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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

TWO Escaped Captive Deer on the loose in Eau Claire County Wisconsin CWD postive farm Yellow ear tag

How’s that Texas Deer Czar expert Dr. Dough that Governor Scott Walker hired, how is that working for you now in Wisconsin $$$

 

Escaped Captive Deer on the loose in Eau Claire County

 

By Central Office July 14, 2015 Contact(s): Bill Hogseth, DNR Wildlife Biologist, Eau Claire & Chippewa counties, 715-839-3771 Harvey Halvorsen, DNR Area Wildlife Supervisor, 715-684-2914 Ext. 113 Tami Ryan, DNR Wildlife Health Section Chief, 608-266-3143

 

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- The state Department of Natural Resources is requesting the help of residents of Fairchild and Augusta and the surrounding areas to be on the lookout for two escaped ear-tagged captive white-tailed deer from a local captive deer facility.

 

On June 24 the Department of Agriculture, Trade, & Consumer Protection [PDF] (exit DNR ) announced a captive white-tailed deer from a breeding farm in Eau Claire County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

 

In early May, the farm owner reported that multiple captive bucks escaped the facility when a tree fell on the fence causing a breach. Most of the escaped bucks were recovered with two still remaining out on the landscape.

 

"We need landowners and the public to be on the lookout for any deer that appear to have an ear tag. These captive escapes are a potential health risk to the local wild deer herd and should be removed from the landscape," said DNR wildlife biologist Bill Hogseth.

 

Ear tag Yellow plastic ear-tags are likely to be on these two bucks. WDNR Photo

 

Landowners are asked to check trail camera images for any ear-tagged deer. The DNR would like to be notified if you record any images of ear-tagged deer or if you observe any. While yellow plastic ear-tags like the one pictured are most common and likely to be on these two bucks, please report any deer tagged with any size, shape or color of ear-tag.

 

If it is after hours, or a biologist isn't available please contact the department's hotline at 1-800-847-9367. The information will be forwarded to the local conservation warden.

 

Anyone interested in learning more about CWD in Wisconsin can search the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, for keyword "CWD").

 

Last Revised: Tuesday, July 14, 2015

 


 


 

 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

 

Wisconsin CWD-positive white-tailed deer found on Eau Claire County farm

 


 

 

what about all the escapees and or the good old SSS shoot, shovel, and shut up.

 

you know the excuse, works well for cattle and BSE, just ask Canadian Alberta premier Ralph Klein ‘'

 

*** I guess any self-respecting rancher would have shot, shovelled and shut up, but he didn't do that." — Klein recalls how the mad cow crisis started and rancher Marwyn Peaster's role.’’

 

I would guess it works well for cervids too. that old sickly looking captive cervid that happens to escape never to be found ??? oops...records??? what records???

 

Friday, September 20, 2013

 

Missouri State records show gaps in oversight of captive deer farms, ranches

 


 

a few escapees off the top of my head ;

 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

 

Pennsylvania ‘Pink 23’ Adams County exposed CWD Escaped Deer shot, but where are the other escapees ?

 


 

Saturday, June 29, 2013

 

PENNSYLVANIA CAPTIVE CWD INDEX HERD MATE YELLOW *47 STILL RUNNING LOOSE IN INDIANA, YELLOW NUMBER 2 STILL MISSING, AND OTHERS ON THE RUN STILL IN LOUISIANA

 


 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

 

CWD GONE WILD, More cervid escapees from more shooting pens on the loose in Pennsylvania

 


 

Wisconsin : 436 Deer Have Escaped From Farms to Wild

 

Date: March 18, 2003 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

 

Contacts: LEE BERGQUIST lbergquist@journalsentinel.com

 

State finds violations, lax record keeping at many sites, report says A state inspection of private deer farms, prompted by the discovery of chronic wasting disease, found that 436 white-tailed deer escaped into the wild, officials said Tuesday

 

The Department of Natural Resources found that captive deer have escaped from one-third of the state's 550 deer farms over the lifetime of the operations. The agency also uncovered hundreds of violations and has sought a total of 60 citations or charges against deer farm operators.

 

Hundreds of deer escape

 

The DNR found a total of 671 deer that escaped farms - 436 of which were never found - because of storm-damaged fences, gates being left open or the animals jumping over or through fences.

 

In one example in Kewaunee County, a deer farmer's fence was knocked down in a summer storm. Ten deer escaped, and the farmer told the DNR he had no intention of trying to reclaim them. The DNR found five of the deer, killed them and cited the farmer for violation of a regulation related to fencing.

