a progressive, fatal disease, with no vaccine to prevent the disease or treatment for reversing the disease (recovery), and there is no evidence of immunity. There has been no effective, practical ante mortem (live-animal) test for diagnosis until recently; a live-test for deer (not elk) involving tonsil biopsy and immunohistochemical analysis for (PrR (res)) accumulation has demonstrated promise, and may be more sensitive than the post-mortem analysis of the obex of the medulla oblongata in the brain. The practicality of this test remains to be decided.
 
Clinical Signs of CWD
 
All signs or symptoms of CWD do not occur in all cases, and many of these signs are symptoms of other diseases and conditions as well. Further, the occurrence and severity of symptoms will depend in part on the stage (early versus advanced) of the disease. Below is a comprehensive list of the clinical signs of CWD: (1) loss of fear of humans; (2) nervousness or hyper-excitability; (3) teeth-grinding; (4) ataxia or loss of coordination; (5) notable weakness; (6) intractability; (7) inability to stand; (8) rough dull hair coat; (9) excessive salivation; (10) flaccid, hypotonia of the facial muscles; (11) drooping of the head and ears; (12) excessive thirst (polydipsia); (13) excessive urination (polyuria); (14) esophageal hypotonia and dilation, difficulty swallowing, and regurgitating ruminal fluid and ingesta; and (15) severe emaciation and dehydration.
 
It is important to note that while some primary symptoms may be directly related to CWD, others may be secondary, more of a consequence of the deteriorating body condition (emaciation) and related physiology (e.g., pneumonia, abscesses, enteritis, or internal parasitism that may often cause emaciation).
 
Pathological Signs of CWD
 
Pathological signs of the disease include: (1) emaciation associated with absence or serous atrophy of subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue or fat, and yellow gelatinous bone marrow; (2) sub acute to chronic bronchopneumonia; (3) digestive tract (abomasal or omasal) ulcers; (4) enlarged adrenal glands; (5) watery or frothy rumen contents; and (6) histological lesions. These lesions have primarily and most consistently been observed in the brain and spinal cord. (7) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is very sensitive and specific to CWD and is typically used to confirm diagnoses by measuring accumulations of proteinase-resistant prion protein (PrP(res)) in brain tissues (specifically in the obex of the medulla oblongata) of infected deer and elk. This prion protein is indistinguishable from the scrapie-associated prion protein (PrP(Sc)) found in brain tissues of domestic sheep infected with scrapie, but other differences have been noted. (PrP(res)) has not been detected in uninfected cervids. This test can detect CWD infection before lesions are observable; however, IHC (+) results are not detected until at least three months after infection. Lesions do not always accompany (PrP(res)) accumulation and IHC (+) results. (8) Scrapie associated fibrils (SAFs) have been observed by electron microscopy in the brain tissue of infected cervids, but not in uninfected cervids. (9) Generally, blood (whole blood and serum) and urine profiles have remained within the normal range, with the exception that certain characteristics have reflected the emaciated condition of the infected animals. Low specific gravity of the urine, is the one urine characteristic that may be directly related to CWD, specifically to degenerative encephalopathic changes in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is important in regulating anti diuretic hormone, which influences concentrations of urinary electrolytes (e.g., Na) and osmolality.
 
 
APPENDIX C: Importation of Susceptible Cervids
 
On March 20, 2002, the Texas Animal Health Commission, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission issued separate orders to prohibit the entry of all elk, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, and mule deer into Texas.
 
On August 25, 2002, Texas Animal Health Commission adopted entry requirements for black-tailed deer, elk, or other cervid species determined to be susceptible to CWD. All mule deer and white-tailed deer held under authority of Scientific Breeder Permits are also required to obtain a purchase permit and, in some cases, a transport permit from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in order to enter the state. All requests for entry must be made in writing and accompanied with the information necessary to support import qualification of the animal(s). Requests for entry and supporting documentation should be received by the TAHC at least 10 working days prior to the proposed entry date. The processing of the application can be expedited by assuring that all of the necessary documentation has been provided and that the necessary staff is available for review. The application must be accompanied by an owner's statement stating that to his/her knowledge the animals (or donor animals) to be imported have never come in contact with equipment or resided on a premise where CWD was ever diagnosed.
 
Entry Requirements: The applicant must identify the herd of origin and the herd of destination on both the permit application and the certificate of veterinary inspection. The susceptible cervid(s) to be imported into this state, shall be identified to their herd of origin by a minimum of two official/approved unique identifiers to include, but not limited to, legible tattoo, USDA approved ear tag, breed registration or other state approved permanent identification methods. If a microchip is used for identification, the owner shall provide the necessary reader. A certificate of veterinary inspection completed by an accredited veterinarian shall accompany the shipment. Additionally, the herd of origin must meet the following criteria:
 
1. In states where there is a state approved CWD monitoring program which meets the requirements provided in Section D of Appendix C (below) and where CWD has not been identified in a susceptible species, then all elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, and black-tailed deer to be imported must originate from a herd that has been in a state-approved complete herd certification program for a minimum of three years (or current federal standards). 2. From states which do not have a CWD monitoring program which meets the standards provided in Section D of Appendix C (below) and where CWD has not been identified in a susceptible species, then all elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, and black-tailed deer shall originate from herds that have complete herd records, including, but not limited to, complete and detailed herd inventories, records of deaths, laboratory results, and sales and purchase receipts, for a minimum of five years. Complete documents which support this type of status shall be submitted with the permit application. 3. In states where CWD has been identified in a susceptible species, then elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, and black-tailed deer (or other susceptible species) to be imported must originate from a herd that has been in a state-approved complete herd monitoring program, as provided in Section D of Appendix C (below) for a minimum of five years. 4. A state-approved chronic wasting disease monitoring program must be certified by the Texas State Veterinarian as meeting the following minimum standards: 1. In states where CWD has been found in free-ranging wildlife, the state program shall have perimeter fencing requirements adequate to prevent ingress, egress or contact with susceptible cervids. 2. Surveillance based on testing of susceptible cervid deaths over 16 months of age is required of all herds within a complete herd monitoring program. Surveillance sampling at commercial slaughter and at shooter operations should be at least 10 percent of the number slaughtered annually. 3. A good quality sampling program where state and federal officials have the authority to adjust herd status if poor quality samples, particularly samples that are from the wrong portion of the brain, are routinely submitted from a premise. Laboratory analysis of the brain stem by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved lab is recognized as the current standard for CWD diagnosis. Other laboratory analyses may be accepted as validated or accepted by USDA/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). 4. Physical herd inventory with annual verification reconciling animals and identification with records by an accredited veterinarian or state or federal personnel is required. Inventory is to include a cross check of all animal identifications with the herd inventory and specific information on the disposition of all animals not present. 5. Premise locations must be specifically identified by GIS or detailed description during the initial herd inventory. 6. Herd additions are allowed from herds with equal or greater time in an approved state CWD monitoring program with no negative impact on the certification status of the receiving herd. If herd additions are acquired from a herd with a later date of enrollment, the receiving herd reverts to the enrollment date of the sending herd. If a herd participating in the monitoring program acquires animals from a non-participating herd, the receiving herd must start over with new enrollment date based upon the date of acquisition of the animal(s). If a new herd begins with animals of a given status, that status will be retained by the new herd, based upon the lowest status of the animals received. Animals of different status which are commingled during marketing or transport will revert to the lowest status. 7. Elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer and black-tailed deer will only be allowed to enter the state of Texas if the state of origin lists CWD as a reportable disease and imposes an immediate quarantine on a herd and/or premise when a CWD positive animal is disclosed. 8. Animal health officials in the state of origin must have access to herd records for the appropriate number of years (three to five), including records of deaths and causes of death. 9. Section D also addresses entry requirements as they pertain to tuberculosis testing. However, these requirements are not included as a part of the Texas Chronic Wasting Disease Management Plan.
 
At the November 2002 meeting the TPWD Commission adopted regulations, to suspend the ban on importation of mule deer and white-tailed deer and provide for importation under TAHC requirements. Additionally, the TPW Commission adopted changes to Trap, Transportation, and Transplant rules, which will require a sample of deer to be tested for CWD on any property serving as a trap site for relocated deer. The rule sets forth the minimum sample size, requires the sample to be tested 100% negative by the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory and stipulates that all deer transported be uniquely marked with an ear tattoo prior to release.
 
 
APPENDIX D: Response Plan for CWD If Detected
 
1. If the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory reports a CWD positive test, the suspect sample will be immediately shipped to USDA Laboratory at Ames, Iowa for conformation of positive finding. The time between initial suspect finding and Ames Lab confirmation will be used to mobilize staff and groups for response plan initiation. 2. The confirmation notice of a positive would come through the USDA Veterinary Services Office in Austin, and USDA/VS personnel would be part of the response effort. 3. Governor's Office will be notified of the finding, as well as Commission members of both TAHC and TPWD. 4. CWD Media Response Plan will be activated (Appendix F ).
 
5. Source location of CWD positive concerns: 1. The source location of the CWD positive animal and information about the area, landowners (to contact for cooperative discussions on further sampling, review of management plans), and the deer density within a 4-8 mile radius will be determined. 2. Should the source location of the CWD positive be in a Scientific Breeder facility or pen, TAHC will inform and work cooperatively with the landowner. TAHC may elect to monitor the herd with special conditions (i.e. double-fencing) or negotiate indemnification (cap established at $3000.00 for prime breeding animals) for eradication of the herd. 6. GIS locations and mapping for sampling will be utilized. 7. TAHC and TPWD will inform and work cooperatively with landowners and with landowner permission in the sample area that may be affected. 8. TAHC would determine sampling requirements. Sample numbers and the size of the area to be sampled will be determined based upon population numbers and the statistically-based numbers required for detecting CWD at a 2% prevalence level from "Regulatory Statistics Volume 1, Sixth Edition" (See Appendix D1). The numbers of animals to be sampled (projected at 150) would be collected throughout an area from 64-1056 square miles and not from a single property unless it is as large as the sample area around a positive. A square mile is 640 acres, in areas where the herd density is 1 deer per 5 acres an area of 64 square miles should contain 8192 deer (128 deer per section) and less than 3 deer per section will be sampled. In areas where the herd density is 1 deer per 200 acres an area of 1056 square miles should contain 3379 deer (3.2 deer section) a deer per 7 sections would be sampled. This sampling is not designed to reduce the population below viability. 9. Sampling will be conducted at no cost to the landowner in a cooperative manner to detect additional CWD positives, and sampling around any additional positive finds, to determine direction of spread, prevalence of the disease and to determine distribution. Additional samples would be taken surrounding any new positive to determine direction, but re-sampling again in an area previously sampled would not be necessary. 10. Simultaneously with the sampling, a joint investigation into movement of deer into or out of area will be conducted. 11. Identify geologic features or barriers, which may be used to limit population distribution, will be determined. 12. After distribution is determined, reasonable, responsible, and rational management strategies will be determined in association with landowners and applied as situations dictate following sampling activities, to include monitoring at appropriate intervals, herd reduction as a possible strategy, and eradication of local populations in limited appropriate circumstances. Strategies for possible treatments will also be discussed and reviewed with the TTT/MLDP Task Force/ White-tailed Deer Advisory Committee and the Private Lands Advisory Board. 13. TPWD will collect and take samples from cervids and transport sample to Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for analysis. 14. Options for CWD testing (i.e. ELISA test) within localities should a CWD-positive be detected will be considered and evaluated. The purpose would be to ensure reliable test results in a timely manner within the local area providing little interruption to hunting and recreation in the area. 15. TPWD must be prepared to make budget and personnel adjustments for the sampling.
 
