2 more deer found with chronic wasting disease
 
Seven cases now reported in Texas
 
By Pilar Arias - Reporter , David Ibanez - Web - Managing Editor 
 
Posted: 10:12 AM, November 14, 2015
 
Updated: 10:13 AM, November 14, 2015 
 
SAN ANTONIO - Two new cases of chronic wasting disease in captive 
white-tailed deer have been reported, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 
official said.
 
There have now been seven cases of the fatal disease reported in Texas. 
 
snip...see ;
 
 
Thursday, November 05, 2015 
 
*** TPW Commission Adopts Interim Deer Breeder Movement Rules 
 
 
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 
 
 
Wednesday, July 01, 2015 
 
*** TEXAS Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Medina County Captive Deer 
 
 
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 
 
*** Texas CWD Medina County Herd Investigation Update July 16, 2015 *** 
 
 
Thursday, August 06, 2015 
 
*** WE HAVE LOST TEXAS TO CWD TASK FORCE CATERING TO INDUSTRY 
 
 
Friday, August 07, 2015 
 
*** Texas CWD Captive, and then there were 4 ? 
 
 
Thursday, September 24, 2015 
 
TEXAS Hunters Asked to Submit Samples for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE 
Prion Testing 
 
*** I cannot stress enough to all of you, for the sake of your family and 
mine, before putting anything in the freezer, have those deer tested for CWD. 
...terry
 
 
Saturday, October 03, 2015 
 
TEXAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION GOD MUST NOT BE A TEXAN 2002 TO 
2015 
 
 
Friday, October 09, 2015 
 
Texas TWA Chronic Wasting Disease TSE Prion Webinars and Meeting October 
2015
 
 
the tse prion aka mad cow type disease is not your normal pathogen. 
 
The TSE prion disease survives ashing to 600 degrees celsius, that’s around 
1112 degrees farenheit. 
 
you cannot cook the TSE prion disease out of meat. you can take the ash and 
mix it with saline and inject that ash into a mouse, and the mouse will go down 
with TSE. 
 
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel 
Production as well. 
 
the TSE prion agent also survives Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes. 
 
IN fact, you should also know that the TSE Prion agent will survive in the 
environment for years, if not decades. 
 
you can bury it and it will not go away. 
 
The TSE agent is capable of infected your water table i.e. Detection of 
protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area. 
 
it’s not your ordinary pathogen you can just cook it out and be done with. 
 
that’s what’s so worrisome about Iatrogenic mode of transmission, a simple 
autoclave will not kill this TSE prion agent. 
 
cwd to humans, consumption, exposure, sub-clinical, iatrogenic, what if ? 
Tuesday, September 29, 2015 
*** Transmission of chronic wasting disease to sentinel reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) can transmit CWD to naive reindeer both directly and indirectly 
Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES 
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2015/09/transmission-of-chronic-wasting-disease.html 
*** Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years *** 
Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3 
http://jgv.sgmjournals.org/content/87/12/3737.full 
*** Spraker suggested an interesting explanation for the occurrence of CWD. The deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus were built some 30-40 years ago by a Dr. Bob Davis. At or abut that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had previously been occupied by sheep. 
http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080102193705/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf 
HIGHEST INFECTION RATE ON SEVERAL CWD CONFIRMED CAPTIVES 
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD WISCONSIN Almond Deer (Buckhorn Flats) Farm Update DECEMBER 2011 
The CWD infection rate was nearly 80%, the highest ever in a North American captive herd. 
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board approve the purchase of 80 acres of land for $465,000 for the Statewide Wildlife Habitat Program in Portage County and approve the restrictions on public use of the site. 
SUMMARY: 
http://dnr.wi.gov/about/nrb/2011/december/12-11-2b2.pdf 
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). 
http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/press/2014press/press10022014.asp 
*** see history of this CWD blunder here ; 
http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/Hunting/070313_consent_order.pdf 
On June 5, 2013, DNR conducted a fence inspection, after gaining approval from surrounding landowners, and confirmed that the fenced had been cut or removed in at least four separate locations; that the fence had degraded and was failing to maintain the enclosure around the Quarantined Premises in at least one area; that at least three gates had been opened;and that deer tracks were visible in and around one of the open areas in the sand on both sides of the fence, evidencing movement of deer into the Quarantined Premises. 
http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/Hunting/060613_consent_order.pdf 
The overall incidence of clinical CWD in white-tailed deer was 82% 
Species (cohort) CWD (cases/total) Incidence (%) Age at CWD death (mo) 
https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Hunting/BigGame/CWD/PDF/ResearchArticles/JWDEpiCWD.pdf 
”The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the respective wildlife research programmes. Despite it’s subsequent recognition as a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific research funding was forthcoming. The USDA veiwed it as a wildlife problem and consequently not their province!” page 26. 
 
http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080102193705/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf 
Sunday, January 06, 2013 
USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE 
*** "it‘s no longer its business.” 
 