 

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

 

The DNR found 24 instances of unlicensed deer farms and issued 19 citations.

 

Game Farms Inspected

 

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

 

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

 

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

 


 

Earl Ray Tomblin, Governor Frank Jezioro, Director

 

News Release: November 4, 2011

 

Facebook: WV Commerce - State Parks

 

Hoy Murphy, Public Information Officer (304) 957-9365 hoy.r.murphy@wv.gov Contact: Curtis Taylor, Wildlife Resources Section Chief 304-558-2771 DNR.Wildlife@wv.gov

 

Elk escape from captive cervid facility in Pennsylvania near West Virginia border

 

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) has confirmed with officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) that at least two elk, including one adult bull and one cow, have escaped from a captive cervid facility (deer and elk farms) in Greene County, Pa. Greene County shares a common border with Marshall, Wetzel and Monongalia counties in West Virginia. The elk escaped from a captive cervid facility located approximately three miles from the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border.

 

The PDA regulates captive cervid facilities in Pennsylvania. A representative of the agency was unaware if the recent escaped elk were tagged. The WVDNR regulates captive cervid facilities in West Virginia. In West Virginia, all captive cervids in breeding facilities must be ear-tagged, and there are currently no reported elk escapes from any facility in West Virginia.

 

A bull elk has been seen recently in Wetzel County, W.Va., according to WVDNR officials. There have been no reports of cow elk sightings in either Wetzel County, W.Va., or Greene County, Pa. No free-ranging wild elk live within 150 miles of Wetzel County. The elk sighted in Wetzel County is likely the escaped animal from the captive facility in Pennsylvania.

 


 

Friday, September 28, 2012

 

Stray elk renews concerns about deer farm security Minnesota

 


 

Monday, June 11, 2012

 

*** OHIO Captive deer escapees and non-reporting ***

 


 

Thursday, October 23, 2014

 

FIRST CASE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CONFIRMED IN OHIO ON PRIVATE PRESERVE

 


 

Thursday, April 02, 2015

 

OHIO CONFIRMS SECOND POSTIVE CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD on Yoder's properties near Millersburg

 


 

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

 

World Class Whitetails quarantined CWD deer Daniel M. Yoder charged with two counts of tampering with evidence

 


 

Friday, April 04, 2014

 

*** Wisconsin State officials kept silent on CWD discovery at game farm ***

 


 

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

 

*** Wisconsin white-tailed deer tested positive for CWD on a Richland County breeding farm, and a case of CWD has been discovered on a Marathon County hunting preserve

 


 

Wednesday, March 04, 2015

 

Disease sampling results provide current snapshot of CWD in Wisconsin finding 324 positive detections statewide in 2014

 


 

what about CWD infection rates on some of these game farms ???

 

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD WISCONSIN Almond Deer (Buckhorn Flats) FarmUpdate DECEMBER 2011The CWD infection rate was nearly 80%, the highest ever in a North American captive herd. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board approve the purchase of 80acres of land for $465,000 for the Statewide Wildlife Habitat Program inPortage County and approve the restrictions on public use of the site.SUMMARY:

 


 

For Immediate Release Thursday, October 2, 2014

 

Dustin Vande Hoef 515/281-3375 or 515/326-1616 (cell) or Dustin.VandeHoef@IowaAgriculture.gov

 

TEST RESULTS FROM CAPTIVE DEER HERD WITH CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE RELEASED 79.8 percent of the deer tested positive for the disease

 