 
APPENDIX D1
 
United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Veterinary Services
 
REGULATORY STATISTICS
 
Volume 1
 
Sixth Edition June 1983 By Victor C. Beal, Jr. Table 2 - NUMBER NEEDED TO TEST TO BE 95% CONFIDENT THAT THE DISEASE WILL BE DETECTED IF PRESENT AT OR ABOVE FIVE LEVELS OF INCIDENCE OR CONTAMINATION
 
SEE FUZZY MATH BELOW ;
 
 
APPENDIX E: TAHC Rules for Monitoring CWD
 
Participating herds must have adequate perimeter fencing to prevent ingress and egress of cervids. Collection and submission of appropriate samples from all cases of mortality in animals over 16 months of age will accomplish surveillance in participating herds. Exemptions are provided for animals consigned to commercial slaughter operations with state or federal meat inspection. An annual inventory in participating herds shall be verified by a TAHC, USDA or accredited veterinarian. All animals over one year of age shall be identified with an official ear tag or other approved identification device. All animals less than one year of age shall be officially identified on a change of ownership.
 
Herd status designation shall be assigned on the basis of the number of years of participation provided that CWD is not confirmed in the herd:
 
1. Level A - One full year of participation. 2. Level B - Two to three years of participation. 3. Level C - Four to five years of participation. 4. Level D - Six years or more of participation.
 
Additions to Complete Monitored Herd:
 
1. Additions may originate from herds of equal or higher status with no change in the status of the receiving herd. 2. Additions may originate from herds of lower status with the receiving herd acquiring the lower status of the herd(s) involved.
 
 
APPENDIX F: Media Response Plan
 
A deer tissue sample tests positive for CWD in Texas, then the TPWD and TAHC officials have only a few hours to manage communication before news reaches the public section.
 
Prior to Trigger Event, these items are complete and ready to go:
 
* Step-by-Step Media Response Plan
 
* Shell of news release announcing CWD find-Draft pending response plan protocols being developed between TPWD and TAHC.
 
* Identify news media spokespersons with TPWD and TAHC in Austin o TAHC: (512) 719-0700. Media Contact: Carla Everett. Spokespersons: Dr. Ken Waldrup, Dr. Max Coates, Dr. Linda Logan, Dr. Dan Baca, and Dr. Terry Conger. o TPWD: (512) 389-8900. Media Contact: Steve Lightfoot. Spokespersons: Robert L. Cook, Ron George, Clayton Wolf, and Doug Humphreys
 
* Web site for news media and general public on CWD. Listings on site include:
 
* FAQ/Q&A sheet with basic facts on CWD o http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/hunt/chronic_wasting_disease/
 
* Names/contact info for local/regional experts who can speak about CWD in various regions of Texas.
 
* Streaming video of CWD educational video on Web for general public.
 
* Downloadable radio PSAs.
 
* High-resolution photos and video of animals with CWD.
 
Actions Needed:
 
* Gain a clear understanding of Texas operational plan for handling CWD outbreak, including likely sequence of events from initial find to confirmation, and approve policies concerning quarantines, stoppage of intrastate animal movement, and designation of infection zone for monitoring, sampling protocols and possible depopulation plan.
 
* Effective communication planning hinges on our through understanding of state's plan for dealing with a CWD outbreak.
 
* Obtain concurrence with media response plan from TAHC and TPWD.
 
* Make final these above-listed information instruments.
 
Trigger Event
 
Notification that a suspected case of CWD exists in Texas.
 
Notify media contacts at TAHC and TPWD.
 
* TAHC - Carla Everett, (512) 719-0700 or (800) 550-8242. ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us
 
* TPWD - Steve Lightfoot, (512) 389-4701 or (512) 565-3680. steve.lightfoot@tpwd.state.tx.us
 
Actions Needed:
 
* TAHC and TPWD confirm contacts and alternates, e-mail addresses, cell phone numbers and office and home phone numbers provided to Carla Everett and/or Steve Lightfoot for compilation, coordination and distribution to agency leadership and involved personnel from other entities.
 
* News release distributed to media, agency(s) personnel and commissioners, affected stakeholder groups and constituents.
 
* News conference called, depending on level of media response.
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TEXAS OLD STATISTICS BELOW FOR PAST CWD TESTING;
 
Subject: CWD testing in Texas
 
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 19:45:14 –0500
 
From: Kenneth Waldrup
 
To: flounder@wt.net CC: mcoats@tahc.state.tx.us
 
Dear Dr. Singletary,
 
In Fiscal Year 2001, seven deer from Texas were tested by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) for CWD (5 fallow deer and 2 white-tailed deer). In Fiscal Year 2002, seven elk from Texas were tested at NVSL (no deer). During these two years, an additional six elk and one white-tailed deer were tested at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL). In Fiscal Year 2002, four white-tailed deer (free-ranging clinical suspects) and at least eight other white-tailed deer have been tested at TVMDL. One elk has been tested at NVSL. All of these animals have been found negative for CWD. Dr. Jerry Cooke of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department also has records of 601 clinically ill white-tailed deer which were necropsied at Texas A&M during the late 1960's and early 1970's, and no spongiform encepalopathies were noted. Thank you for your consideration.
 
Ken Waldrup, DVM, PhD Texas Animal Health Commission
 
========================
 
TEXAS CWD STATUS
 
Captive Cervids
 
There have been no reported CWD infections of captive elk or deer in Texas. There is currently no mandatory surveillance program for susceptible cervids kept on game farms, although, there has been voluntary surveillance since 1999, which requires owners of participating herds to maintain an annual herd inventory and submit samples for all mortalities of animals over 16 months of age.
 
Free-Ranging (Wild) Cervids
 
There have been no reported CWD infections of free-ranging susceptible cervids in Texas. Currently targeted surveillance of free-ranging cervids having clinical symptoms is ongoing in Texas with no positives identified. Additionally, sampling of hunter-killed animals was initiated statewide during the 2002-2003 deer hunting season and sampling will be continued for the next three to five years.
 
Historic Status
 
Some have speculated that CWD is "spontaneous" and may exist naturally at low levels, even in Texas. The Texas Wildlife Disease Project, a cooperative research project between TPWD and Texas A&M University (circa 1965-1975), was created to address two disease issues; a) low reproduction in Texas pronghorn and b) "circling disease" in white-tailed deer. One of the leading veterinary pathologists on this project was already suspicious that the etiology of "circling disease" was scrapie being transmitted from sheep to deer. During the project's existence, a total of 780 clinically affected animals (601 white-tailed deer, 7 mule deer, 2 elk, and 170 exotic deer and antelope) were collected. Tissues, including brain and lymph nodes, from the collected animals were examined for spongiform histological lesions, and all were found to be negative. Had CWD (a form of TSE, like scrapie) existed in Texas during this time frame, it is probable that these investigations would have detected these classic histological lesions, especially in clinically affected animals. It must be noted, however, that the current laboratory tests used to diagnose CWD were not available during the time the Wildlife Disease Project so it can not be stated with absolute certainty that CWD was not present.
 
 
PLAN FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE DISEASE IN TEXAS
 
Diseases such as CWD tend to be managed more effectively when efforts are applied before or as the disease emerges, rather than after it becomes established. CWD is an emerging disease. The current number of known infections within private elk and deer breeding facilities varies markedly among states (and Canada) and is increasing steadily with continued and expanding surveillance and investigations. The geographic spread of CWD in free-ranging mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk is a concern. The recent discovery of CWD in free-ranging white-tailed deer in Wisconsin and Illinois, approximately 700 miles east of any previously known infection, and the discovery of several CWD positive mule deer in New Mexico, approximately 35 miles north of the Texas border were well out of the known boundaries of the disease.
 
The disease prevalence appears to be increasing in localized areas, although it is not clear whether this is due to increased incidence, or increased surveillance, reporting, and testing. Information from states with direct experience in managing CWD is being used for developing Texas plans as we learn from their experiences.
 
TPWD and TAHC are developing stepped up targeted and geographically-focused surveillance plans to monitor free-ranging deer for the presence of the disease and a rapid response plan to guide both TPWD and TAHC should CWD be detected in the State. TPWD and TAHC are also evaluating cervid management laws, rules, and policies for free ranging and scientific breeder permitted cervids under their authority to identify issues and potential weaknesses related to disease management. In these efforts, TPWD and TAHC will work with other agencies and organizations responsible for or are concerned about cervid disease management in an attempt to ensure comprehensive approaches to effective management of CWD risks (see Appendix C: Importation of Susceptible Cervids).
 
TAHC and TPWD have split jurisdictions and regulatory responsibilities, which creates challenges for both agencies (i.e., TAHC responsible for elk, TPWD responsible for white-tailed deer and mule deer). Both agencies will cooperate to resolve issues as they arise.
 
 
COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN
 
1. Education and information sharing with public, constituents, and other government agency personnel concerning CWD. 2. Ongoing targeted surveillance of clinical deer statewide (i.e., collecting and CWD- testing deer/elk exhibiting symptoms that may be consistent with CWD). 3. Development and implementation of a geographically-focused Monitoring Plan involving the sampling and CWD-testing of hunter-harvested deer. 4. TAHC Rules for Importation of Susceptible Cervids (Appendix C ). 5. Response Plan for CWD should it occur in Texas(Appendix D ). 6. TAHC rules for monitoring for CWD in breeding facilities (Appendix E ). 7. Media Response plan development in the possible event of a positive CWD occurrence (Appendix F ). 8. Advance education of relevant professionals such as resource agency personnel, private wildlife consultants, veterinarians, landowners, wildlife co-ops, taxidermists, and others
 
 
EDUCATION AND INFORMATION SHARING
 
TPWD/TAHC will help educate and share current information with the general public, constituent groups, and other government agency personnel. These efforts will include website updates, distribution of brochures, periodic news releases, public meetings, informational workshops, agency communications and reports. This information will include: 1) basic history and understanding of CWD; 2) its nationwide distribution, and status of knowledge of the disease (e.g., epidemiology, transmission, clinical signs, population effects); 3) other CWD related issues and concerns (e.g., carcass handling and meat consumption, transmission potential to humans and livestock, deer feeding); and 4) management and research actions being taken by TPWD and TAHC. Information may also be designed to focus on specific issues of importance to landowners, hunters, meat processors, taxidermists, deer feeders, veterinarians, rehabilitators, feed companies, feeder manufacturers and operators of captive deer and elk facilities.
 
Publication of technical findings of research in peer-reviewed journals and agency reports will be strongly encouraged. The more informed all agencies and the public (including hunters) become, the more effectively CWD risks will be managed in the future.
 
Informing and educating the public, constituents, TPWD and other agency personnel about CWD is essential. Development of informational brochures and leaflets for public and intra-/interagency distribution containing information about CWD being directed toward general public (including hunter) interests and concerns are a necessity. This information will be distributed as follows:
 
* Available at all TPWD offices statewide. * Carried by Wildlife Biologists, Game Wardens and Park Peace Officers. * Distributed to potential contact agencies and individuals. * Potential contact agencies/individuals (in alphabetical order) include: o Cooperative Extension Service o Exotic Wildlife Association o Federal Natural resource and land management agencies, NPS, USFWS and USFS o Governors Office, EOC o Military installations o Sportsmen Conservationists of Texas o Texas Ag. Council o Texas Agricultural Extension Service o Texas Animal Health Commission o Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society o Texas Deer Association o Texas Department of Agriculture o Texas Game Warden Association o Texas Grain and Feed Association o Texas Farm Bureau o Texas Taxidermists Association o Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory o Texas Veterinary Medical Association o Texas Wildlife Association o TSCRA (Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association) o TS&GRA o USDA/APHIS o Wildlife rehabilitators
 
Should CWD occur it could have a significant adverse economical impact upon landowners, local communities and landowners possessing deer held under authority of Scientific Breeder Permits and elk. Special emphasis would be directed toward informing all constituents that potentially could be affected by the discovery of CWD in the State. These efforts could be accomplished through the completion of a general news packet, video releases, TPWD/TAHC web sites, as well as television and radio news releases, as well as partner publications and information systems.
 