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2013/01/usda-to-pgc-once-captives-escape-its-no.html 
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 ; 
=========================================== 
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. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2081988/ 
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. 
http://www.prion2011.ca/files/2011TSEBookletV6Final.pdf 
http://www.prion2011.ca/files/PRION_2011_-_Posters_(May_5-11).pdf 
http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/news.detail/ID/c792d0e56e0cb3ee3a6517e754729cac 
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2011/05/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-outbreaks.html 
New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication 
The infectious agents responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) are notoriously resistant to most physical and chemical methods used for inactivating pathogens, including heat. It has long been recognized, for example, that boiling is ineffective and that higher temperatures are most efficient when combined with steam under pressure (i.e., autoclaving). As a means of decontamination, dry heat is used only at the extremely high temperatures achieved during incineration, usually in excess of 600°C. It has been assumed, without proof, that incineration totally inactivates the agents of TSE, whether of human or animal origin. 
http://www.pnas.org/content/97/7/3418.full 
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production 
Histochemical analysis of hamster brains inoculated with the solid residue showed typical spongiform degeneration and vacuolation. Re-inoculation of these brains into a new cohort of hamsters led to onset of clinical scrapie symptoms within 75 days, suggesting that the specific infectivity of the prion protein was not changed during the biodiesel process. The biodiesel reaction cannot be considered a viable prion decontamination method for MBM, although we observed increased survival time of hamsters and reduced infectivity greater than 6 log orders in the solid MBM residue. Furthermore, results from our study compare for the first time prion detection by Western Blot versus an infectivity bioassay for analysis of biodiesel reaction products. We could show that biochemical analysis alone is insufficient for detection of prion infectivity after a biodiesel process. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493038/ 
Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area 
The data presented here demonstrate that sPMCA can detect low levels of PrPCWD in the environment, corroborate previous biological and experimental data suggesting long term persistence of prions in the environment2,3 and imply that PrPCWD accumulation over time may contribute to transmission of CWD in areas where it has been endemic for decades. This work demonstrates the utility of sPMCA to evaluate other environmental water sources for PrPCWD, including smaller bodies of water such as vernal pools and wallows, where large numbers of cervids congregate and into which prions from infected animals may be shed and concentrated to infectious levels. 
http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/prion/NicholsPRION3-3.pdf 
A Quantitative Assessment of the Amount of Prion Diverted to Category 1 Materials and Wastewater During Processing 
Keywords:Abattoir;bovine spongiform encephalopathy;QRA;scrapie;TSE 
In this article the development and parameterization of a quantitative assessment is described that estimates the amount of TSE infectivity that is present in a whole animal carcass (bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE] for cattle and classical/atypical scrapie for sheep and lambs) and the amounts that subsequently fall to the floor during processing at facilities that handle specified risk material (SRM). BSE in cattle was found to contain the most oral doses, with a mean of 9864 BO ID50s (310, 38840) in a whole carcass compared to a mean of 1851 OO ID50s (600, 4070) and 614 OO ID50s (155, 1509) for a sheep infected with classical and atypical scrapie, respectively. Lambs contained the least infectivity with a mean of 251 OO ID50s (83, 548) for classical scrapie and 1 OO ID50s (0.2, 2) for atypical scrapie. The highest amounts of infectivity falling to the floor and entering the drains from slaughtering a whole carcass at SRM facilities were found to be from cattle infected with BSE at rendering and large incineration facilities with 7.4 BO ID50s (0.1, 29), intermediate plants and small incinerators with a mean of 4.5 BO ID50s (0.1, 18), and collection centers, 3.6 BO ID50s (0.1, 14). The lowest amounts entering drains are from lambs infected with classical and atypical scrapie at intermediate plants and atypical scrapie at collection centers with a mean of 3 × 10−7 OO ID50s (2 × 10−8, 1 × 10−6) per carcass. The results of this model provide key inputs for the model in the companion paper published here. 
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2012.01922.x/abstract 
 
CENSORED, RAW, AND UNCUT...
 
Sunday, August 23, 2015 
 
TAHC Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion and how to put lipstick on a pig 
and take her to the dance in Texas
 
from the other side of the fence... today’s Singeltary Sunday School class 
‘thinking outside of the box, God’s Wrath’ at the bottom. ...tss
 
 
Friday, August 14, 2015 
 
*** Susceptibility of cattle to the agent of chronic wasting disease from 
elk after intracranial inoculation
 
 
Friday, August 14, 2015 
 
*** Carcass Management During a Mass Animal Health Emergency Draft 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement—August 2015 
 
 
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 
 
*** Host Determinants of Prion Strain Diversity Independent of Prion 
Protein Genotype 
 
 
Friday, August 28, 2015 
 
*** Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Diagnostics and subclinical 
infection ***
 
 
 
Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF 
TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES 
 
*** Title: Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended 
silent incubation period Authors 
 
item Comoy, Emmanuel - item Mikol, Jacqueline - item Luccantoni-Freire, 
Sophie - item Correia, Evelyne - item Lescoutra-Etchegaray, Nathalie - item 
Durand, Valérie - item Dehen, Capucine - item Andreoletti, Olivier - item 
Casalone, Cristina - item Richt, Juergen item Greenlee, Justin item Baron, 
Thierry - item Benestad, Sylvie - item Hills, Bob - item Brown, Paul - item 
Deslys, Jean-Philippe - 
 
Submitted to: Scientific Reports Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal 
Publication Acceptance Date: May 28, 2015 Publication Date: June 30, 2015 
Citation: Comoy, E.E., Mikol, J., Luccantoni-Freire, S., Correia, E., 
Lescoutra-Etchegaray, N., Durand, V., Dehen, C., Andreoletti, O., Casalone, C., 
Richt, J.A., Greenlee, J.J., Baron, T., Benestad, S., Brown, P., Deslys, J. 
2015. Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent 
incubation period. Scientific Reports. 5:11573. Interpretive Summary: The 
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (also called prion diseases) are fatal 
neurodegenerative diseases that affect animals and humans. The agent of prion 
diseases is a misfolded form of the prion protein that is resistant to breakdown 
by the host cells. Since all mammals express prion protein on the surface of 
various cells such as neurons, all mammals are, in theory, capable of 
replicating prion diseases. One example of a prion disease, bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE; also called mad cow disease), has been shown to infect 
cattle, sheep, exotic undulates, cats, non-human primates, and humans when the 
new host is exposed to feeds or foods contaminated with the disease agent. The 
purpose of this study was to test whether non-human primates (cynomologous 
macaque) are susceptible to the agent of sheep scrapie. After an incubation 
period of approximately 10 years a macaque developed progressive clinical signs 
suggestive of neurologic disease. Upon postmortem examination and microscopic 
examination of tissues, there was a widespread distribution of lesions 
consistent with a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. This information will 
have a scientific impact since it is the first study that demonstrates the 
transmission of scrapie to a non-human primate with a close genetic relationship 
to humans. This information is especially useful to regulatory officials and 
those involved with risk assessment of the potential transmission of animal 
prion diseases to humans. 
 
Technical Abstract: Classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (c-BSE) is 
an animal prion disease that also causes variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in 
humans. Over the past decades, c-BSE's zoonotic potential has been the driving 
force in establishing extensive protective measures for animal and human health. 
In complement to the recent demonstration that humanized mice are susceptible to 
scrapie, we report here the first observation of direct transmission of a 
natural classical scrapie isolate to a macaque after a 10-year incubation 
period. Neuropathologic examination revealed all of the features of a prion 
disease: spongiform change, neuronal loss, and accumulation of PrPres throughout 
the CNS. 
 
***This observation strengthens the questioning of the harmlessness of 
scrapie to humans, at a time when protective measures for human and animal 
health are being dismantled and reduced as c-BSE is considered controlled and 
being eradicated. Our results underscore the importance of precautionary and 
protective measures and the necessity for long-term experimental transmission 
studies to assess the zoonotic potential of other animal prion strains. 
 
 
Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF 
TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES 
 
Title: Transmission of the agent of sheep scrapie to deer results in PrPSc 
with two distinct molecular profiles Authors 
 
item Greenlee, Justin item Moore, Sarah - item Smith, Jodi item West 
Greenlee, Mary - item Kunkle, Robert 
 
Submitted to: Prion Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance 
Date: March 31, 2015 Publication Date: May 25, 2015 Citation: Greenlee, J., 
Moore, S.J., Smith, J.., West Greenlee, M.H., Kunkle, R. 2015. 
 