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship today announced that the test results from the depopulation of a quarantined captive deer herd in north-central Iowa showed that 284 of the 356 deer, or 79.8% of the herd, tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The owners of the quarantined herd have entered into a fence maintenance agreement with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship,which requires the owners to maintain the 8’ foot perimeter fence around the herd premises for five years after the depopulation was complete and the premises had been cleaned and disinfected CWD is a progressive, fatal, degenerative neurological disease of farmed and free-ranging deer, elk, and moose. There is no known treatment or vaccine for CWD. CWD is not a disease that affects humans.On July 18, 2012, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS)National Veterinary Services Lab in Ames, IA confirmed that a male whitetail deer harvested from a hunting preserve in southeast IA was positive for CWD. An investigation revealed that this animal had just been introduced into the hunting preserve from the above-referenced captive deer herd in north-central Iowa.The captive deer herd was immediately quarantined to prevent the spread of CWD. The herd has remained in quarantine until its depopulation on August 25 to 27, 2014.The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship participated in a joint operation to depopulate the infected herd with USDA Veterinary Services, which was the lead agency, and USDA Wildlife Services.Federal indemnity funding became available in 2014. USDA APHIS appraised the captive deer herd of 376 animals at that time, which was before depopulation and testing, at $1,354,250. At that time a herd plan was developed with the owners and officials from USDA and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.Once the depopulation was complete and the premises had been cleaned and disinfected, indemnity of $917,100.00 from the USDA has been or will be paid to the owners as compensation for the 356 captive deer depopulated.The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship operates a voluntary CWD program for farms that sell live animals. Currently 145 Iowa farms participate in the voluntary program. The above-referenced captive deer facility left the voluntary CWD program prior to the discovery of the disease as they had stopped selling live animals. All deer harvested in a hunting preserve must be tested for CWD. -30-

 


 

*** see history of this CWD blunder here ;

 


 

On June 5, 2013, DNR conducted a fence inspection, after gaining approval from surrounding landowners, and confirmed that the fenced had beencut or removed in at least four separate locations; that the fence had degraded and was failing to maintain the enclosure around the Quarantined Premises in at least one area; that at least three gates had been opened;and that deer tracks were visible in and around one of the open areas in the sand on both sides of the fence, evidencing movement of deer into the Quarantined Premises.

 


 

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

 

snip...

 

In the USA, under the Food and Drug Administration’s BSE Feed Regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) most material (exceptions include milk, tallow, and gelatin) from deer and elk is prohibited for use in feed for ruminant animals. With regards to feed for non-ruminant animals, under FDA law, CWD positive deer may not be used for any animal feed or feed ingredients. For elk and deer considered at high risk for CWD, the FDA recommends that these animals do not enter the animal feed system. However, this recommendation is guidance and not a requirement by law.

 

Animals considered at high risk for CWD include:

 

1) animals from areas declared to be endemic for CWD and/or to be CWD eradication zones and

 

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

 

Therefore, in the USA, materials from cervids other than CWD positive animals may be used in animal feed and feed ingredients for non-ruminants.

 

The amount of animal PAP that is of deer and/or elk origin imported from the USA to GB can not be determined, however, as it is not specified in TRACES. It may constitute a small percentage of the 8412 kilos of non-fish origin processed animal proteins that were imported from US into GB in 2011.

 

Overall, therefore, it is considered there is a __greater than negligible risk___ that (nonruminant) animal feed and pet food containing deer and/or elk protein is imported into GB.

 

There is uncertainty associated with this estimate given the lack of data on the amount of deer and/or elk protein possibly being imported in these products.

 

snip...

 

36% in 2007 (Almberg et al., 2011). In such areas, population declines of deer of up to 30 to 50% have been observed (Almberg et al., 2011). In areas of Colorado, the prevalence can be as high as 30% (EFSA, 2011). The clinical signs of CWD in affected adults are weight loss and behavioural changes that can span weeks or months (Williams, 2005). In addition, signs might include excessive salivation, behavioural alterations including a fixed stare and changes in interaction with other animals in the herd, and an altered stance (Williams, 2005). These signs are indistinguishable from cervids experimentally infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Given this, if CWD was to be introduced into countries with BSE such as GB, for example, infected deer populations would need to be tested to differentiate if they were infected with CWD or BSE to minimise the risk of BSE entering the human food-chain via affected venison.

 

snip...

 

The rate of transmission of CWD has been reported to be as high as 30% and can approach 100% among captive animals in endemic areas (Safar et al., 2008).

 

snip...

 

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

 

snip...

 

In summary, given the volume of tourists, hunters and servicemen moving between GB and North America, the probability of at least one person travelling to/from a CWD affected area and, in doing so, contaminating their clothing, footwear and/or equipment prior to arriving in GB is greater than negligible. For deer hunters, specifically, the risk is likely to be greater given the increased contact with deer and their environment. However, there is significant uncertainty associated with these estimates.

 

snip...

 

Therefore, it is considered that farmed and park deer may have a higher probability of exposure to CWD transferred to the environment than wild deer given the restricted habitat range and higher frequency of contact with tourists and returning GB residents.

 

snip...

 


 

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

 


 

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION, how much does it pay to find CWD $$$

 

CWD, spreading it around...