Informing and educating TPWD wildlife biologists and law enforcement personnel is also critical, as these individuals will generally be the first lines of information for the public and press. Internal distribution of relevant information in a timely manner will aid TPWD personnel in addressing any CWD concerns from the public or constituent groups. As information is gathered regarding testing or other pertinent data, TPWD should present this information as requested at interagency meetings and professional meetings/symposia. These data should additionally be published peer-reviewed journals or TPWD Technical Reports. In addition, advance education of relevant professionals such as other resource agency personnel, private wildlife consultants, veterinarians, landowners, wildlife co-ops, taxidermists, feed store personnel, and other similar professions who may be contacted by the public and press for comments should be invited to education workshops.
 
 
ONGOING TARGETED SURVEILLANCE OF CLINICAL DEER STATEWIDE
 
Collecting CWD clinical-free-ranging cervids began in late summer 2002. The collection of clinical deer has been reported by researchers in other states to be particularly useful in detecting the presence/absence of CWD in local areas statewide. TPWD will continue testing clinical free-ranging deer for CWD as they are encountered. Federal funding through APHIS/USDA may be available and would provide for increased sampling during FY-04 sampling period and beyond.
 
 
Chronic Wasting Disease Testing
 
Submitting a Specimen for Testing
 
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) will provide Immunohistochemistry (IHC) based testing for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and screening for tuberculosis (TB) in cervids. These tests are available at the College Station and Amarillo Laboratories. Specimens required for testing are the obex of the brain, both retropharyngeal lymph nodes, and both tonsils. If both CWD and TB testing are requested, it is recommended that the entire head be shipped to the lab so each of those specimens can be identified and processed. Antlers should be removed from the head and the head, including a liberal amount of the soft tissue posterior to the pharynx, should be packed in multiple plastic bags to prevent leakage. A completed Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) Accession Form
 
or a letter with the name, address and telephone number of the submitter should be enclosed in a separate plastic bag. Specimens must be chilled within 2 hours after kill and should remain chilled during transit. For optimum results, specimens should arrive at the lab within 24 hours after kill. Charges are as follows:
 
Charges for Chronic Wasting Disease Testing Note: There will be a $100.00 additional charge for carcass disposal if an entire carcass is submitted. Brain removal $10.00 IHC test for CWD $30.00 TB Screen $15.00 Head Disposal $15.00 Total $70.00
 
Payment by check or money order must be included with specimens for testing to be completed. Credit Cards are not accepted. Specimens submitted for both CWD and TB screening will require a pre-payment of $65.00 or $50.00 if CWD testing alone is requested. Submission of previously removed obexs must include a $30.00 payment for each test to be completed. Please call 979-845-3414 if you have questions on specimen submittal or charges.
 
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) Accession Form
 
The Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) Accession Form media download (PDF 270.3 KB) should be printed and filled out prior to submitting a sample. See instructions above.
 
 
SEE MAP OF CWD ON THE BORDER OF NEW MEXICO VERY CLOSE TO TEXAS ;
 
 
NO update on CWD testing in Texas, New Mexico that i could find. I have inquired about it though, no reply yet...
 
-------- Original Message --------
 
Subject: CWD testing to date TEXAS ?
 
Date: Mon, 09 May 2005 12:26:20 –0500
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
 
To: kristen.everett@tpwd.state.tx.us
 
Hello Mrs. Everett,
 
I am most curious about the current status on CWD testing in Texas. could you please tell me what the current and past testing figures are to date and what geographical locations these tests have been in. good bust on the illegal deer trapping case. keep up the good work there.........
 
thank you, with kindest regards,
 
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
 
CJD WATCH
 
 
CJD Watch message board
 
 
-------- Original Message --------
 
Subject: CWD testing in New Mexico
 
Date: Mon, 09 May 2005 14:39:18 –0500
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
 
To: ispa@state.nm.us
 
Greetings,
 
I am most curious of the current and past CWD testing in New Mexico, and there geographical locations...
 
thank you,
 
Terry S. Singeltary SR. CJD Watch
 
#################### https://lists.aegee.org/bse-l.html ####################
 
-------- Original Message --------
 
Subject: CWD SURVEILLANCE SAMPLE SUBMISSIONS TEXAS ?
 
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:09:58 –0500
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
 
To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
 
Greetings List members,
 
as i stated in my previous email;
 
 
> >> CWD has not been detected in Texas, SADLY, they have not tested enough from the total population to know if CWD is in Texas or not. time will tell though. IF they get serious about finding and documenting CWD in sufficient numbers here in TEXAS, sadly, i am afraid they will find it. ITs already at NM, Texas border, TSEs knows no borders. HOWEVER, with the recent finding of a CNS cow with high potential for BSE/TSE in TEXAS, with one high official over ruling another official that wanted it tested, with the high official winning out and the damn thing going to render without being tested, head spinal cord and all. THIS weighs heavy on the credibility of any surveillance for any TSE in TEXAS, and speaks a great deal for the over all surveillance of TSE in the USA...TSS 
 
SO, i thought i would just see where these Ecoregions were, and just how the CWD testing was distributed. YOU would think that with the cluster of CWD bordering TEXAS at the WPMR in NM, you would have thought this would be where the major CWD testing samples were to have been taken? wrong! let's have a look at the sample testing. here is map of CWD in NM WPMR bordering TEXAS;
 
NEW MEXICO 7 POSITIVE CWD WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE MAP
 
 
 
NEXT, let's have a look at the overall distribution of CWD in Free-Ranging Cervids and see where the CWD cluster in NM WSMR borders TEXAS;
 
Current Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in Free-Ranging Cervids
 
 
NOW, the MAP of the Exoregion where the samples were taken to test for CWD;
 
CWD SURVEILLANCE SAMPLE SUBMISSIONS TEXAS
 
 
Ecoregions of TEXAS
 
 
IF you look at the area around the NM WSMR where the CWD cluster was and where it borders TEXAS, that ecoregion is called Trans Pecos region. Seems if my Geography and my Ciphering is correct ;-) that region only tested 55% of it's goal. THE most important area on the MAP and they only test some 96 samples, this in an area that has found some 7 positive animals? NOW if we look at the only other border where these deer from NM could cross the border into TEXAS, this area is called the High Plains ecoregion, and again, we find that the sampling for CWD was pathetic. HERE we find that only 9% of it's goal of CWD sampling was met, only 16 samples were tested from some 175 that were suppose to be sampled.
 
AS i said before;
 
> SADLY, they have not tested enough from the total population to > know if CWD is in Texas or not.
 
BUT now, I will go one step further and state categorically that they are not trying to find it. just the opposite it seems, they are waiting for CWD to find them, as with BSE/TSE in cattle, and it will eventually...
 
TSS
 
 
CWD TEXAS TAHC OLD FILE HISTORY
 
 
updated from some of my old files. ...
 
 Subject: CWD SURVEILLANCE STATISTICS TEXAS (total testing figures less than 50 in two years)
 
 Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 21:06:49 –0700
 
 From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
 
 Reply-To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
 
 To: BSE-L@uni-karlsruhe.de
 
 ######## Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #########
 
 greetings list members,
 
 here are some figures on CWD testing in TEXAS...TSS
 
 Dear Dr. Singletary,
 
 In Fiscal Year 2001, seven deer from Texas were tested by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) for CWD (5 fallow deer and 2 white-tailed deer). In Fiscal Year 2002, seven elk from Texas were tested at NVSL (no deer). During these two years, an additional six elk and one white-tailed deer were tested at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL). In Fiscal Year 2002, four white-tailed deer (free-ranging clinical suspects) and at least eight other white-tailed deer have been tested at TVMDL. One elk has been tested at NVSL. All of these animals have been found negative for CWD. Dr. Jerry Cooke of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department also has records of 601 clinically ill white-tailed deer which were necropsied at Texas A&M during the late 1960's and early 1970's, and no spongiform encepalopathies were noted. Thank you for your consideration.
 
 xxxxxxx
 
 Texas Animal Health Commission
 
 (personal communication...TSS)
 
 Austin 8 news
 
 snip...
 
 "There's about 4 million deer in the state of Texas, and as a resource I think we need to be doing as much as we can to look for these diseases," said Doug Humphreys with Texas Parks and Wildlife. "Right now Texas is clear. We haven't found any, but that doesn't mean we don't look."
 
 
 
With approximately 4 million animals, Texas has the largest population of white-tailed deer in the nation. In addition, about 19,000 white-tailed deer and 17,000 elk are being held in private facilities. To know if CWD is present in captive herds, TPWD and Texas Animal Health Commission are working with breeders to monitor their herds.
 
 
 
How is it spread?
 
 It is not known exactly how CWD is spread. It is believed that the agent responsible for the disease may be spread both directly (animal to animal contact) and indirectly (soil or other surface to animal). It is thought that the most common mode of transmission from an infected animal is via saliva, feces, and urine.
 
 
 
some surveillance?
 
beyond the _potential_ methods of transmissions above, why, not a single word of SRM of various TSE species in feed as a source?
 
 it's a known fact they have been feeding the deer/elk the same stuff as cows here in USA.
 
 and the oral route has been documented of CWD to mule deer fawns in lab studies.
 
 not to say that other _potential_ transmission mechanisms are possible, but why over look the obvious?
 
 TSS
 
 
 
 From: Ken Waldrup, DVM, PhD (host25-207.tahc.state.tx.us)
 
 Subject: Re: CWD SAMPLING TEXAS (but NOT in the obvious place, the NM, TEXAS border)
 
 Date: December 15, 2003 at 3:43 pm PST
 
 In Reply to: CWD SAMPLING TEXAS (but NOT in the obvious place, the NM, TEXAS border) posted by TSS on December 12, 2003 at 2:15 pm:
 
 Dear sirs:
 
With regard to your comment about Texas NOT looking for CWD along the New Mexico border, it is painfully obvious that you do not know or understand the natural distribution of mule deer out there or the rights of the land owners in this state. As of 15 December 2003, a total of 42 deer had been sampled from what we call "Trans-Pecos", beyond the Pecos River. Mule deer are very widely dispersed through this area, sometimes at densities of one animal per 6 square miles. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department does not have the legal authority to trepass on private property to collect deer. Some landowners are cooperative. Some are not. Franklin State Park is at the very tip of Texas, and deer from the park have been tested (all negative). One of the single largest land owners along the border is the National Park Service. Deer and elk from the Guadalupe Peak National Park cannot be collected with federal permission. The sampling throughout the state is based on the deer populations by eco-region and is dictated by the availability of funds. I am concerned about your insinuation that CWD is a human health risk. We are at a stand-off - you have no proof that it is and I have no definitive proof that it isn't. However I would say that the inferred evidence from Colorado, Wyoming and Wisconsin suggests that CWD is not a human health concern (i.e. no evidence of an increased incidence of human brain disorders within the CWD "endemic" areas of these states). From my professional interactions with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, I can definitely say that they want to do a thorough and sound survey throughout the state, not willy-nilly "look here, look there". There are limitations of manpower, finances and, in some places, deer populations. I would congratulate TPWD for doing the best job with the limitations at hand rather than trying to browbeat them when you obviously do not understand the ecology of West Texas. Thank you for your consideration.
 