Scrapie transmits to white-tailed deer by the oral route and has a 
molecular profile similar to chronic wasting disease and distinct from the 
scrapie inoculum. Prion 2015. p. S62. Technical Abstract: The purpose of this 
work was to determine susceptibility of white-tailed deer (WTD) to the agent of 
sheep scrapie and to compare the resultant PrPSc to that of the original 
inoculum and chronic wasting disease (CWD). We inoculated WTD by a natural route 
of exposure (concurrent oral and intranasal (IN); n=5) with a US scrapie 
isolate. All scrapie-inoculated deer had evidence of PrPSc accumulation. PrPSc 
was detected in lymphoid tissues at preclinical time points, and deer necropsied 
after 28 months post-inoculation had clinical signs, spongiform encephalopathy, 
and widespread distribution of PrPSc in neural and lymphoid tissues. Western 
blotting (WB) revealed PrPSc with 2 distinct molecular profiles. WB on cerebral 
cortex had a profile similar to the original scrapie inoculum, whereas WB of 
brainstem, cerebellum, or lymph nodes reveal PrPSc with a higher profile 
resembling CWD. Homogenates with the 2 distinct profiles from WTD with clinical 
scrapie were further passaged to mice expressing cervid prion protein and 
intranasally to sheep and WTD. In cervidized mice, the two inocula have distinct 
incubation times. Sheep inoculated intranasally with WTD derived scrapie 
developed disease, but only after inoculation with the inoculum that had a 
scrapie-like profile. The WTD study is ongoing, but deer in both inoculation 
groups are positive for PrPSc by rectal mucosal biopsy. In summary, this work 
demonstrates that WTD are susceptible to the agent of scrapie, two distinct 
molecular profiles of PrPSc are present in the tissues of affected deer, and 
inoculum of either profile type readily passes to deer. 
 
 
Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF 
TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES 
 
Title: Scrapie transmits to white-tailed deer by the oral route and has a 
molecular profile similar to chronic wasting disease Authors 
 
item Greenlee, Justin item Moore, S - item Smith, Jodi - item Kunkle, 
Robert item West Greenlee, M - 
 
Submitted to: American College of Veterinary Pathologists Meeting 
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: August 12, 2015 
Publication Date: N/A 
 
Technical Abstract: The purpose of this work was to determine 
susceptibility of white-tailed deer (WTD) to the agent of sheep scrapie and to 
compare the resultant PrPSc to that of the original inoculum and chronic wasting 
disease (CWD). We inoculated WTD by a natural route of exposure (concurrent oral 
and intranasal (IN); n=5) with a US scrapie isolate. All scrapie-inoculated deer 
had evidence of PrPSc accumulation. PrPSc was detected in lymphoid tissues at 
preclinical time points, and deer necropsied after 28 months post-inoculation 
had clinical signs, spongiform encephalopathy, and widespread distribution of 
PrPSc in neural and lymphoid tissues. Western blotting (WB) revealed PrPSc with 
2 distinct molecular profiles. WB on cerebral cortex had a profile similar to 
the original scrapie inoculum, whereas WB of brainstem, cerebellum, or lymph 
nodes revealed PrPSc with a higher profile resembling CWD. Homogenates with the 
2 distinct profiles from WTD with clinical scrapie were further passaged to mice 
expressing cervid prion protein and intranasally to sheep and WTD. In cervidized 
mice, the two inocula have distinct incubation times. Sheep inoculated 
intranasally with WTD derived scrapie developed disease, but only after 
inoculation with the inoculum that had a scrapie-like profile. The WTD study is 
ongoing, but deer in both inoculation groups are positive for PrPSc by rectal 
mucosal biopsy. In summary, this work demonstrates that WTD are susceptible to 
the agent of scrapie, two distinct molecular profiles of PrPSc are present in 
the tissues of affected deer, and inoculum of either profile readily passes to 
deer. 
 
 
Sunday, October 25, 2015 
 
USAHA Detailed Events Schedule – 119th USAHA Annual Meeting CAPTIVE 
LIVESTOCK CWD SCRAPIE TSE PRION
 
 
Thursday, November 05, 2015 
 
TPW Commission Adopts Interim Deer Breeder Movement Rules 
 
 
*** Spraker suggested an interesting explanation for the occurrence of CWD. 
The deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus were built some 30-40 years ago by a Dr. 
Bob Davis. At or abut that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at 
this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had 
previously been occupied by sheep. 
 
 
White-tailed Deer are Susceptible to Scrapie by Natural Route of Infection 
 
Jodi D. Smith, Justin J. Greenlee, and Robert A. Kunkle; Virus and Prion 
Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA-ARS 
 
Interspecies transmission studies afford the opportunity to better 
understand the potential host range and origins of prion diseases. Previous 
experiments demonstrated that white-tailed deer are susceptible to sheep-derived 
scrapie by intracranial inoculation. The purpose of this study was to determine 
susceptibility of white-tailed deer to scrapie after a natural route of 
exposure. Deer (n=5) were inoculated by concurrent oral (30 ml) and intranasal 
(1 ml) instillation of a 10% (wt/vol) brain homogenate derived from a sheep 
clinically affected with scrapie. Non-inoculated deer were maintained as 
negative controls. All deer were observed daily for clinical signs. Deer were 
euthanized and necropsied when neurologic disease was evident, and tissues were 
examined for abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and 
western blot (WB). One animal was euthanized 15 months post-inoculation (MPI) 
due to an injury. At that time, examination of obex and lymphoid tissues by IHC 
was positive, but WB of obex and colliculus were negative. Remaining deer 
developed clinical signs of wasting and mental depression and were necropsied 
from 28 to 33 MPI. Tissues from these deer were positive for scrapie by IHC and 
WB. Tissues with PrPSc immunoreactivity included brain, tonsil, retropharyngeal 
and mesenteric lymph nodes, hemal node, Peyer’s patches, and spleen. This work 
demonstrates for the first time that white-tailed deer are susceptible to sheep 
scrapie by potential natural routes of inoculation. In-depth analysis of tissues 
will be done to determine similarities between scrapie in deer after 
intracranial and oral/intranasal inoculation and chronic wasting disease 
resulting from similar routes of inoculation. 
 
see full text ; 
 
 
PO-039: A comparison of scrapie and chronic wasting disease in white-tailed 
deer 
 
Justin Greenlee, Jodi Smith, Eric Nicholson US Dept. Agriculture; 
Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA USA 
 
 
White-tailed deer are susceptible to the agent of sheep scrapie by 
intracerebral inoculation 
 
snip...
 