 

for the game farm industry, and their constituents, to continue to believe that they are _NOT_, and or insinuate that they have _NEVER_ been part of the problem, will only continue to help spread cwd. the game farming industry, from the shooting pens, to the urine mills, the antler mills, the sperm mills, velvet mills, shooting pens, to large ranches, are not the only problem, but it is painfully obvious that they have been part of the problem for decades and decades, just spreading it around, as with transportation and or exportation and or importation of cervids from game farming industry, and have been proven to spread cwd. no one need to look any further than South Korea blunder ;

 

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spreading cwd around...

 

Between 1996 and 2002, chronic wasting disease was diagnosed in 39 herds of farmed elk in Saskatchewan in a single epidemic. All of these herds were depopulated as part of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) disease eradication program. Animals, primarily over 12 mo of age, were tested for the presence CWD prions following euthanasia. Twenty-one of the herds were linked through movements of live animals with latent CWD from a single infected source herd in Saskatchewan, 17 through movements of animals from 7 of the secondarily infected herds.

 

***The source herd is believed to have become infected via importation of animals from a game farm in South Dakota where CWD was subsequently diagnosed (7,4). A wide range in herd prevalence of CWD at the time of herd depopulation of these herds was observed. Within-herd transmission was observed on some farms, while the disease remained confined to the introduced animals on other farms.

 


 

spreading cwd around...

 

Friday, May 13, 2011

 

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) outbreaks and surveillance program in the Republic of Korea

 

Hyun-Joo Sohn, Yoon-Hee Lee, Min-jeong Kim, Eun-Im Yun, Hyo-Jin Kim, Won-Yong Lee, Dong-Seob Tark, In- Soo Cho, Foreign Animal Disease Research Division, National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, Republic of Korea

 

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been recognized as an important prion disease in native North America deer and Rocky mountain elks. The disease is a unique member of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which naturally affects only a few species. CWD had been limited to USA and Canada until 2000.

 

On 28 December 2000, information from the Canadian government showed that a total of 95 elk had been exported from farms with CWD to Korea. These consisted of 23 elk in 1994 originating from the so-called “source farm” in Canada, and 72 elk in 1997, which had been held in pre export quarantine at the “source farm”.Based on export information of CWD suspected elk from Canada to Korea, CWD surveillance program was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in 2001.

 

All elks imported in 1997 were traced back, however elks imported in 1994 were impossible to identify. CWD control measures included stamping out of all animals in the affected farm, and thorough cleaning and disinfection of the premises. In addition, nationwide clinical surveillance of Korean native cervids, and improved measures to ensure reporting of CWD suspect cases were implemented.

 

Total of 9 elks were found to be affected. CWD was designated as a notifiable disease under the Act for Prevention of Livestock Epidemics in 2002.

 

Additional CWD cases - 12 elks and 2 elks - were diagnosed in 2004 and 2005.

 

Since February of 2005, when slaughtered elks were found to be positive, all slaughtered cervid for human consumption at abattoirs were designated as target of the CWD surveillance program. Currently, CWD laboratory testing is only conducted by National Reference Laboratory on CWD, which is the Foreign Animal Disease Division (FADD) of National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS).

 

In July 2010, one out of 3 elks from Farm 1 which were slaughtered for the human consumption was confirmed as positive. Consequently, all cervid – 54 elks, 41 Sika deer and 5 Albino deer – were culled and one elk was found to be positive. Epidemiological investigations were conducted by Veterinary Epidemiology Division (VED) of NVRQS in collaboration with provincial veterinary services.

 

Epidemiologically related farms were found as 3 farms and all cervid at these farms were culled and subjected to CWD diagnosis. Three elks and 5 crossbreeds (Red deer and Sika deer) were confirmed as positive at farm 2.

 

All cervids at Farm 3 and Farm 4 – 15 elks and 47 elks – were culled and confirmed as negative.

 

Further epidemiological investigations showed that these CWD outbreaks were linked to the importation of elks from Canada in 1994 based on circumstantial evidences.

 

In December 2010, one elk was confirmed as positive at Farm 5. Consequently, all cervid – 3 elks, 11 Manchurian Sika deer and 20 Sika deer – were culled and one Manchurian Sika deer and seven Sika deer were found to be positive. This is the first report of CWD in these sub-species of deer. Epidemiological investigations found that the owner of the Farm 2 in CWD outbreaks in July 2010 had co-owned the Farm 5.