======================
 
From: TSS (216-119-139-126.ipset19.wt.net)
 
 Subject: Re: CWD SAMPLING TEXAS (but NOT in the obvious place, the NM, TEXAS border)
 
 Date: December 16, 2003 at 11:03 am PST
 
 In Reply to: Re: CWD SAMPLING TEXAS (but NOT in the obvious place, the NM, TEXAS border) posted by Ken Waldrup, DVM, PhD on December 15, 2003 at 3:43 pm:
 
 HEllo Dr. Waldrup,
 
 thank you for your comments and time to come to this board.
 
 Ken Waldrup, DVM, PhD states;
 
 > it is painfully obvious that you do not know or understand the natural distribution of mule deer out there or the rights of the land owners in this state...
 
 TSS states;
 
 I am concerned about all deer/elk not just mule deer, and the rights of land owners (in the case with human/animal TSEs) well i am not sure of the correct terminology, but when the States deer/elk/cattle/sheep/humans are at risk, there should be no rights for land owners in this case. the state should have the right to test those animals. there are too many folks out there that are just plain ignorant about this agent. with an agent such as this, you cannot let landowners (and i am one) dictate human/animal health, especially when you cannot regulate the movement of such animals...
 
 Ken Waldrup, DVM, PhD states;
 
 > Deer and elk from the Guadalupe Peak National Park cannot be collected with federal permission.
 
 TSS states;
 
 I do not understand this? so there is no recourse of action even if every deer/elk was contaminated with CWD in this area (hypothetical)?
 
 Ken Waldrup, DVM, PhD states;
 
 > I am concerned about your insinuation that CWD is a human health risk. We are at a stand-off - you have no proof that it is and I have no definitive proof that it isn't. However I would say that the inferred evidence from Colorado, Wyoming and Wisconsin suggests that CWD is not a human health concern (i.e. no evidence of an increased incidence of human brain disorders within the CWD "endemic" areas of these states)...
 
 TSS states;
 
 
NEXT, let's have a look at the overall distribution of CWD in Free-Ranging Cervids and see where the CWD cluster in NM WSMR borders TEXAS;
 
 Current Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in Free-Ranging Cervids
 
 
 
NOW, the MAP of the Exoregion where the samples were taken to test for CWD;
 
 CWD SURVEILLANCE SAMPLE SUBMISSIONS TEXAS
 
 
 
Ecoregions of TEXAS
 
 
 
IF you look at the area around the NM WSMR where the CWD cluster was and where it borders TEXAS, that ecoregion is called Trans Pecos region. Seems if my Geography and my Ciphering is correct ;-) that region only tested 55% of it's goal. THE most important area on the MAP and they only test some 96 samples, this in an area that has found some 7 positive animals? NOW if we look at the only other border where these deer from NM could cross the border into TEXAS, this area is called the High Plains ecoregion, and again, we find that the sampling for CWD was pathetic. HERE we find that only 9% of it's goal of CWD sampling was met, only 16 samples were tested from some 175 that were suppose to be sampled.
 
 AS i said before;
 
 > SADLY, they have not tested enough from the total population to
 
 > know if CWD is in Texas or not.
 
 BUT now, I will go one step further and state categorically that they are not trying to find it. just the opposite it seems, they are waiting for CWD to find them, as with BSE/TSE in cattle, and it will eventually...
 
 snip...end...TSS
 
 ===============================
 
 
 
 
-------- Original Message --------
 
Subject: Watch or kill? Deer disease stumps state (CWD New Mexico)
 
Date: Sat, 05 Jul 2003 16:01:02 –0500
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." To: BSE-
 
Watch or kill? Deer disease stumps state
 
By Ollie Reed Jr.
 
Tribune Reporter
 
A year of testing in New Mexico has pinpointed deadly chronic wasting disease in herds of mule deer on the White Sands Missile Range and in the Organ Mountains west of the range.
 
The question now is what to do about it.
 
State Game and Fish Department officials could keep a close watch on these deer or try to kill as many of the approximately 300 animals in the area as possible.
 
"We can decide that the disease exists nowhere else (in the state) and does not pose a threat beyond that area and continue monitoring down in White Sands and the Organ Mountains," Kerry Mower, wildlife disease specialist with the Game and Fish Department, said Tuesday.
 
"Or, we can attempt to decrease the prevalence of the infection by culling deer in the area where the disease exists. A culling operation would mean killing as many as we could."
 
Mower said about 150 mule deer live on the White Sands range, and another 100 to 150 live in the Organ Mountains.
 
Practically speaking, he said, it might not be possible to kill all the deer in the area because it would be difficult to find them all - especially those in the mountains.
 
He said the department would likely decide on a course of action before September, when deer hunting season starts.
 
Chronic wasting disease, a mysterious neurological malady that is always fatal to deer and elk, was discovered in a White Sands deer in June 2002. Since then, only five more deer in the state have tested positive for the disease. No infected elk have been found in New Mexico.
 
The six positive results came from the more than 700 samples of tissue collected from deer and elk throughout New Mexico from June 2002 through last month. All but about 75 of those tissue samples have been tested, Mower said.
 
Four of the infected deer were found on the White Sands range and two were killed by hunters in the Organ Mountains.
 
"Based on plotting all of these samples, and based on the fact that we have not found chronic wasting disease any other place than the White Sands area, the data seems to say the disease is concentrated there," Mower said.
 
How it got there is still a mystery.
 
The disease has also been found in herds of elk and deer in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Utah and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
 
But White Sands, in south-central New Mexico, is the farthest south the disease has been located to date.
 
Also, the White Sands area is at least 100 miles away from the nearest game park. Game parks - where animals are kept for hunting, to supply restaurants with meat, for antlers prized by some for medicinal purposes or for breeding - are considered hotbeds for outbreaks of the disease. There are about 21 such parks in New Mexico.
 
"I still have no idea how the disease got to New Mexico," Mower said. "There is one other case - where a single sick deer was found in a hayfield west of Moab, Utah - that seems to have just fallen from the sky."
 
No credible evidence suggests the disease has ever been transmitted to domestic livestock or to humans. But people are advised not to eat the neural tissues - brain, eyes, spleen, spinal cord, tonsils, lymph nodes - of deer and elk, and hunters are advised to wear latex gloves when field dressing the animals.
 
Mower said now that the state has a good testing sample size, it is time to discuss taking steps to deal with the disease in the state.
 
The problem is, really only one active step can be taken, and that is to kill deer in the area where the infection is centered.
 
"Culling would prevent the disease from spreading beyond that area," Mower said. "But it is also the only intervention that can be taken. Nothing else can be done."
 
Except watch, wait and hope.
 
 
TSS
 
From: TSS (216-119-139-167.ipset19.wt.net)
 
Subject: CWD aka MAD DEER/ELK DISEASE ON THE MOVE IN NEW MEXICO !!!
 
Date: February 15, 2003 at 10:10 am PST
 
Diseased deer outside range stuns Game official
 
By Ollie Reed Jr. Tribune Reporter
 
A state Game and Fish Department official said he is highly alarmed by a report that two deer killed by hunters in the Organ Mountains have tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
 
Kerry Mower, wildlife disease specialist with Game and Fish, said he finds the news disturbing because these are the first infected animals to be found outside the boundaries of the White Sands Missile Range, an indication that the disease might be on the move in New Mexico.
 
"This isn't what I expected," Mower said Friday. "It's like one of those things you think never could happen to me, and now it's happened. The previous (infected) deer were sedentary and localized."
 
Mower was scheduled to talk about chronic wasting disease or CWD during a speech at the New Mexico Wildlife Federation convention in Las Cruces today.
 
Counting this last pair, six New Mexico mule deer - three bucks and three does - have tested positive for CWD, a mysterious neurological malady that is always fatal to deer and elk.
 
"I don't know the the extent to which the disease has spread," Mower said. "We need to increase surveillance so we can get a better picture of where it exists."
 
Spurred by this latest information, Mower said he will be meeting with state animal and public health officials Tuesday to discuss efforts to control the disease.
 
"Our options are still limited to containment or eradication," he said.
 
Last week when it was learned that three more White Sands deer had tested positive for the disease, Mower said the state was not ready to consider exterminating the herd of about 150 deer in that area.
 
Now that he knows infected deer have been found in the Organ Mountains, Mower said eradication will be discussed.
 
CWD has been confirmed in either wild or captive deer and elk herds in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
 
New Mexico is the most southern location in which the disease has been found. It was first detected here in a sickly buck killed in June at the White Sands Missile Range in the south-central part of the state.
 
After that, two White Sands does killed in the fall and one White Sands doe sampled in December tested positive for CWD.
 
These last two deer to test positive were among seven bucks killed by hunters during a January hunt in the Organs. The deer were taken on the west face of the mountain range, just two or three miles west of the the missile range boundary.
 
These most recent deer are the first infected animals killed by hunters in New Mexico, the other four having been collected by state Game and Fish Department officials.
 
Mower said the two hunters who killed the infected deer have been informed of the test results by phone but should be in no danger.
 
"Based on what we know, the possibility of a human contracting the disease by contact is very remote if not impossible," he said.
 
All of the hunters who killed deer during the January hunt in the Organs had to check the animals with the Game and Fish Department.
 
The hunters were allowed to keep only the skull cap and antlers - after they had been washed in bleach - and the deer's meat. Hunters left behind the bones, the entrails and nervous-system tissue.
 
Tissue from New Mexico deer and elk is tested for CWD at a laboratory at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. So far, more than 600 tissue samples from New Mexico deer, elk and a few oryxes (large antelopes) have been tested at the lab.
 
Mower said the state will intensify its sample taking, especially in the area around the missile range.
 
"Our efforts will be to find if it extends beyond the Organ Mountains to the west, beyond White Sands to the east or in the San Andres Mountains to the north."
 
The missile range is bordered by Mexico on the south, and Mower said he has not ruled out the possibility that CWD spread to New Mexico from that country.
 
"You can't rule out anything," Mower said. "That's one of the lessons I've learned. I never would have predicted that we would have found it in southern New Mexico."
 
The White Sands area is hundreds of miles south of the disease's focal point in Colorado and not anywhere near a game park, generally considered a hotbed for the outbreak of the disease.
 
"When the disease cropped up in White Sands, it seemed so far outside of everything that had happened anywhere else," Mower said. "It just seemed to show up from nowhere.
 
"So my hope was that maybe it could just show up spontaneously, and if that was the case it could show up in one animal and no more. Now, we have shown that it is widespread in that area."
 
 
tss
 
 From: TSS (216-119-163-74.ipset45.wt.net)
 
Subject: New Mexico Continues CWD Testing; Note Regs.
 
Date: November 20, 2002 at 7:38 am PST
 
In Reply to: TOMMY T AND GW ET AL STILL HIDING TSEs IN USA CATTLE (hiding behind CWD) posted by TSS on November 20, 2002 at 7:34 am:
 
New Mexico Continues CWD Testing; Note Regs. From the New Mexico Game and Fish
 
The Department of Game and Fish has found no Chronic Wasting Disease in the 178 deer and elk tested so far this year. Testing will continue through the remaining deer seasons, which conclude in January.
 
The only location in New Mexico known to have CWD is Unit 19, the White Sands Missile Range. A deer from there tested positive in June.
 
Chronic Wasting Disease is fatal to deer and elk. It is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy similar to mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep. In humans, this type of disease has several names: Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease, kuru, new variant CJD, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome and fatal familial insomnia.
 
Kerry Mower, disease specialist for the Department of Game and Fish, said biologists and conservation officers have taken an additional 60 samples from around the state to submit for CWD testing.
 
Mower said the Department, in conjunction with White Sands Missile Range personnel, will be live testing deer at White Sands in December. The animals will be trapped and sedated while biologists remove a portion of their tonsil tissue for testing. There is no similar live test for elk, he said. Brain stems from either deer or elk can be used to determine infected animals. Microscopic lesions appear in infected brain tissue. Either a loss of neurons in the brain or the accumulation of proteinaceous, infectious particles, or prions, cause the lesions. Prions are believed to be the cause of TSEs.
 