It is unlikely that CWD will be eradicated from free-ranging cervids, and 
the disease is likely to continue to spread geographically [10]. However, the 
potential that white-tailed deer may be susceptible to sheep scrapie by a 
natural route presents an additional confounding factor to halting the spread of 
CWD. This leads to the additional speculations that 
 
1) infected deer could serve as a reservoir to infect sheep with scrapie 
offering challenges to scrapie eradication efforts and 
 
2) CWD spread need not remain geographically confined to current endemic 
areas, but could occur anywhere that sheep with scrapie and susceptible cervids 
cohabitate.
 
This work demonstrates for the first time that white-tailed deer are 
susceptible to sheep scrapie by intracerebral inoculation with a high attack 
rate and that the disease that results has similarities to CWD. These 
experiments will be repeated with a more natural route of inoculation to 
determine the likelihood of the potential transmission of sheep scrapie to 
white-tailed deer. If scrapie were to occur in white-tailed deer, results of 
this study indicate that it would be detected as a TSE, but may be difficult to 
differentiate from CWD without in-depth biochemical analysis. 
 
 
 
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. 
 
 
Sunday, October 25, 2015 
 
USAHA Detailed Events Schedule – 119th USAHA Annual Meeting CAPTIVE 
LIVESTOCK CWD SCRAPIE TSE PRION
 
 
*** PRION 2015 CONFERENCE FT. COLLINS CWD RISK FACTORS TO HUMANS *** 
 
*** 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 
 
***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.*** 
 
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 
 
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.*** 
 
 
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. 
 
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2014 9:29 PM 
 
To: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. 
 
Subject: THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE R. G. WILL 1984 
 
THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE 
 
R. G. WILL 
 
1984 
 
*** 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). (SEE LINK IN REPORT HERE...TSS) PLUS, THE CDC DID NOT PUT 
THIS WARNING OUT FOR THE WELL BEING OF THE DEER AND ELK ; 
 
snip... 
 
 
85%+ of all human tse prion disease is sporadic CJD.
 
see what the NIH prion Gods say themselves ;
 
‘’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.’’
 
‘’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.’’ 
 
*** These results would seem to suggest that CWD does indeed have zoonotic 
potential, at least as judged by the compatibility of CWD prions and their human 
PrPC target. Furthermore, extrapolation from this simple in vitro assay suggests 
that if zoonotic CWD occurred, it would most likely effect those of the PRNP 
codon 129-MM genotype and that the PrPres type would be similar to that found in 
the most common subtype of sCJD (MM1).*** 
 
 
*** 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. 
 
 
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 ; 
 
 
July's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article did prod state officials to ask 
CDC to investigate the cases of the three men who shared wild game feasts. The 
two men the CDC is still investigating were 55 and 66 years old. But there's 
also Kevin Boss, a Minnesota hunter who ate Barron County venison and died of 
CJD at 41. And there's Jeff Schwan, whose Michigan Tech fraternity brothers used 
to bring venison sausage back to the frat house. His mother, Terry, says that in 
May 2001, Jeff, 26, began complaining about his vision. A friend noticed 
misspellings in his e-mail, which was totally unlike him. Jeff began losing 
weight. He became irritable and withdrawn. By the end of June, he couldn't 
remember the four-digit code to open the garage door or when and how to feed his 
parents' cats. At a family gathering in July, he stuck to his parents and 
girlfriend, barely talking. "On the night we took him to the hospital, he was 
speaking like he was drunk or high and I noticed his pupils were so dilated I 
couldn't see the irises," his mother says. By then, Jeff was no longer able to 
do even simple things on his computer at work, and "in the hospital, he couldn't 
drink enough water." When he died on September 27, 2001, an autopsy confirmed he 
had sporadic CJD. 
 
In 2000, Belay looked into three CJD cases reported by The Denver Post, two 
hunters who ate meat from animals killed in Wyoming and the daughter of a hunter 
who ate venison from a plant that processed Colorado elk. All three died of CJD 
before they were 30 years old. The CDC asked the USDA to kill 1,000 deer and elk 
in the area where the men hunted. Belay and others reported their findings in 
the Archives of Neurology, writing that although "circumstances suggested a link 
between the three cases and chronic wasting disease, they could find no 'causal' 
link." Which means, says Belay, "not a single one of those 1,000 deer tested 
positive for CWD. For all we know, these cases may be CWD. What we have now 
doesn't indicate a connection. That's reassuring, but it would be wrong to say 
it will never happen." 
 
So far, says NIH researcher Race, the two Wisconsin cases pinpointed by the 
newspaper look like spontaneous CJD. "But we don't know how CWD would look in 
human brains. It probably would look like some garden-variety sporadic CJD." 
What the CDC will do with these cases and four others (three from Colorado and 
Schwan from Upper Michigan), Race says, is "sequence the prion protein from 
these people, inject it into mice and wait to see what the disease looks like in 
their brains. That will take two years." 
 
CJD is so rare in people under age 30, one case in a billion (leaving out 
medical mishaps), that four cases under 30 is "very high," says Colorado 
neurologist Bosque. "Then, if you add these other two from Wisconsin [cases in 
the newspaper], six cases of CJD in people associated with venison is very, very 
high." Only now, with Mary Riley, there are at least seven, and possibly eight, 
with Steve, her dining companion. "It's not critical mass that matters," 
however, Belay says. "One case would do it for me." The chance that two people 
who know each other would both contact CJD, like the two Wisconsin sportsmen, is 
so unlikely, experts say, it would happen only once in 140 years. 
 
Given the incubation period for TSEs in humans, it may require another 
generation to write the final chapter on CWD in Wisconsin. "Does chronic wasting 
disease pass into humans? We'll be able to answer that in 2022," says Race. 
Meanwhile, the state has become part of an immense experiment. 
 
 
I urge everyone to watch this video closely...terry
 
*** you can see video here and interview with Jeff's Mom, and scientist 
telling you to test everything and potential risk factors for humans *** 
 
 
*** These results would seem to suggest that CWD does indeed have zoonotic 
potential, at least as judged by the compatibility of CWD prions and their human 
PrPC target. Furthermore, extrapolation from this simple in vitro assay suggests 
that if zoonotic CWD occurred, it would most likely effect those of the PRNP 
codon 129-MM genotype and that the PrPres type would be similar to that found in 
the most common subtype of sCJD (MM1).*** 
 
 
O.05: Transmission of prions to primates after extended silent incubation 
periods: Implications for BSE and scrapie risk assessment in human populations 
 
Emmanuel Comoy, Jacqueline Mikol, Val erie Durand, Sophie Luccantoni, 
Evelyne Correia, Nathalie Lescoutra, Capucine Dehen, and Jean-Philippe Deslys 
Atomic Energy Commission; Fontenay-aux-Roses, France 
 
Prion diseases (PD) are the unique neurodegenerative proteinopathies 
reputed to be transmissible under field conditions since decades. The 
transmission of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) to humans evidenced that 
an animal PD might be zoonotic under appropriate conditions. Contrarily, in the 
absence of obvious (epidemiological or experimental) elements supporting a 
transmission or genetic predispositions, PD, like the other proteinopathies, are 
reputed to occur spontaneously (atpical animal prion strains, sporadic CJD 
summing 80% of human prion cases). Non-human primate models provided the first 
evidences supporting the transmissibiity of human prion strains and the zoonotic 
potential of BSE. Among them, cynomolgus macaques brought major information for 
BSE risk assessment for human health (Chen, 2014), according to their 
phylogenetic proximity to humans and extended lifetime. We used this model to 
assess the zoonotic potential of other animal PD from bovine, ovine and cervid 
origins even after very long silent incubation periods. 
 