 

In addition, it was newly revealed that one positive elk was introduced from Farm 6 of Jinju-si Gyeongsang Namdo. All cervid – 19 elks, 15 crossbreed (species unknown) and 64 Sika deer – of Farm 6 were culled, but all confirmed as negative.

 


 


 


 


 

*** LATE-BREAKING ABSTRACTS PRION 2015 CONFERENCE ***

 

O18

 

Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions

 

Liuting Qing1, Ignazio Cali1,2, Jue Yuan1, Shenghai Huang3, Diane Kofskey1, Pierluigi Gambetti1, Wenquan Zou1, Qingzhong Kong1 1Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 2Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy, 3Encore Health Resources, Houston, Texas, USA

 

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a widespread and expanding prion disease in free-ranging and captive cervid species in North America. The zoonotic potential of CWD prions is a serious public health concern. Current literature generated with in vitro methods and in vivo animal models (transgenic mice, macaques and squirrel monkeys) reports conflicting results. The susceptibility of human CNS and peripheral organs to CWD prions remains largely unresolved. In our earlier bioassay experiments using several humanized transgenic mouse lines, we detected protease-resistant PrPSc in the spleen of two out of 140 mice that were intracerebrally inoculated with natural CWD isolates, but PrPSc was not detected in the brain of the same mice. Secondary passages with such PrPSc-positive CWD-inoculated humanized mouse spleen tissues led to efficient prion transmission with clear clinical and pathological signs in both humanized and cervidized transgenic mice. Furthermore, a recent bioassay with natural CWD isolates in a new humanized transgenic mouse line led to clinical prion infection in 2 out of 20 mice. These results indicate that the CWD prion has the potential to infect human CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues and that there might be asymptomatic human carriers of CWD infection.

 

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***These results indicate that the CWD prion has the potential to infect human CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues and that there might be asymptomatic human carriers of CWD infection.***

 

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P.105: RT-QuIC models trans-species prion transmission

 

Kristen Davenport, Davin Henderson, Candace Mathiason, and Edward Hoover Prion Research Center; Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA

 

The propensity for trans-species prion transmission is related to the structural characteristics of the enciphering and heterologous PrP, but the exact mechanism remains mostly mysterious. Studies of the effects of primary or tertiary prion protein structures on trans-species prion transmission have relied primarily upon animal bioassays, making the influence of prion protein structure vs. host co-factors (e.g. cellular constituents, trafficking, and innate immune interactions) difficult to dissect. As an alternative strategy, we used real-time quakinginduced conversion (RT-QuIC) to investigate trans-species prion conversion.

 

To assess trans-species conversion in the RT-QuIC system, we compared chronic wasting disease (CWD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions, as well as feline CWD (fCWD) and feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE). Each prion was seeded into each host recombinant PrP (full-length rPrP of white-tailed deer, bovine or feline). We demonstrated that fCWD is a more efficient seed for feline rPrP than for white-tailed deer rPrP, which suggests adaptation to the new host.

 

Conversely, FSE maintained sufficient BSE characteristics to more efficiently convert bovine rPrP than feline rPrP. Additionally, human rPrP was competent for conversion by CWD and fCWD. ***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously estimated.

 

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

 

***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously estimated.***

 

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Willingham, Erin McNulty, Kelly Anderson, Jeanette Hayes-Klug, Amy Nalls, and Candace Mathiason Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA

 

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), of free-ranging and captive cervids (deer, elk and moose).

 

The presence of infectious prions in the tissues, bodily fluids and environments of clinical and preclinical CWD-infected animals is thought to account for its high transmission efficiency. Recently it has been recognized that mother to offspring transmission may contribute to the facile transmission of some TSEs. Although the mechanism behind maternal transmission is not yet known, the extended asymptomatic TSE carrier phase (lasting years to decades) suggests that it may have implications in the spread of prions.

 

Placental trafficking and/or secretion in milk are 2 means by which maternal prion transmission may occur. In these studies we explore these avenues during early and late infection using a transgenic mouse model expressing cervid prion protein. Na€ıve and CWD-infected dams were bred at both timepoints, and were allowed to bear and raise their offspring. Milk was collected from the dams for prion analysis, and the offspring were observed for TSE disease progression. Terminal tissues harvested from both dams and offspring were analyzed for prions.

 

We have demonstrated that

 

(1) CWDinfected TgCerPRP females successfully breed and bear offspring, and

 

(2) the presence of PrPCWD in reproductive and mammary tissue from CWD-infected dams.