Any deer harvested during a Jan. 1-5 hunt on the Organ Mountains, adjacent to the Missile Range and within Unit 19, also will be tested. The 35 hunters who were issued permits for that hunt must check in and out with Department conservation officers.
 
The hunters are the first to be impacted by a new regulation adopted by the State Game Commission in October. Because they are hunting in Unit 19, known to contain CWD, they will not be allowed to remove any portion of the spinal cord from deer they take. They will be allowed to debone their animals. The only portion of a deer's head that may be removed from the hunt area is the skull plate with antlers attached and cleaned of all meat or tissue. Before leaving the field, skull plates also must be treated with a mixture or one part chlorine bleach and two parts water. All hunters are required to submit their deer for CWD sampling at a designated check station.
 
"Many states have adopted similar restrictions for their CWD-positive areas," Mower said. "This is an effort to reduce the potential of transferring this disease to uninfected parts of the state or country."
 
Among the states now requiring hunters to take these actions are: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The states where CWD has been found are: Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Montana, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan also have found CWD in either wild or game-farm animals.
 
The Department of Game and Fish suggests hunters observe the following precautions while handling any deer or elk they kill in areas known to have CWD:
 
* Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that appears sick; immediately contact the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish at (505) 476-8038 if you see or harvest an animal that appears sick. * Wear rubber gloves when field dressing carcasses. * Bone out the meat from your animal. * Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues. * Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing is completed. * Avoid consuming brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes of harvested animals. (Normal field dressing coupled with boning out a carcass will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all fatty tissue will remove remaining lymph nodes.) * Avoid consuming the meat from any animal that tests positive for the disease.
 
For more information about Chronic Wasting Disease, call Kerry Mower at (505) 476-8080.
 
 
TSS
 
Subject: NEW MEXICO DEER TESTS POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 20:56:33 –0700
 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." To: BSE-L@uni-karlsruhe.de
 
PRESS RELEASE
 
19 JUNE 2002
 
EDITORS: Department of Game and Fish news releases and fishing reports are now available on the Department of Game and Fish web site. The internet address is http://www.gmfsh.state.nm.us/
 
NEW MEXICO DEER TESTS POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
CIMARRON CANYON REOPENS; WILDLIFE AREA REMAINS CLOSED
 
NEW MEXICO DEER TESTS POSITIVE FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
 
SANTA FE, N.M. - A mule deer collected from the White Sands Missile Range has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease and the director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish declared an Animal Health Emergency Tuesday, closing the state to any importation of deer or elk.
 
Director Larry Bell said the positive test was confirmed Monday, June 17, by the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory. This is the first positive test for CWD in the state of New Mexico.
 
The disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), a neurological disease that is always fatal to deer and elk. It has been found in free-ranging deer and elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
 
CWD has been more commonly found on or near game farms, although there are no such facilities near White Sands Missile Range.
 
"We are closing the borders to the importation of cervids because Chronic Wasting Disease has been identified here and we want to isolate it and prevent its spread," Director Bell said. Game ranches have been identified as a source of CWD and now that the disease has been discovered here, the state must take all steps to prevent any additional outbreaks or infection.
 
"New Mexico and all other states are trying to find ways to shore up their importation regulations as we search for a means of managing and preventing CWD," Bell said. Other states that have banned or restricted the importation of deer species include: North Carolina, Michigan, Vermont, Tennessee, Texas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, New York, Colorado, Arizona and the province of Alberta.
 
Although Tuesday's actions only restrict the importation of live deer and elk, Bell said the state soon may be discussing regulations to restrict the importation of sport-harvested deer and elk. There are no known cases of CWD infecting humans or livestock, although New Mexico and other states do encourage hunters to follow precautions when handling dead game.
 
Kerry Mower, a wildlife disease specialist for the Department, said this case will shake the world's current understanding of Chronic Wasting Disease because it is so far away from game farms and other accepted avenues of CWD transmission.
 
"We do not know how CWD was transported to the White Sands area," Mower said. "There are no game farms down there and it is far from the endemic areas of Colorado and Wyoming. But this does illustrate how little we know about the spread of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies."
 
The disease is found most commonly in neurological tissues - brains, spinal cords, eyes, lymph nodes - of infected animals. New Mexico, like other states, has been testing the brain stems of deer and elk for several hunting seasons, trying to determine if CWD was present. The brain samples must be taken within 48 hours of the animal's death. The diseased deer was collected March 28 by White Sands Missile Range game wardens. The shortage of CWD testing facilities nationwide and the number of states submitting samples accounted for the delay in receiving results.
 
Infected animals become emaciated, drink water to an excessive degree and lose control of bodily functions including balance.
 
"This deer was just skin covering a rack of bones," Mower said. The Department will initiate sampling of more deer as soon as possible to determine the range and extent of infection. Even though CWD is not known to occur outside the deer family, the Department will begin testing some oryx on White Sands. "We are immediately prepared to deal with a hundred or more samples," Mower said.
 
The Department already has submitted 140 samples for testing this fiscal year.
 
It is difficult, although not impossible, for TSEs to jump from one species to another. There is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans or livestock, but as a precaution the Department of Game and Fish does advise hunters to not consume any neural tissue of animals they kill and to wear latex gloves when field dressing dead animals.
 
There are no practical or proven tests to determine if CWD is present in living wild animals. Portions of each brain stem must be removed and examined under a microscope, although a test of deer tonsils is being developed. It would be impossible, however, to adequately capture and extract tonsil tissue from New Mexico's statewide deer population.
 
In infected animals, microscopic lesions appear in infected brain tissue. Either a loss of neurons in the brain or the accumulation of proteinaceous, infectious particles, or prions, cause the lesions. Prions are believed to be the cause of TSEs.
 
Chronic Wasting Disease is the name for this disease when it occurs in deer and elk, but other species suffer similar maladies. The TSE in domestic sheep is called scrapie and it's bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in cattle. This type of disease has several names when it occurs in humans: Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease, kuru, new variant CJD, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome and fatal familial insomnia.
 
The Department will continue to sample the heads of deer and elk killed during the coming fall hunting seasons. As an incentive for hunters to cooperate, those who submit heads within the 48-hour period will be entered in a drawing for oryx and Valle Vidal elk hunting authorizations. In addition, the agency is developing an action plan for dealing with CWD, although at this point Director Bell does not anticipate the killing of thousands of animals as other states are doing.
 
"I am, however, prepared to take any action necessary to protect the state's resources from the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease," he said.
 
For more information about Chronic Wasting Disease, call Kerry Mower at (505) 476-8080.
 
#
 
 
TSS
 
I'm not real sure I believe the part about no game farms down there.
 
From a quick google search:
 
"Both White Sands Missile and the National Monument were stocked with exotics which persist to this day, ibex and oryx , the Park Service has been unable to eradicate the latter. Also both of the gigantic ranches acquired by Ted Turner, including the adjacent property to White Sands may have introduced animals under prior ownership. Elk were also extirpated from the entire state and brought in from who knows where..
 
Santa Fe Always Online - Hunting .. Hunters seeking exotic game can apply for the oryx hunts on White Sands Persian ibex and both Rocky ... Because White Sands is a military installation which is off-limits to the public, much of its 3,200 square miles acts as a de facto wildlife refuge.
 
One of the more interesting animals found on the missile range is the Oryx. This antelope is from the Kalahari region of Africa. The Ibex-This member of the goat family from Siberia and Iran was introduced into the Florida Mountains near Deming, New Mexico. The ibex has been successful in that area and has begun to move out of the mountains and onto the plains. The Barbary Sheep-This African wild sheep was introduced on land near Picacho, New Mexico. The Barbary sheep has become well established there and has expanded its range. The animals were first introduced onto White Sands in 1969 by the New Mexico Game and Fish Department as part of its exotic game animal introduction program. Ibex and barbary sheep were introduced elsewhere in the state as part of the program."
 
TSS
 
From: TSS (216-119-163-100.ipset45.wt.net)
 
Subject: Chronic wasting disease found in NM deer [TEST COWS NOW!!!]
 
Date: June 19, 2002 at 6:38 pm PST
 
Chronic wasting disease found in NM deer
 
State officials have closed the state to any imported deer or elk after discovering chronic wasting disease in a deer at White Sands
 
Last Update: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 18:07:34 GMT
 
A mule deer collected from White Sands Missile Range has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, forcing the State Department of Game and Fish to declare an animal health emergency.
 
The declaration closes the state to any imported deer or elk.
 
This is the first positive test for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in New Mexico.
 
Chronic wasting disease is in the same family as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease. It has so far only been found in North American deer and elk.
 
Infected animals' brains, spinal cords, eyes and lymph nodes can be affected. These animals become emaciated, drink water to an excessive degree and lose control of bodily functions, including balance.
 
The disease has been found in free-ranging deer and elk in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Saskatchewan, Canada.
 
According to a Department of Game and Fish press release, there is no practical or proven test to determine if CWD is present in living animals, since the best test is to remove and examine portions of each brain stem. A test of deer tonsils is being developed, but the department says such a test is not feasible for the state's entire deer population.
 
The department is encouraging hunters to provide the heads of deer and elk within a 48-hour period for testing.
 
There is no known relationship between CWD and any other disease of animals or people. However, state officials are encouraging hunters to follow precautions when handling dead game. Hunters are asked not to consume any neural tissue of animals, such as the brain or spinal cord, and to wear latex gloves when field dressing dead game.
 
 
TSS
 
 
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish 2015-2016 Hunting
 
 
snip...
 
Transportation of Game
 
Game accompanied with a properly recorded license or by a written statement may be transported within and outside the state. However, bighorn sheep ram heads must have a seal. Bear, cougar and bobcat hides must have a pelt tag. It is unlawful to transport portions of deer or elk taken in areas where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed (see page 44).
 
Chronic Wasting Disease Rules Apply to Units 19, 28 and 34 It is unlawful to transport dead deer, elk or their parts taken from any chronic wasting disease (CWD) control area designated by the Director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. The exceptions are:
 
• Meat that is cut and wrapped either privately or commercially within the control area.
 
• Quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the head or spinal column attached.
 
• Meat that has been boned out.
 
• Hides with no heads attached.
 
• Clean skull plates with antlers attached.
 
• Antlers with no meat or tissue attached.
 
• Finished heads mounted by a taxidermist within the control area. You may not remove the whole head and spinal column. You must keep proof of sex with all game species until transported where it will be consumed or placed in cold storage. Licenses, applications, harvest reports and general information: 1-888-248-6866 44 45
 
What You Must Know Before You Hunt Youth-Only Hunts: Applicants must be younger than 18 years of age on opening day of the hunt and must possess either a Hunter Education or Mentored-Youth Hunter number (pages 8, 9). This number must be carried while hunting with a firearm. Blaze-Orange Clothing: Hunters must wear at least 244 square inches of blaze orange while hunting on military property. McGregor Range/Fort Bliss requires all hunters to wear a blaze-orange hat and hunting vest.
 
Closed Areas: Military reservations, national parks and monuments, state parks and monuments, recreation areas, national wildlife refuges, state wildlife management areas, and other locations may be closed or restrict hunting.
 
The following other areas are closed to deer hunting: The Valle Vidal and Greenwood areas of Unit 55A are closed to all deer hunting; all state wildlife management areas are closed unless officially designated open to hunting. Units 10, 13, 18 and 20: These units are subject to closure by the Forest Service and/or military during missile firings.
 