*** We recently observed the direct transmission of a natural classical 
scrapie isolate to macaque after a 10-year silent incubation period, 
 
***with features similar to some reported for human cases of sporadic CJD, 
albeit requiring fourfold longe incubation than BSE. Scrapie, as recently evoked 
in humanized mice (Cassard, 2014), 
 
***is the third potentially zoonotic PD (with BSE and L-type BSE), 
 
***thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases. We will present an 
updated panorama of our different transmission studies and discuss the 
implications of such extended incubation periods on risk assessment of animal PD 
for human health.
 
===============
 
***thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases...TSS
 
=============== 
 
 
PL1 
 
Using in vitro prion replication for high sensitive detection of prions and 
prionlike proteins and for understanding mechanisms of transmission. 
 
Claudio Soto 
 
Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's diseases and related Brain disorders, 
Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston. 
 
Prion and prion-like proteins are misfolded protein aggregates with the 
ability to selfpropagate to spread disease between cells, organs and in some 
cases across individuals. I n T r a n s m i s s i b l e s p o n g i f o r m 
encephalopathies (TSEs), prions are mostly composed by a misfolded form of the 
prion protein (PrPSc), which propagates by transmitting its misfolding to the 
normal prion protein (PrPC). The availability of a procedure to replicate prions 
in the laboratory may be important to study the mechanism of prion and 
prion-like spreading and to develop high sensitive detection of small quantities 
of misfolded proteins in biological fluids, tissues and environmental samples. 
Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (PMCA) is a simple, fast and efficient 
methodology to mimic prion replication in the test tube. PMCA is a platform 
technology that may enable amplification of any prion-like misfolded protein 
aggregating through a seeding/nucleation process. In TSEs, PMCA is able to 
detect the equivalent of one single molecule of infectious PrPSc and propagate 
prions that maintain high infectivity, strain properties and species 
specificity. Using PMCA we have been able to detect PrPSc in blood and urine of 
experimentally infected animals and humans affected by vCJD with high 
sensitivity and specificity. Recently, we have expanded the principles of PMCA 
to amplify amyloid-beta (Aβ) and alphasynuclein (α-syn) aggregates implicated in 
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, respectively. Experiments are ongoing to 
study the utility of this technology to detect Aβ and α-syn aggregates in 
samples of CSF and blood from patients affected by these diseases. 
 
========================= 
 
***Recently, we have been using PMCA to study the role of environmental 
prion contamination on the horizontal spreading of TSEs. These experiments have 
focused on the study of the interaction of prions with plants and 
environmentally relevant surfaces. Our results show that plants (both leaves and 
roots) bind tightly to prions present in brain extracts and excreta (urine and 
feces) and retain even small quantities of PrPSc for long periods of time. 
Strikingly, ingestion of prioncontaminated leaves and roots produced disease 
with a 100% attack rate and an incubation period not substantially longer than 
feeding animals directly with scrapie brain homogenate. Furthermore, plants can 
uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to different parts of 
the plant tissue (stem and leaves). Similarly, prions bind tightly to a variety 
of environmentally relevant surfaces, including stones, wood, metals, plastic, 
glass, cement, etc. Prion contaminated surfaces efficiently transmit prion 
disease when these materials were directly injected into the brain of animals 
and strikingly when the contaminated surfaces were just placed in the animal 
cage. These findings demonstrate that environmental materials can efficiently 
bind infectious prions and act as carriers of infectivity, suggesting that they 
may play an important role in the horizontal transmission of the disease. 
 
======================== 
 
Since its invention 13 years ago, PMCA has helped to answer fundamental 
questions of prion propagation and has broad applications in research areas 
including the food industry, blood bank safety and human and veterinary disease 
diagnosis. 
 
 
see ; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
98 | Veterinary Record | January 24, 2015 
 
EDITORIAL 
 
Scrapie: a particularly persistent pathogen 
 
Cristina Acín 
 
Resistant prions in the environment have been the sword of Damocles for 
scrapie control and eradication. Attempts to establish which physical and 
chemical agents could be applied to inactivate or moderate scrapie infectivity 
were initiated in the 1960s and 1970s,with the first study of this type focusing 
on the effect of heat treatment in reducing prion infectivity (Hunter and 
Millson 1964). Nowadays, most of the chemical procedures that aim to inactivate 
the prion protein are based on the method developed by Kimberlin and 
collaborators (1983). This procedure consists of treatment with 20,000 parts per 
million free chlorine solution, for a minimum of one hour, of all surfaces that 
need to be sterilised (in laboratories, lambing pens, slaughterhouses, and so 
on). Despite this, veterinarians and farmers may still ask a range of questions, 
such as ‘Is there an official procedure published somewhere?’ and ‘Is there an 
international organisation which recommends and defines the exact method of 
scrapie decontamination that must be applied?’ 
 
From a European perspective, it is difficult to find a treatment that could 
be applied, especially in relation to the disinfection of surfaces in lambing 
pens of affected flocks. A 999/2001 EU regulation on controlling spongiform 
encephalopathies (European Parliament and Council 2001) did not specify a 
particular decontamination measure to be used when an outbreak of scrapie is 
diagnosed. There is only a brief recommendation in Annex VII concerning the 
control and eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE s). 
 
Chapter B of the regulation explains the measures that must be applied if 
new caprine animals are to be introduced to a holding where a scrapie outbreak 
has previously been diagnosed. In that case, the statement indicates that 
caprine animals can be introduced ‘provided that a cleaning and disinfection of 
all animal housing on the premises has been carried out following destocking’. 
 
Issues around cleaning and disinfection are common in prion prevention 
recommendations, but relevant authorities, veterinarians and farmers may have 
difficulties in finding the specific protocol which applies. The European Food 
and Safety Authority (EFSA ) published a detailed report about the efficacy of 
certain biocides, such as sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, guanidine and 
even a formulation of copper or iron metal ions in combination with hydrogen 
peroxide, against prions (EFSA 2009). The report was based on scientific 
evidence (Fichet and others 2004, Lemmer and others 2004, Gao and others 2006, 
Solassol and others 2006) but unfortunately the decontamination measures were 
not assessed under outbreak conditions. 
 
The EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards recently published its conclusions on 
the scrapie situation in the EU after 10 years of monitoring and control of the 
disease in sheep and goats (EFSA 2014), and one of the most interesting findings 
was the Icelandic experience regarding the effect of disinfection in scrapie 
control. The Icelandic plan consisted of: culling scrapie-affected sheep or the 
whole flock in newly diagnosed outbreaks; deep cleaning and disinfection of 
stables, sheds, barns and equipment with high pressure washing followed by 
cleaning with 500 parts per million of hypochlorite; drying and treatment with 
300 ppm of iodophor; and restocking was not permitted for at least two years. 
Even when all of these measures were implemented, scrapie recurred on several 
farms, indicating that the infectious agent survived for years in the 
environment, even as many as 16 years after restocking (Georgsson and others 
2006). 
 
In the rest of the countries considered in the EFSA (2014) report, 
recommendations for disinfection measures were not specifically defined at the 
government level. In the report, the only recommendation that is made for sheep 
is repopulation with sheep with scrapie-resistant genotypes. This reduces the 
risk of scrapie recurrence but it is difficult to know its effect on the 
infection. 
 
Until the EFSA was established (in May 2003), scientific opinions about TSE 
s were provided by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) of the EC, whose 
advice regarding inactivation procedures focused on treating animal waste at 
high temperatures (150°C for three hours) and high pressure alkaline hydrolysis 
(SSC 2003). At the same time, the TSE Risk Management Subgroup of the Advisory 
Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) in the UK published guidance on safe 
working and the prevention of TSE infection. Annex C of the ACDP report 
established that sodium hypochlorite was considered to be effective, but only if 
20,000 ppm of available chlorine was present for at least one hour, which has 
practical limitations such as the release of chlorine gas, corrosion, 
incompatibility with formaldehyde, alcohols and acids, rapid inactivation of its 
active chemicals and the stability of dilutions (ACDP 2009). 
 
In an international context, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) 
does not recommend a specific disinfection protocol for prion agents in its 
Terrestrial Code or Manual. Chapter 4.13 of the Terrestrial Code, General 
recommendations on disinfection and disinsection (OIE 2014), focuses on 
foot-and-mouth disease virus, mycobacteria and Bacillus anthracis, but not on 
prion disinfection. Nevertheless, the last update published by the OIE on bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy (OIE 2012) indicates that few effective 
decontamination techniques are available to inactivate the agent on surfaces, 
and recommends the removal of all organic material and the use of sodium 
hydroxide, or a sodium hypochlorite solution containing 2 per cent available 
chlorine, for more than one hour at 20ºC. 
 
The World Health Organization outlines guidelines for the control of TSE s, 
and also emphasises the importance of mechanically cleaning surfaces before 
disinfection with sodium hydroxide or sodium hypochlorite for one hour (WHO 
1999). 
 
Finally, the relevant agencies in both Canada and the USA suggest that the 
best treatments for surfaces potentially contaminated with prions are sodium 
hydroxide or sodium hypochlorite at 20,000 ppm. This is a 2 per cent solution, 
while most commercial household bleaches contain 5.25 per cent sodium 
hypochlorite. It is therefore recommended to dilute one part 5.25 per cent 
bleach with 1.5 parts water (CDC 2009, Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2013). 
 
So what should we do about disinfection against prions? First, it is 
suggested that a single protocol be created by international authorities to 
homogenise inactivation procedures and enable their application in all 
scrapie-affected countries. Sodium hypochlorite with 20,000 ppm of available 
chlorine seems to be the procedure used in most countries, as noted in a paper 
summarised on p 99 of this issue of Veterinary Record (Hawkins and others 2015). 
But are we totally sure of its effectiveness as a preventive measure in a 
scrapie outbreak? Would an in-depth study of the recurrence of scrapie disease 
be needed? 
 
What we can conclude is that, if we want to fight prion diseases, and 
specifically classical scrapie, we must focus on the accuracy of diagnosis, 
monitoring and surveillance; appropriate animal identification and control of 
movements; and, in the end, have homogeneous and suitable protocols to 
decontaminate and disinfect lambing barns, sheds and equipment available to 
veterinarians and farmers. Finally, further investigations into the resistance 
of prion proteins in the diversity of environmental surfaces are required. 
 
References 
 
snip... 
 
98 | Veterinary Record | January 24, 2015 
 
 
Persistence of ovine scrapie infectivity in a farm environment following 
cleaning and decontamination 
 
Steve A. C. Hawkins, MIBiol, Pathology Department1, Hugh A. Simmons, BVSc 
MRCVS, MBA, MA Animal Services Unit1, Kevin C. Gough, BSc, PhD2 and Ben C. 
Maddison, BSc, PhD3 + Author Affiliations 
 
1Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey 
KT15 3NB, UK 2School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, The University of 
Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK 3ADAS 
UK, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, The University of Nottingham, 
Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK E-mail for 
correspondence: ben.maddison@adas.co.uk Abstract Scrapie of sheep/goats and 
chronic wasting disease of deer/elk are contagious prion diseases where 
environmental reservoirs are directly implicated in the transmission of disease. 
In this study, the effectiveness of recommended scrapie farm decontamination 
regimens was evaluated by a sheep bioassay using buildings naturally 
contaminated with scrapie. Pens within a farm building were treated with either 
20,000 parts per million free chorine solution for one hour or were treated with 
the same but were followed by painting and full re-galvanisation or replacement 
of metalwork within the pen. Scrapie susceptible lambs of the PRNP genotype 
VRQ/VRQ were reared within these pens and their scrapie status was monitored by 
recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue. All animals became infected over 
an 18-month period, even in the pen that had been subject to the most stringent 
decontamination process. These data suggest that recommended current guidelines 
for the decontamination of farm buildings following outbreaks of scrapie do 
little to reduce the titre of infectious scrapie material and that environmental 
recontamination could also be an issue associated with these premises. 
 
SNIP... 
 