 

We are currently analyzing terminal tissue harvested from offspring born to CWD-infected dams for the detection of PrPCWD and amplification competent prions. These studies will provide insight into the potential mechanisms and biological significance associated with mother to offspring transmission of TSEs.

 

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

 

P.157: Uptake of prions into plants

 

Christopher Johnson1, Christina Carlson1, Matthew Keating1,2, Nicole Gibbs1, Haeyoon Chang1, Jamie Wiepz1, and Joel Pedersen1 1USGS National Wildlife Health Center; Madison, WI USA; 2University of Wisconsin - Madison; Madison, WI USA

 

Soil may preserve chronic wasting disease (CWD) and scrapie infectivity in the environment, making consumption or inhalation of soil particles a plausible mechanism whereby na€ıve animals can be exposed to prions. Plants are known to absorb a variety of substances from soil, including whole proteins, yet the potential for plants to take up abnormal prion protein (PrPTSE) and preserve prion infectivity is not known. In this study, we assessed PrPTSE uptake into roots using laser scanning confocal microscopy with fluorescently tagged PrPTSE and we used serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) and detect and quantify PrPTSE levels in plant aerial tissues. Fluorescence was identified in the root hairs of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, as well as the crop plants alfalfa (Medicago sativa), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) upon exposure to tagged PrPTSE but not a tagged control preparation. Using sPMCA, we found evidence of PrPTSE in aerial tissues of A. thaliana, alfalfa and maize (Zea mays) grown in hydroponic cultures in which only roots were exposed to PrPTSE. Levels of PrPTSE in plant aerial tissues ranged from approximately 4 £ 10 ¡10 to 1 £ 10 ¡9 g PrPTSE g ¡1 plant dry weight or 2 £ 105 to 7 £ 106 intracerebral ID50 units g ¡1 plant dry weight. Both stems and leaves of A. thaliana grown in culture media containing prions are infectious when intracerebrally-injected into mice. ***Our results suggest that prions can be taken up by plants and that contaminated plants may represent a previously unrecognized risk of human, domestic species and wildlife exposure to prions.

 

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***Our results suggest that prions can be taken up by plants and that contaminated plants may represent a previously unrecognized risk of human, domestic species and wildlife exposure to prions.***

 

SEE ;

 

Friday, May 15, 2015

 

Grass Plants Bind, Retain, Uptake, and Transport Infectious Prions

 

Report

 


 

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P.19: Characterization of chronic wasting disease isolates from freeranging deer (Odocoileus sp) in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada

 

Camilo Duque Velasquez1, Chiye Kim1, Nathalie Daude1, Jacques van der Merwe1, Allen Herbst1, Trent Bollinger2, Judd Aiken1, and Debbie McKenzie1 1Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases; University of Alberta; Edmonton, Canada; 2Western College of Veterinary Medicine; University of Saskatchewan; Saskatoon, Canada

 

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging prion disease of free ranging and captive species of Cervidae. In North America, CWD is enzootic in some wild cervid populations and can circulate among different deer species. The contagious nature of CWD prions and the variation of cervid PRNP alleles, which influence host susceptibility, can result in the emergence and adaptation of different CWD strains. These strains may impact transmission host range, disease diagnosis, spread dynamics and efficacy of potential vaccines. We are characterizing different CWD agents by biochemical analysis of the PrPCWD conformers, propagation in vitro cell assays1 and by comparing transmission properties and neuropathology in Tg33 (Q95G96) and Tg60 (Q95S96) mice.2 Although Tg60 mice expressing S96- PrPC have been shown resistant to CWD infectivity from various cervid species,2,3

 

***these transgenic mice are susceptible to H95 C CWD, a CWD strain derived from experimental infection of deer expressing H95G96-PrPC. The diversity of strains present in free-ranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from Alberta and Saskatchewan is being determined and will allow us to delineate the properties of CWD agents circulating in CWD enzootic cervid populations of Canada.