Restricted Areas: Units 1, 3, 11, 35 and other tribal reservations are not included under state rules. Contact tribal officials directly. Grapevine Canyon (McGregor Range Buffer Zone) in Unit 34 is accessible only by military permission. All hunters on McGregor Range/Fort Bliss are required to have proof of passing a certified Hunter Education Course before they hunt.
 
 
 
 
 
 
image
 
 
 
 
 
State/Province Agency (with jurisdiction over captive cervids) and Contacts Standard Regulations
 
* (listed only if different or in addition to those listed below)
 
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Regulations for Captive Cervids and Wildlife In Process of Developing or Implementing New or Additional CWD Regulations
 
CWD Testing Program for Captive Cervids
 
CWD Testing Program for Wildlife
 
Baiting Banned
 
Feeding Banned
 
Ban on Movement of Animal Parts
 
CWD Found in Captive Cervids
 
CWD Found in Free-Ranging Cervids
 
New Mexico
 
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Contact for special permits: Letitia Mee, Law Enforcement Div. (505) 476-8064; Contact for Wildlife health issues: Kerry Mower, (505) 476-8080; kmower@state.nm.us
 
New Mexico allows importation of cervids from facilities with verifiable proof of 60 months complete CWD surveillance and only from areas outside an 80-mile radius of any confirmed CWD occurrance. Permit to import cervids requires $500 application fee, 2 forms of identification (tattoo and eartag), health certificate, TB, Brucellosis, Paratuberculosis testing.
 
Enrollment in surveillance program is voluntary. Complete surveillance required to obtain 60-month certificate. In any CWD event, management actions will be determined collaboratively among owners, Department of Game and Fish, New Mexico Livestock Board, and USDA Area Veterinarian in Charge.
 
Surveillance combines tonsillar and rectal biopsies, lethal collection, and hunter harvest. First CWD positive mule deer was identified 06/17/02 in a deer from the Organ Mtns on White Sands Missile Range. CWD exists among deer in the Organ Mtns. CWD has also been detected in deer and elk from Sacramento Mtns and on McGregor Range. Regulations prohibit movement of all mule deer or elk parts from CWD positive areas except boned meat, hide, and cleaned skull caps. CWD areas are determined and modified as information changes.
 
Separate surveillance programs offering testing and certification are available to producers for complete monitoring of breeding facilities and for selective monitoring of hunting facilities. Both programs are voluntary. Surveillance includes statewide random tissue collection from hunter-killed elk and deer combined with targeted collection from high-risk areas. Hunters who submit valid tissue samples are eligible for premier hunt opportunities awarded through lottery. All reports of sick and abnormal animals are investigated by New Mexico Dept Game & Fish; all abnormal deer and elk are collected and tested.
 
per Subsection I of 19.31.10 NMAC Hunting and Fishing - Manner and Method of Taking, Use of Baits or Scents: It shall be unlawful for anyone to take or attempt to take any protected species by use of baits or scents as defined in Subsection P of 19.31.7 NMAC. Scent masking agents on one's person are allowed. (This regulation is in reference to animals in the wild and not in Class "A" Game Parks). Per Subsection D. of 19.03.2 NMAC Depredation Assistance Causing a Nuisance Game Animal Problem: It shall be unlawful for any person, by intention or through negligence, to cause a nuisance game animal problem by baiting, or otherwise enticing game animals to an area, and such persons, if convicted, may be punished under 17-2-10 NMSA 1978.
 
NA
 
Only boned meat, cleaned and decontaminated skull caps, hides, and ivories can be removed from any designated area where CWD has been confirmed. Carcasses must be discarded in the field or incinerated.
 
None.
 
Yes, deer in Organ, Sacramento Mtns, McGregor Range, and one deer from San Andres Mtns. Elk from Sacramento Mountains.
 
 
 
 
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
 
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2014 10:04 PM
 
To: Mitch Lockwood ; Dee Ellis
 
Cc: Andy Schwartz ; Bonnie Ramirez
 
Subject: Re: CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
Thank You Sir, that’s what I thought. that will straighten things up. I think some folks got those 3 in New Mexico mixed up with the 6 in Texas. Thank Ya’ll kindly for your time, and the work you do...and nice bust on the Lonesome Dove Ranch...
 
kindest regards, terry
 
From: Mitch Lockwood
 
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2014 9:05 PM
 
To: Dee Ellis ; Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
 
Cc: Andy Schwartz ; Bonnie Ramirez
 
Subject: RE: CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
Regarding the 9 Hueco Mountain mule deer for which CWD was detected, 3 were sampled in NM and 6 were sampled in TX. From a disease management standpoint, the state in which those deer were sampled is irrelevant since it’s all the same population and the deer don’t recognize political boundaries. Dr Ellis is correct; no CWD was detected in Texas during the 2013-14 hunting season. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have additional questions.
 
Thanks,
 
Mitch Lockwood
 
Big Game Program Director
 
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
 
Please note new email address: mitch.lockwood@tpwd.texas.gov
 
From: Dee Ellis [mailto:Dee.Ellis@tahc.texas.gov] Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2014 10:52 AM To: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Cc: Mitch Lockwood; Andy Schwartz; Bonnie Ramirez Subject: RE: CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
It is my understanding that there were no positives found in the hunter samples collected from West Texas this last hunting season.
 
I am copying Andy Schwartz of our staff as he is the lead for us on working with Mitch and others from TP&W. Mitch or Andy can confirm that for sure better than I can. I believe the final test results are actually going to TP&W not TAHC.
 
I also noticed you tried to copy Carla Everett who used to be our PIO – she retired a few years ago and our PIO now is Bonnie Ramirez. I have copied her on this so you can get her into your email book for future questions.
 
D
 
Dee Ellis DVM MPA
 
Texas Animal Health Commission
 
Executive Director/State Veterinarian
 
P.O. Box 12966
 
Austin, Texas 78711
 
512-719-0704 (ofc)
 
512-560-9741 (cell)
 
 
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [mailto:flounder9@verizon.net]
 
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2014 12:30 PM
 
To: ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us
 
Cc: Mitch Lockwood; Dee Ellis Subject: Fw: CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
Greetings again TAHC et al,
 
I am confused about something, and maybe you can help me out.
 
It was my understanding, that NO CWD was detected in TEXAS ANYWHERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS in the 2013-2014 hunting season.
 
Is this correct ?
 
I read this posted by a wildlife biologist on a hunting forum in Texas, and then I got confused (does not take muchWinking smile
 
’’CWD has been found in Mule Deer in the Hueco Mts, I think a total of 49 samples and 9 positives for in 2012-13 hunting season (both hunter and random) in that area.’’
 
and then I reread this ;
 
“Additional sampling is necessary to develop more confidence in the geographic extent and prevalence of the disease, but the fact that CWD has not been detected in Texas outside of the Hueco Mountains of northern El Paso and Hudspeth counties is encouraging,” said Lockwood.
 
Including the positives reported from last year’s sampling effort, and the three positives reported by New Mexico Game and Fish in 2012, CWD has been detected in 9 of 49 deer sampled in the Hueco Mountains.
 
 
>>>and the three positives reported by New Mexico Game and Fish in 2012, CWD has been detected in 9 of 49 deer sampled in the Hueco Mountains<<<
 
so, I am not sure it this is speaking on cwd cases in New Mexico or Texas or both ???
 
I thought the total documented cases of cwd was the first two original cases documented and then the 4 other cases, with a total of 6 cwd cases ever in the state of Texas. is this correct, or am I wrong ???
 
are the additional 3 of the 9 that was in the quote, are they speaking of 3 cwd cases documented in the Hueco Mountains in New Mexico, and the other 6 they speak of in Texas ???
 
just trying to keep the numbers straight here, and not inflate them.
 
OH, and nice job on the Lonesome Dove Ranch bust !!! keep up the good work...
 
thank you for your help, kindest regards, terry
 
Singeltary submission ;
 
Program Standards: Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer, Elk, and Moose
 
*** DOCUMENT ID: APHIS-2006-0118-0411
 
 
 
From: Mitch Lockwood
 
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 9:38 PM
 
To: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. ; execdir@tahc.texas.gov
 
Cc: prdir@tahc.texas.gov ; comments@tahc.texas.gov ; stateepi@tahc.texas.gov ; labdir@tahc.texas.gov ; Mike Cox ; Carter Smith ; Scott Boruff ; Gene McCarty ; Ross Melinchuk ; Harold Stone ; Grahame Jones ; Ted Hollingsworth ; Robin Riechers ; Cindy Loeffler ; Bill Balboa ; Mark Fisher ; Tom Harvey ; Louie Bond ; Trey Hamlett ; Gary Saul ; Don Pitts ; Greg Williford ; Ann Bright ; Todd George ; Brent Leisure ; Kevin Good ; Trey Goodman ; Clayton Wolf ; Matt Wagner ; Amber Andel ; Harmony Garcia ; Megan Russell ; Ryan Schoeneberg ; Froylan Hernandez ; Shawn Gray ; Alan Cain ; Kelly Edmiston ; Kristin Rathburn ; Dennis Gissell ; jeff.bonner1@sbcglobal.net ; jmoore@hctc.net ; Jesse Oetgen ; Mike Miller ; Bobby Eichler ; John Davis ; Diana Foss ; Jim Sutherlin ; Billy Tarrant ; Ryan Schoeneberg
 
Subject: RE: CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
Mr. Singeltary,
 
We continue to collect CWD samples from hunter-harvested deer as the MLDP season continues. You can find the 2013-14 test results for samples collected in the Trans Pecos region on our website:
 
 
We have submitted 270 samples to date, and I believe we have received results for 263 of those samples so far, with no new detections of CWD. All samples submitted were collected at our CWD check stations in the Trans Pecos region. Samples collected elsewhere in Texas will be submitted for testing over the next several weeks.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mitch Lockwood
 
Big Game Program Director
 
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
 
Please note new email address: wlmailhtml:mitch.lockwood@tpwd.texas.gov
 
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [mailto:flounder9@verizon.net]
 
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 9:01 PM
 
To: execdir@tahc.texas.gov
 
Cc: prdir@tahc.texas.gov; comments@tahc.texas.gov; stateepi@tahc.texas.gov; labdir@tahc.texas.gov; Mike Cox; Carter Smith; Scott Boruff; Gene McCarty; Ross Melinchuk; Harold Stone; Grahame Jones; vandita.zachariah@tpwd.state.tx.us; Ted Hollingsworth; Robin Riechers; Rebecca Hensley; Cindy Loeffler; Bill Balboa; Mark Fisher; Tom Harvey; Louie Bond; Don Cash; terry.erwin@tpwd.state.tx.us; Trey Hamlett; Kiki Corry; Gary Saul; Don Pitts; peter.flores@tpwd.state.tx.us; scott.vaca@tpwd.state.tx.us; willie.gonzales@tpwd.state.tx.us; Keith Gerth; Greg Williford; Ann Bright; carole.hemby@tpwd.state.tx.us; Todd George; Brent Leisure; Kevin Good; Trey Goodman; Clayton Wolf; Matt Wagner; Amber Andel; Harmony Garcia; Megan Russell; chris.maldonado@tpwd.state.tx.us; Ryan Schoeneberg; Mitch Lockwood; Froylan Hernandez; shawn.gray@sbcglobal.net; Alan Cain; vickie.fite@tpwd.state.tx.us; Kelly Edmiston; Kristin Rathburn; Dennis Gissell; jeff.bonner1@sbcglobal.net; jmoore@hctc.net; Jesse Oetgen; Mike Miller; Bobby Eichler; John Davis; Diana Foss; ruben.cantu@tpwd.state.tx.us; Jim Sutherlin; Billy Tarrant
 
Subject: Fw: CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
Greetings Executive Director, et al, of the TAHC et al,
 
since I can’t get a response from Bonnie Ramirez et al,
 
> Greetings Bonnie and TAHC et al,
 
> I am curious to know the latest cwd testing results for the 2013-2014 season, and when they might be posted?
 