Discussion 
 
Thorough pressure washing of a pen had no effect on the amount of 
bioavailable scrapie infectivity (pen B). The routine removal of prions from 
surfaces within a laboratory setting is treatment for a minimum of one hour with 
20,000 ppm free chlorine, a method originally based on the use of brain 
macerates from infected rodents to evaluate the effectiveness of decontamination 
(Kimberlin and others 1983). Further studies have also investigated the 
effectiveness of hypochlorite disinfection of metal surfaces to simulate the 
decontamination of surgical devices within a hospital setting. Such treatments 
with hypochlorite solution were able to reduce infectivity by 5.5 logs to lower 
than the sensitivity of the bioassay used (Lemmer and others 2004). Analogous 
treatment of the pen surfaces did not effectively remove the levels of scrapie 
infectivity over that of the control pens, indicating that this method of 
decontamination is not effective within a farm setting. This may be due to the 
high level of biological matrix that is present upon surfaces within the farm 
environment, which may reduce the amount of free chlorine available to 
inactivate any infectious prion. Remarkably 1/5 sheep introduced into pen D had 
also became scrapie positive within nine months, with all animals in this pen 
being RAMALT positive by 18 months of age. Pen D was no further away from the 
control pen (pen A) than any of the other pens within this barn. Localised hot 
spots of infectivity may be present within scrapie-contaminated environments, 
but it is unlikely that pen D area had an amount of scrapie contamination that 
was significantly different than the other areas within this building. 
Similarly, there were no differences in how the biosecurity of pen D was 
maintained, or how this pen was ventilated compared with the other pens. This 
observation, perhaps, indicates the slower kinetics of disease uptake within 
this pen and is consistent with a more thorough prion removal and 
recontamination. These observations may also account for the presence of 
inadvertent scrapie cases within other studies, where despite stringent 
biosecurity, control animals have become scrapie positive during challenge 
studies using barns that also housed scrapie-affected animals (Ryder and others 
2009). 
 
***The bioassay data indicate that the exposure of the sheep to a farm 
environment after decontamination efforts thought to be effective in removing 
scrapie is sufficient for the animals to become infected with scrapie. The main 
exposure routes within this scenario are likely to be via the oral route, during 
feeding and drinking, and respiratory and conjunctival routes. It has been 
demonstrated that scrapie infectivity can be efficiently transmitted via the 
nasal route in sheep (Hamir and others 2008), as is the case for CWD in both 
murine models and in white-tailed deer (Denkers and others 2010, 2013). 
 
Recently, it has also been demonstrated that CWD prions presented as dust 
when bound to the soil mineral montmorillonite can be infectious via the nasal 
route (Nichols and others 2013). When considering pens C and D, the actual 
source of the infectious agent in the pens is not known, it is possible that 
biologically relevant levels of prion survive on surfaces during the 
decontamination regimen (pen C). With the use of galvanising and painting (pen 
D) covering and sealing the surface of the pen, it is possible that scrapie 
material recontaminated the pens by the movement of infectious prions contained 
within dusts originating from other parts of the barn that were not 
decontaminated or from other areas of the farm. 
 
Given that scrapie prions are widespread on the surfaces of affected farms 
(Maddison and others 2010a), irrespective of the source of the infectious prions 
in the pens, this study clearly highlights the difficulties that are faced with 
the effective removal of environmentally associated scrapie infectivity. This is 
likely to be paralleled in CWD which shows strong similarities to scrapie in 
terms of both the dissemination of prions into the environment and the facile 
mode of disease transmission. These data further contribute to the understanding 
that prion diseases can be highly transmissible between susceptible individuals 
not just by direct contact but through highly stable environmental reservoirs 
that are refractory to decontamination. 
 
The presence of these environmentally associated prions in farm buildings 
make the control of these diseases a considerable challenge, especially in 
animal species such as goats where there is lack of genetic resistance to 
scrapie and, therefore, no scope to re-stock farms with animals that are 
resistant to scrapie. 
 
Scrapie Sheep Goats Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) 
Accepted October 12, 2014. Published Online First 31 October 2014 
 
 
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. 
 
 
 
Assessing Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Species Barriers with an 
In Vitro Prion Protein Conversion Assay
 
Christopher J. Johnson1, Christina M. Carlson2, Aaron R. Morawski3, Alyson 
Manthei4, Neil R. Cashman5
 
1USGS National Wildlife Health Center, 2Department of Soil Science, 
University of Wisconsin–Madison, 3Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute 
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 4Merial 
Veterinary Scholars Program, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of 
Wisconsin–Madison, 5Department of Neurology, University of British Columbia 
 
Summary 
 
Measuring the barrier to the interspecies transmission of prion diseases is 
challenging and typically involves animal challenges or biochemical assays. 
Here, we present an in vitro prion protein conversion assay with the ability to 
predict species barriers.
 
Date Published: 3/10/2015, Issue 97; doi: 10.3791/52522
 
Keywords: Medicine, Issue 97, Prion, species barrier, conversion, 
immunoblotting, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, interspecies 
transmission Cite this Article 
 
Johnson, C. J., Carlson, C. M., Morawski, A. R., Manthei, A., Cashman, N. 
R. Assessing Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Species Barriers with an In 
Vitro Prion Protein Conversion Assay. J. Vis. Exp. (97), e52522, 
doi:10.3791/52522 (2015). Abstract 
 
Studies to understanding interspecies transmission of transmissible 
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs, prion diseases) are challenging in that they 
typically rely upon lengthy and costly in vivo animal challenge studies. A 
number of in vitro assays have been developed to aid in measuring prion species 
barriers, thereby reducing animal use and providing quicker results than animal 
bioassays. Here, we present the protocol for a rapid in vitro prion conversion 
assay called the conversion efficiency ratio (CER) assay. In this assay cellular 
prion protein (PrPC) from an uninfected host brain is denatured at both pH 7.4 
and 3.5 to produce two substrates. When the pH 7.4 substrate is incubated with 
TSE agent, the amount of PrPC that converts to a proteinase K (PK)-resistant 
state is modulated by the original host’s species barrier to the TSE agent. In 
contrast, PrPC in the pH 3.5 substrate is misfolded by any TSE agent. By 
comparing the amount of PK-resistant prion protein in the two substrates, an 
assessment of the host’s species barrier can be made. We show that the CER assay 
correctly predicts known prion species barriers of laboratory mice and, as an 
example, show some preliminary results suggesting that bobcats (Lynx rufus) may 
be susceptible to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) chronic wasting 
disease agent. 
 
 
>>> show some preliminary results suggesting that bobcats (Lynx 
rufus) may be susceptible to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) chronic 
wasting disease agent. 
 