 

References

 

1. van der Merwe J, Aiken J, Westaway D, McKenzie D. The standard scrapie cell assay: Development, utility and prospects. Viruses 2015; 7(1):180–198; PMID:25602372; http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v7010180

 

2. Meade-White K, Race B, Trifilo M, Bossers A, Favara C, Lacasse R, Miller M, Williams E, Oldstone M, Race R, Chesebro B. Resistance to chronic wasting disease in transgenic mice expressing a naturally occurring allelic variant of deer prion protein. J Virol 2007; 81(9):4533–4539; PMID: 17314157; http://dx. doi.org/10.1128/JVI.02762-06

 

3. Race B, Meade-White K, Miller MW, Fox KA, Chesebro B. In vivo comparison of chronic wasting disease infectivity from deer with variation at prion protein residue 96. J Virol 2011; 85(17):9235–9238; PMID: 21697479; http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00790-11

 

=========

 

***these transgenic mice are susceptible to H95 C CWD, a CWD strain derived from experimental infection of deer expressing H95G96-PrPC.

 

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P.136: Mother to offspring transmission of CWD—Detection in fawn tissues using the QuIC assay

 

Amy Nalls, Erin McNulty, Clare Hoover, Jeanette Hayes-Klug, Kelly Anderson, Edward Hoover, and Candace Mathiason Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA

 

To investigate the role mother to offspring transmission plays in chronic wasting disease (CWD), we have employed a small, polyestrous breeding, indoor maintainable cervid model, the Reeves’ muntjac deer. Muntjac doe were inoculated with CWD and tested positive by lymphoid biopsy at 4 months post inoculation. From these CWD-infected doe, we obtained 3 viable fawns. These fawns tested IHC-positive for CWD by lymphoid biopsy as early as 40 d post birth, and all have been euthanized due to clinical disease at 31, 34 and 59 months post birth. The QuIC assay demonstrates sensitivity and specificity in the detection of conversion competent prions in peripheral IHC-positive tissues including tonsil, mandibular, partotid, retropharyngeal, and prescapular lymph nodes, adrenal gland, spleen and liver. In summary, using the muntjac deer model, we have demonstrated CWD clinical disease in offspring born to CWD-infected doe and found that the QuIC assay is an effective tool in the detection of prions in peripheral tissues. ***Our findings demonstrate that transmission of prions from mother to offspring can occur, and may be underestimated for all prion diseases.

 

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***Our findings demonstrate that transmission of prions from mother to offspring can occur, and may be underestimated for all prion diseases.

 

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I strenuously once again urge the FDA and its industry constituents, to make it MANDATORY that all ruminant feed be banned to all ruminants, and this should include all cervids as soon as possible for the following reasons...

 

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In the USA, under the Food and Drug Administrations BSE Feed Regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) most material (exceptions include milk, tallow, and gelatin) from deer and elk is prohibited for use in feed for ruminant animals. With regards to feed for non-ruminant animals, under FDA law, CWD positive deer may not be used for any animal feed or feed ingredients. For elk and deer considered at high risk for CWD, the FDA recommends that these animals do not enter the animal feed system.

 

***However, this recommendation is guidance and not a requirement by law.

 

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31 Jan 2015 at 20:14 GMT

 

*** Ruminant feed ban for cervids in the United States? ***

 

31 Jan 2015 at 20:14 GMT

 


 

Friday, May 22, 2015

 

*** Chronic Wasting Disease and Program Updates - 2014 NEUSAHA Annual Meeting 12-14 May 2014 ***

 


 

Saturday, May 30, 2015

 

PRION 2015 ORAL AND POSTER CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS

 


 


 

Wednesday, March 04, 2015

 

*** Disease sampling results provide current snapshot of CWD in Wisconsin finding 324 positive detections statewide in 2014

 


 

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

 

*** Wisconsin white-tailed deer tested positive for CWD on a Richland County breeding farm, and a case of CWD has been discovered on a Marathon County hunting preserve

 


 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

 

Wisconsin CWD-positive white-tailed deer found on Eau Claire County farm

 


 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

 

Wisconsin CWD-positive white-tailed deer found on Eau Claire County farm

 


 

March 29, 2012

 

According to Wisconsin’s White-Tailed Deer Trustee Dr. James Kroll, people who call for more public hunting opportunities are “pining for socialism.” He further states, “(Public) Game management is the last bastion of communism.”

 

OPINION BLOG

 

These are just two insights into the man who has been asked to provide analysis and recommended changes to Wisconsin’s deer management program. Kroll’s insights are from an article entitled “Which Side of the Fence Are You On?” by Joe Nick Patoski for a past edition of Texas Monthly.

 

If nothing more, the article gives an unabashed look into the mind-set that will be providing the Wisconsin DNR with recommendations on how to change their deer management practices. James Kroll (also known as “Deer Dr.”) was appointed to the Wisconsin “deer czar” position last fall. He was hired by the Department of Administration and instructed to complete a review of the state’s deer management program.