I thought I might try asking you the same question please.
 
CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
especially the area around the Trans Pecos region, White Sands Missile Range NM border area, ...
 
thank you kindly,
 
respectfully,
 
terry
 
 
kind regards,
 
terry
 
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
 
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2014 2:04 PM
 
To: bonnie.ramirez@tahc.texas.gov
 
Subject: CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
CWD testing results 2013-2014 Texas ?
 
 
Greetings Bonnie and TAHC et al,
 
I am curious to know the latest cwd testing results for the 2013-2014 season, and when they might be posted?
 
and if you have not see this yet, you might find interest ;
 
*** 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.
 
 
 
*** 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.
 
 
 
terry
 
2014-2015 Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion updated science
 
Friday, January 30, 2015
 
*** Scrapie: a particularly persistent pathogen ***
 
 
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
 
APHIS Provides Additional Information on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Indemnity Requests January 5, 2015 05:26 PM EST
 
 
Saturday, January 31, 2015
 
European red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) are susceptible to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE by Oral Alimentary route
 
 
*** Singeltary reply ;
 
ruminant feed ban for cervids in the United States ?
 
31 Jan 2015 at 20:14 GMT
 
 
Monday, November 3, 2014
 
Persistence of ovine scrapie infectivity in a farm environment following cleaning and decontamination
 
 
*** Conclusion. CWD prions (as inferred by prion seeding activity by RT-QuIC) are shed in urine of infected deer as early as 6 months post inoculation and throughout the subsequent disease course. Further studies are in progress refining the real-time urinary prion assay sensitivity and we are examining more closely the excretion time frame, magnitude, and sample variables in relationship to inoculation route and prionemia in naturally and experimentally CWD-infected cervids.
 
*** Conclusions. During the pre-symptomatic stage of CWD infection and throughout the course of disease deer may be shedding multiple LD50 doses per day in their saliva. CWD prion shedding through saliva and excreta may account for the unprecedented spread of this prion disease in nature. Acknowledgments. Supported by NIH grant RO1-NS-061902 and grant D12ZO-045 from the Morris Animal Foundation.
 
 
*** We conclude that TSE infectivity is likely to survive burial for long time periods with minimal loss of infectivity and limited movement from the original burial site. However PMCA results have shown that there is the potential for rainwater to elute TSE related material from soil which could lead to the contamination of a wider area. These experiments reinforce the importance of risk assessment when disposing of TSE risk materials.
 
*** The results show that even highly diluted PrPSc can bind efficiently to polypropylene, stainless steel, glass, wood and stone and propagate the conversion of normal prion protein. For in vivo experiments, hamsters were ic injected with implants incubated in 1% 263K-infected brain homogenate. Hamsters, inoculated with 263K-contaminated implants of all groups, developed typical signs of prion disease, whereas control animals inoculated with non-contaminated materials did not.
 
PRION 2014 CONFERENCE
 
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD
 
A FEW FINDINGS ;
 
Conclusions. To our knowledge, this is the first established experimental model of CWD in TgSB3985. We found evidence for co-existence or divergence of two CWD strains adapted to Tga20 mice and their replication in TgSB3985 mice. Finally, we observed phenotypic differences between cervid-derived CWD and CWD/Tg20 strains upon propagation in TgSB3985 mice. Further studies are underway to characterize these strains.
 
We conclude that TSE infectivity is likely to survive burial for long time periods with minimal loss of infectivity and limited movement from the original burial site. However PMCA results have shown that there is the potential for rainwater to elute TSE related material from soil which could lead to the contamination of a wider area. These experiments reinforce the importance of risk assessment when disposing of TSE risk materials.
 
The results show that even highly diluted PrPSc can bind efficiently to polypropylene, stainless steel, glass, wood and stone and propagate the conversion of normal prion protein. For in vivo experiments, hamsters were ic injected with implants incubated in 1% 263K-infected brain homogenate. Hamsters, inoculated with 263K-contaminated implants of all groups, developed typical signs of prion disease, whereas control animals inoculated with non-contaminated materials did not.
 
Our data establish that meadow voles are permissive to CWD via peripheral exposure route, suggesting they could serve as an environmental reservoir for CWD. Additionally, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that at least two strains of CWD circulate in naturally-infected cervid populations and provide evidence that meadow voles are a useful tool for CWD strain typing.
 
Conclusion. CWD prions are shed in saliva and urine of infected deer as early as 3 months post infection and throughout the subsequent >1.5 year course of infection. In current work we are examining the relationship of prionemia to excretion and the impact of excreted prion binding to surfaces and particulates in the environment.
 
*** Conclusion. CWD prions (as inferred by prion seeding activity by RT-QuIC) are shed in urine of infected deer as early as 6 months post inoculation and throughout the subsequent disease course. Further studies are in progress refining the real-time urinary prion assay sensitivity and we are examining more closely the excretion time frame, magnitude, and sample variables in relationship to inoculation route and prionemia in naturally and experimentally CWD-infected cervids.
 
Conclusions. Our results suggested that the odds of infection for CWD is likely controlled by areas that congregate deer thus increasing direct transmission (deer-to-deer interactions) or indirect transmission (deer-to-environment) by sharing or depositing infectious prion proteins in these preferred habitats. Epidemiology of CWD in the eastern U.S. is likely controlled by separate factors than found in the Midwestern and endemic areas for CWD and can assist in performing more efficient surveillance efforts for the region.
 
Conclusions. During the pre-symptomatic stage of CWD infection and throughout the course of disease deer may be shedding multiple LD50 doses per day in their saliva. CWD prion shedding through saliva and excreta may account for the unprecedented spread of this prion disease in nature.
 
see full text and more ;
 
Monday, June 23, 2014
 
*** PRION 2014 CONFERENCE CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD
 
 
 
*** Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years***
 
Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3
 
 
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
 
 
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
 
 
 
Sunday, December 21, 2014
 
Mucosal immunization with an attenuated Salmonella vaccine partially protects white-tailed deer from chronic wasting disease
 
 
Friday, December 19, 2014
 
Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise Inc. (PREVENT) Conducting a Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Vaccine Efficacy Trial in Elk
 
 
Saturday, October 25, 2014
 
118th USAHA Annual Meeting CWD and Captive Cerivds
 
 
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
 
Evidence for zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions
 
Hervé Cassard,1, n1 Juan-Maria Torres,2, n1 Caroline Lacroux,1, Jean-Yves Douet,1, Sylvie L. Benestad,3, Frédéric Lantier,4, Séverine Lugan,1, Isabelle Lantier,4, Pierrette Costes,1, Naima Aron,1, Fabienne Reine,5, Laetitia Herzog,5, Juan-Carlos Espinosa,2, Vincent Beringue5, & Olivier Andréoletti1, Affiliations Contributions Corresponding author Journal name: Nature Communications Volume: 5, Article number: 5821 DOI: doi:10.1038/ncomms6821 Received 07 August 2014 Accepted 10 November 2014 Published 16 December 2014 Article tools Citation Reprints Rights & permissions Article metrics
 
Abstract
 
Although Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is the cause of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans, the zoonotic potential of scrapie prions remains unknown. Mice genetically engineered to overexpress the human ​prion protein (tgHu) have emerged as highly relevant models for gauging the capacity of prions to transmit to humans. These models can propagate human prions without any apparent transmission barrier and have been used used to confirm the zoonotic ability of BSE. Here we show that a panel of sheep scrapie prions transmit to several tgHu mice models with an efficiency comparable to that of cattle BSE. ***The serial transmission of different scrapie isolates in these mice led to the propagation of prions that are phenotypically identical to those causing sporadic CJD (sCJD) in humans. ***These results demonstrate that scrapie prions have a zoonotic potential and raise new questions about the possible link between animal and human prions.
 
Subject terms: Biological sciences• Medical research At a glance
 
 
why do we not want to do TSE transmission studies on chimpanzees $
 
5. A positive result from a chimpanzee challenged severly would likely create alarm in some circles even if the result could not be interpreted for man. I have a view that all these agents could be transmitted provided a large enough dose by appropriate routes was given and the animals kept long enough. Until the mechanisms of the species barrier are more clearly understood it might be best to retain that hypothesis.
 
snip...
 
R. BRADLEY
 
 
Suspect symptoms
 
What if you can catch old-fashioned CJD by eating meat from a sheep infected with scrapie?
 
28 Mar 01 Most doctors believe that sCJD is caused by a prion protein deforming by chance into a killer. But Singeltary thinks otherwise. He is one of a number of campaigners who say that some sCJD, like the variant CJD related to BSE, is caused by eating meat from infected animals. Their suspicions have focused on sheep carrying scrapie, a BSE-like disease that is widespread in flocks across Europe and North America.
 
Now scientists in France have stumbled across new evidence that adds weight to the campaigners' fears. To their complete surprise, the researchers found that one strain of scrapie causes the same brain damage in mice as sCJD.
 
"This means we cannot rule out that at least some sCJD may be caused by some strains of scrapie," says team member Jean-Philippe Deslys of the French Atomic Energy Commission's medical research laboratory in Fontenay-aux-Roses, south-west of Paris. Hans Kretschmar of the University of Göttingen, who coordinates CJD surveillance in Germany, is so concerned by the findings that he now wants to trawl back through past sCJD cases to see if any might have been caused by eating infected mutton or lamb...
 
2001
 
Suspect symptoms
 
What if you can catch old-fashioned CJD by eating meat from a sheep infected with scrapie?
 
28 Mar 01
 
Like lambs to the slaughter
 
31 March 2001
 
by Debora MacKenzie Magazine issue 2284.
 
FOUR years ago, Terry Singeltary watched his mother die horribly from a degenerative brain disease. Doctors told him it was Alzheimer's, but Singeltary was suspicious. The diagnosis didn't fit her violent symptoms, and he demanded an autopsy. It showed she had died of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
 
Most doctors believe that sCJD is caused by a prion protein deforming by chance into a killer. But Singeltary thinks otherwise. He is one of a number of campaigners who say that some sCJD, like the variant CJD related to BSE, is caused by eating meat from infected animals. Their suspicions have focused on sheep carrying scrapie, a BSE-like disease that is widespread in flocks across Europe and North America.
 
Now scientists in France have stumbled across new evidence that adds weight to the campaigners' fears. To their complete surprise, the researchers found that one strain of scrapie causes the same brain damage in mice as sCJD.
 
"This means we cannot rule out that at least some sCJD may be caused by some strains of scrapie," says team member Jean-Philippe Deslys of the French Atomic Energy Commission's medical research laboratory in Fontenay-aux-Roses, south-west of Paris. Hans Kretschmar of the University of Göttingen, who coordinates CJD surveillance in Germany, is so concerned by the findings that he now wants to trawl back through past sCJD cases to see if any might have been caused by eating infected mutton or lamb.
 
Scrapie has been around for centuries and until now there has been no evidence that it poses a risk to human health. But if the French finding means that scrapie can cause sCJD in people, countries around the world may have overlooked a CJD crisis to rival that caused by BSE.
 
Deslys and colleagues were originally studying vCJD, not sCJD. They injected the brains of macaque monkeys with brain from BSE cattle, and from French and British vCJD patients. The brain damage and clinical symptoms in the monkeys were the same for all three. Mice injected with the original sets of brain tissue or with infected monkey brain also developed the same symptoms.
 
As a control experiment, the team also injected mice with brain tissue from people and animals with other prion diseases: a French case of sCJD; a French patient who caught sCJD from human-derived growth hormone; sheep with a French strain of scrapie; and mice carrying a prion derived from an American scrapie strain. As expected, they all affected the brain in a different way from BSE and vCJD. But while the American strain of scrapie caused different damage from sCJD, the French strain produced exactly the same pathology.
 
"The main evidence that scrapie does not affect humans has been epidemiology," says Moira Bruce of the neuropathogenesis unit of the Institute for Animal Health in Edinburgh, who was a member of the same team as Deslys. "You see about the same incidence of the disease everywhere, whether or not there are many sheep, and in countries such as New Zealand with no scrapie." In the only previous comparisons of sCJD and scrapie in mice, Bruce found they were dissimilar.
 
But there are more than 20 strains of scrapie, and six of sCJD. "You would not necessarily see a relationship between the two with epidemiology if only some strains affect only some people," says Deslys. Bruce is cautious about the mouse results, but agrees they require further investigation. Other trials of scrapie and sCJD in mice, she says, are in progress.
 
People can have three different genetic variations of the human prion protein, and each type of protein can fold up two different ways. Kretschmar has found that these six combinations correspond to six clinical types of sCJD: each type of normal prion produces a particular pathology when it spontaneously deforms to produce sCJD.
 
But if these proteins deform because of infection with a disease-causing prion, the relationship between pathology and prion type should be different, as it is in vCJD. "If we look at brain samples from sporadic CJD cases and find some that do not fit the pattern," says Kretschmar, "that could mean they were caused by infection."
 
There are 250 deaths per year from sCJD in the US, and a similar incidence elsewhere. Singeltary and other US activists think that some of these people died after eating contaminated meat or "nutritional" pills containing dried animal brain. Governments will have a hard time facing activists like Singeltary if it turns out that some sCJD isn't as spontaneous as doctors have insisted.
 
Deslys's work on macaques also provides further proof that the human disease vCJD is caused by BSE. And the experiments showed that vCJD is much more virulent to primates than BSE, even when injected into the bloodstream rather than the brain. This, says Deslys, means that there is an even bigger risk than we thought that vCJD can be passed from one patient to another through contaminated blood transfusions and surgical instruments.
 
 
Friday, January 30, 2015
 
*** Scrapie: a particularly persistent pathogen ***
 
 
Monday, November 3, 2014
 
Persistence of ovine scrapie infectivity in a farm environment following cleaning and decontamination
 
 
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.
 
 
2012
 
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
 
snip...
 
The results of this study suggest that there are many similarities in the manifestation of CWD and scrapie in WTD after IC inoculation including early and widespread presence of PrPSc in lymphoid tissues, clinical signs of depression and weight loss progressing to wasting, and an incubation time of 21-23 months. Moreover, western blots (WB) done on brain material from the obex region have a molecular profile similar to CWD and distinct from tissues of the cerebrum or the scrapie inoculum. However, results of microscopic and IHC examination indicate that there are differences between the lesions expected in CWD and those that occur in deer with scrapie: amyloid plaques were not noted in any sections of brain examined from these deer and the pattern of immunoreactivity by IHC was diffuse rather than plaque-like.
 
*** After a natural route of exposure, 100% of WTD were susceptible to scrapie.
 
Deer developed clinical signs of wasting and mental depression and were necropsied from 28 to 33 months PI. Tissues from these deer were positive for PrPSc by IHC and WB. Similar to IC inoculated deer, samples from these deer exhibited two different molecular profiles: samples from obex resembled CWD whereas those from cerebrum were similar to the original scrapie inoculum. On further examination by WB using a panel of antibodies, the tissues from deer with scrapie exhibit properties differing from tissues either from sheep with scrapie or WTD with CWD. Samples from WTD with CWD or sheep with scrapie are strongly immunoreactive when probed with mAb P4, however, samples from WTD with scrapie are only weakly immunoreactive. In contrast, when probed with mAb’s 6H4 or SAF 84, samples from sheep with scrapie and WTD with CWD are weakly immunoreactive and samples from WTD with scrapie are strongly positive. 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.
 
 
>>>CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE , THERE WAS NO ABSOLUTE BARRIER TO CONVERSION OF THE HUMAN PRION PROTEIN<<<
 
*** PRICE OF CWD TSE PRION POKER GOES UP 2014 ***
 
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE PRION update January 2, 2014
 
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.
 
 
 
PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS CWD
 
Sunday, August 25, 2013
 
HD.13: CWD infection in the spleen of humanized transgenic mice
 
***These results indicate that the CWD prion may have the potential to infect human peripheral lymphoid tissues.
 
Oral.15: Molecular barriers to zoonotic prion transmission: Comparison of the ability of sheep, cattle and deer prion disease isolates to convert normal human prion protein to its pathological isoform in a cell-free system ***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
 
 
Friday, November 09, 2012
 
*** Chronic Wasting Disease CWD in cervidae and transmission to other species
 
 
there is in fact evidence that the potential for cwd transmission to humans can NOT be ruled out.
 
I thought your readers and hunters and those that consume the venison, should have all the scientific facts, personally, I don’t care what you eat, but if it effects me and my family down the road, it should then concern everyone, and the potential of iatrogenic transmission of the TSE prion is real i.e. ‘friendly fire’, medical, surgical, dental, blood, tissue, and or products there from...like deer antler velvet and TSE prions and nutritional supplements there from, all a potential risk factor that should not be ignored or silenced. ...
 
the prion gods at the cdc state that there is ;
 
''no strong evidence''
 
but let's see exactly what the authors of this cwd to human at the cdc state ;
 
now, let’s see what the authors said about this casual link, personal communications years ago. see where it is stated NO STRONG evidence. so, does this mean there IS casual evidence ????
 
“Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans”
 
From: TSS (216-119-163-189.ipset45.wt.net)
 
Subject: CWD aka MAD DEER/ELK TO HUMANS ???
 
Date: September 30, 2002 at 7:06 am PST
 
From: "Belay, Ermias"
 
To:
 
Cc: "Race, Richard (NIH)" ; ; "Belay, Ermias"
 
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 9:22 AM
 
Subject: RE: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS
 
Dear Sir/Madam,
 
In the Archives of Neurology you quoted (the abstract of which was attached to your email), we did not say CWD in humans will present like variant CJD.
 
That assumption would be wrong. I encourage you to read the whole article and call me if you have questions or need more clarification (phone: 404-639-3091). Also, we do not claim that "no-one has ever been infected with prion disease from eating venison." Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans in the article you quoted or in any other forum is limited to the patients we investigated.
 
Ermias Belay, M.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 
-----Original Message-----
 
From:
 
Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 10:15 AM
 
To: rr26k@nih.gov; rrace@niaid.nih.gov; ebb8@CDC.GOV
 
Subject: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS
 
Sunday, November 10, 2002 6:26 PM ......snip........end..............TSS
 
Thursday, April 03, 2008
 
A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease
 
2008 1: Vet Res. 2008 Apr 3;39(4):41
 
A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease
 
Sigurdson CJ.
 
snip...
 
*** twenty-seven CJD patients who regularly consumed venison were reported to the Surveillance Center***,
 
snip...
 
full text ;
 
 
 
 
***********CJD REPORT 1994 increased risk for consumption of veal and venison and lamb***********
 
CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM THIRD ANNUAL REPORT AUGUST 1994
 
Consumption of venison and veal was much less widespread among both cases and controls. For both of these meats there was evidence of a trend with increasing frequency of consumption being associated with increasing risk of CJD. (not nvCJD, but sporadic CJD...tss)
 
These associations were largely unchanged when attention was restricted to pairs with data obtained from relatives. ...
 
Table 9 presents the results of an analysis of these data.
 
There is STRONG evidence of an association between ‘’regular’’ veal eating and risk of CJD (p = .0.01).
 
Individuals reported to eat veal on average at least once a year appear to be at 13 TIMES THE RISK of individuals who have never eaten veal.
 
There is, however, a very wide confidence interval around this estimate. There is no strong evidence that eating veal less than once per year is associated with increased risk of CJD (p = 0.51).
 
The association between venison eating and risk of CJD shows similar pattern, with regular venison eating associated with a 9 FOLD INCREASE IN RISK OF CJD (p = 0.04).
 
There is some evidence that risk of CJD INCREASES WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY OF LAMB EATING (p = 0.02).
 
The evidence for such an association between beef eating and CJD is weaker (p = 0.14). When only controls for whom a relative was interviewed are included, this evidence becomes a little STRONGER (p = 0.08).
 
snip...
 
It was found that when veal was included in the model with another exposure, the association between veal and CJD remained statistically significant (p = < 0.05 for all exposures), while the other exposures ceased to be statistically significant (p = > 0.05).
 
snip...
 
In conclusion, an analysis of dietary histories revealed statistical associations between various meats/animal products and INCREASED RISK OF CJD. When some account was taken of possible confounding, the association between VEAL EATING AND RISK OF CJD EMERGED AS THE STRONGEST OF THESE ASSOCIATIONS STATISTICALLY. ...
 
snip...
 
In the study in the USA, a range of foodstuffs were associated with an increased risk of CJD, including liver consumption which was associated with an apparent SIX-FOLD INCREASE IN THE RISK OF CJD. By comparing the data from 3 studies in relation to this particular dietary factor, the risk of liver consumption became non-significant with an odds ratio of 1.2 (PERSONAL COMMUNICATION, PROFESSOR A. HOFMAN. ERASMUS UNIVERSITY, ROTTERDAM). (???...TSS)
 
snip...see full report ;
 
 
Thursday, October 10, 2013
 
*************CJD REPORT 1994 increased risk for consumption of veal and venison and lamb**************
 
 
CJD9/10022
 
October 1994
 
Mr R.N. Elmhirst Chairman British Deer Farmers Association Holly Lodge Spencers Lane BerksWell Coventry CV7 7BZ
 
Dear Mr Elmhirst,
 
CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD) SURVEILLANCE UNIT REPORT
 
Thank you for your recent letter concerning the publication of the third annual report from the CJD Surveillance Unit. I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with the way in which this report was published.
 
The Surveillance Unit is a completely independant outside body and the Department of Health is committed to publishing their reports as soon as they become available. In the circumstances it is not the practice to circulate the report for comment since the findings of the report would not be amended. In future we can ensure that the British Deer Farmers Association receives a copy of the report in advance of publication.
 
The Chief Medical Officer has undertaken to keep the public fully informed of the results of any research in respect of CJD. This report was entirely the work of the unit and was produced completely independantly of the the Department.
 
The statistical results reqarding the consumption of venison was put into perspective in the body of the report and was not mentioned at all in the press release. Media attention regarding this report was low key but gave a realistic presentation of the statistical findings of the Unit. This approach to publication was successful in that consumption of venison was highlighted only once by the media ie. in the News at one television proqramme.
 
I believe that a further statement about the report, or indeed statistical links between CJD and consumption of venison, would increase, and quite possibly give damaging credence, to the whole issue. From the low key media reports of which I am aware it seems unlikely that venison consumption will suffer adversely, if at all.
 
 
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
 
Six-year follow-up of a point-source exposure to CWD contaminated venison in an Upstate New York community: risk behaviours and health outcomes 2005–2011
 
 
see updated science on potential risk factors for cwd transmission to humans ;
 
Monday, March 09, 2015
 
*** Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE prion and human animal risk factor there from
 
 
Monday, February 23, 2015
 
20th BSE Case Raises New Concerns about Canada's Feeding Practices and Voluntary Testing Program; Highlights Importance of COOL
 
 
Saturday, February 28, 2015
 
BSE CANADA UPDATE Transcript - Technical Briefing to Provide an Update on Investigation of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in Alberta February 27, 2015 4:00 p.m.
 
 
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
 
Could we spot the next BSE?, asks BVA President
 
 
TSS
 
 
 
 
 
 

posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at 11:31 AM

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