 

Here’s a sample of the article:

 

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

 

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

 

A trip to South Africa six years ago convinced Kroll that he was on the right track. There he encountered areas of primitive, lush wildlife-rich habitats called game ranches. They were privately owned, privately managed, and enclosed by high fences. He noticed how most of the land outside those fences had been grazed to the nub, used up. “Game ranches there derive their income from these animals — viewing them, hunting them, selling their meat,” he says. “There are no losers.” At his own ranch Kroll has set up a smaller version of the same thing. His land is indeed lush, verdant, with pine groves, an abundance of undergrowth, wild orchids, New Jersey tea, jack-in-the-pulpits, and other native plants. He has also set up a full-scale breeding research center and is one of twenty Texas deer breeders using artificial insemination to improve his herd. “We balance sex and age ratio,” he says. “We manage habitat. We control the population and manage for hunting. I want to leave the deer herd better than it was before we came.”

 

It is interesting to note that, in 2001, the State of Texas shifted its deer management strategies toward the same leanings that Kroll has suggested for Wisconsin. In Texas, the change was brought about via heavy lobbying from the high-fence deer ranching industry. This pressure helped convince the Texas Parks and Wildlife to change their regulations and allow private landowners to select the own deer biologists.

 

“That has given landowners more freedom,” Kroll told Texas Monthly. “(However,) You still have to let the state on your land to get a wildlife-management permit.”

 

The key difference here is that 98 percent of Texas is comprised of private land.

 

Wisconsin, on the other hand, consists of approximately 34.8 million acres of land, and 25.5 percent of the state’s 638,000 gun-hunters reported hunting on public land at some point during the season (2010, Duey, Rees).

 

According to the Wisconsin Realtors Association, more than 5.7 million acres of this land, or 16.5 percent, is publicly owned and used for parks, forests, trails, and natural resource protection. [Note: these statistics do not include the public land used for roads, government buildings, military bases, and college/school campuses.] This 5.7 million acres of public land is owned as follows:

 

Federal government owns approximately 1.5 million acres (4.4 percent of the state’s land area). Almost all of the federal forestland in Wisconsin is located in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. State government owns approximately 1.6 million acres (4.6 percent of the state’s land area). The land is managed by two agencies, the Board of Commissioners of Public Land (who manages lands granted by federal government) and the DNR (managing land owned by the state).

 

County government owns approximately 2.6 million acres (7.5 percent of the state’s land area).

 

Public land is located in 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, with the most public land located in Bayfield County (464,673 acres). [Note: Menominee County does not have any public land, but 98 percent of the land is held in trust by the Menominee Tribe.] Twenty counties have more than 100,000 acres of public land, while only 12 counties have fewer than 10,000 acres.

 

What does this all mean? My initial reaction, which is one that I predicted when Kroll was named to the state’s deer trustee position, is that his team’s final recommendations — if implemented — will be heavily skewed toward the state’s larger landowners (500+ acres) and folks who own small parcels in areas comprised mostly of private land.

 

It is also my prediction that the final recommendations (again, if implemented) will do little, if anything, to improve deer herds and deer hunting on Wisconsin’s 5.7 million acres of public land.

 

Where does this leave the public-land hunter? “It will suck to be you,” said one deer manager who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his job. “The resources and efforts will go toward improving the private land sector. This is all about turning deer hunting away from the Public Land Doctrine and more toward a European-style of management — like they have in Texas.”

 

I do, of course, hope these assumptions are wrong. As with all things in life, we should maintain an open mind to change. Life is all about change. However, change for the sake of change is usually a recipe for disaster. Especially when that change is driven by something more than a sincere desire to manage public resources for the greater good.

 

As noted yesterday (Dr. James Kroll Report: Is That All You Get For Your Money), I will provide more of my opinions and interpretation on this important issue in forthcoming installments of this blog. Read his full preliminary report here.

 


 


 


 

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

 

TEXAS Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Medina County Captive Deer

 


 

Thursday, July 09, 2015

 

TEXAS Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Herd Plan for Trace-Forward Exposed Herd with Testing of Exposed Animals

 


 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

 

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Confirmed Texas Trans Pecos March 18, 2015

 


 

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

 

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

 


 

Thursday, May 02, 2013

 

*** Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Texas Important Update on OBEX ONLY TEXTING

 


 

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

 


 


 

 

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

 

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