AD.63: Susceptibility of domestic cats to chronic wasting disease 
 
Amy V.Nalls,1 Candace Mathiason,1 Davis Seelig,2 Susan Kraft,1 Kevin 
Carnes,1 Kelly Anderson,1 Jeanette Hayes-Klug1 and Edward A. Hoover1 
 
1Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA; 2University of Minnesota; 
Saint Paul, MN USA 
 
Domestic and nondomestic cats have been shown to be susceptible to feline 
spongiform encephalopathy (FSE), almost certainly caused by consumption of 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-contaminated meat. Because domestic and 
free-ranging nondomestic felids scavenge cervid carcasses, including those in 
areas affected by chronic wasting disease (CWD), we evaluated the susceptibility 
of the domestic cat (Felis catus) to CWD infection experimentally. Cohorts of 5 
cats each were inoculated either intracerebrally (IC) or orally (PO) with 
CWD-infected deer brain. At 40 and 42 mo post-inoculation, two IC-inoculated 
cats developed signs consistent with prion disease, including a stilted gait, 
weight loss, anorexia, polydipsia, patterned motor behaviors, head and tail 
tremors, and ataxia, and progressed to terminal disease within 5 mo. Brains from 
these two cats were pooled and inoculated into cohorts of cats by IC, PO, and 
intraperitoneal and subcutaneous (IP/SC) routes. Upon subpassage, feline-adapted 
CWD (FelCWD) was transmitted to all IC-inoculated cats with a decreased 
incubation period of 23 to 27 mo. FelCWD was detected in the brains of all the 
symptomatic cats by western blotting and immunohistochemistry and abnormalities 
were seen in magnetic resonance imaging, including multifocal T2 fluid 
attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) signal hyper-intensities, ventricular size 
increases, prominent sulci, and white matter tract cavitation. Currently, 3 of 4 
IP/SQ and 2 of 4 PO inoculared cats have developed abnormal behavior patterns 
consistent with the early stage of feline CWD. These results demonstrate that 
CWD can be transmitted and adapted to the domestic cat, thus raising the issue 
of potential cervid-to- feline transmission in nature. 
 
 
www.landesbioscience.com 
 
PO-081: Chronic wasting disease in the cat— Similarities to feline 
spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) 
 
 
 
 
 
PO-081: Chronic wasting disease in the cat— Similarities to feline 
spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) 
 
 
 
Thursday, May 31, 2012 
 
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD PRION2012 Aerosol, Inhalation transmission, 
Scrapie, cats, species barrier, burial, and more 
 
 
Monday, August 8, 2011 
 
Susceptibility of Domestic Cats to CWD Infection 
 
 
Sunday, August 25, 2013 
 
Prion2013 Chronic Wasting Disease CWD risk factors, humans, domestic cats, 
blood, and mother to offspring transmission
 
 
Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy (FSE) FSE was first identified in the UK 
in 1990. Most cases have been reported in the UK, where the epidemic has been 
consistent with that of the BSE epidemic. Some other countries (e.g. Norway, 
Liechtenstein and France) have also reported cases. 
 
Most cases have been reported in domestic cats but there have also been 
cases in captive exotic cats (e.g. Cheetah, Lion, Asian leopard cat, Ocelot, 
Puma and Tiger). The disease is characterised by progressive nervous signs, 
including ataxia, hyper-reactivity and behavioural changes and is fatal. 
 
The chemical and biological properties of the infectious agent are 
identical to those of the BSE and vCJD agents. These findings support the 
hypothesis that the FSE epidemic resulted from the consumption of food 
contaminated with the BSE agent. 
 
The FSE epidemic has declined as a result of tight controls on the disposal 
of specified risk material and other animal by-products. 
 
References: Leggett, M.M. et al.(1990) A spongiform encephalopathy in a 
cat. Veterinary Record. 127. 586-588 
 
Synge, B.A. et al. (1991) Spongiform encephalopathy in a Scottish cat. 
Veterinary Record. 129. 320 
 
Wyatt, J. M. et al. (1991) Naturally occurring scrapie-like spongiform 
encephalopathy in five domestic cats. Veterinary Record. 129. 233. 
 
Gruffydd-Jones, T. J.et al.. (1991) Feline spongiform encephalopathy. J. 
Small Animal Practice. 33. 471-476. 
 
Pearson, G. R. et al. (1992) Feline spongiform encephalopathy: fibril and 
PrP studies. Veterinary Record. 131. 307-310. 
 
Willoughby, K. et al. (1992) Spongiform encephalopathy in a captive puma 
(Felis concolor). Veterinary Record. 131. 431-434. 
 
Fraser, H. et al. (1994) Transmission of feline spongiform encephalopathy 
to mice. Veterinary Record 134. 449. 
 
Bratberg, B. et al. (1995) Feline spongiform encephalopathy in a cat in 
Norway. Veterinary Record 136. 444 
 
Baron, T. et al. (1997) Spongiform encephalopathy in an imported cheetah in 
France. Veterinary Record 141. 270-271 
 
Zanusso, G et al. (1998) Simultaneous occurrence of spongiform 
encephalopathy in a man and his cat in Italy. Lancet, V352, N9134, OCT 3, Pp 
1116-1117.
 
Ryder, S.J. et al. (2001) Inconsistent detection of PrP in extraneural 
tissues of cats with feline spongiform encephalopathy. Veterinary Record 146. 
437-441
 
Kelly, D.F. et al. (2005) Neuropathological findings in cats with 
clinically suspect but histologically unconfirmed feline spongiform 
encephalopathy. Veterinary Record 156. 472-477. 
 
 
3 further cheetah cases have occured, plus 1 lion, plus all the primates, 
and 20 additional house cats. Nothing has been published on any of these UK 
cases either. One supposes the problem here with publishing is that many 
unpublished cases were _born_ long after the feed "ban". Caught between a rock 
and a hard place: leaky ban or horizontal transmission (or both). 
 
 
 
YOU explained that imported crushed heads were extensively used in the 
petfood industry... 
 
 
In particular I do not believe one can say that the levels of the scrapie 
agent in pet food are so low that domestic animals are not exposed... 
 
 
 
on occassions, materials obtained from slaughterhouses will be derived from 
sheep affected with scrapie or cattle that may be incubating BSE for use in 
petfood manufacture... 
 
 
*** Meldrum's notes on pet foods and materials used 
 
 
*** BSE & Pedigree Petfoods *** 
 
 
In 2003, Denver Post reporter Theo Stein interviewed scientists about CWD 
spreading though deer and elk in Colorado. Dr. Valerius Geist, who paradoxically 
has become a darling of anti-wolfers, made this assertion about the significance 
of wolves in containing CWD spread via proteins called prions.
 
“Wolves will certainly bring the disease to a halt,” he said. “They will 
remove infected individuals and clean up carcasses that could transmit the 
disease.”
 
Stein added that “Geist and Princeton University biologist Andrew Dobson 
theorize that killing off the wolf allowed CWD to take hold in the first 
place.”
 
Wolves aren’t alone. In a 2009 study titled “Mountain lions prey 
selectively on prion-infected mule deer,” researchers in Colorado discovered 
that “adult mule deer killed by mountain lions were more likely to be 
prion-infected than were deer killed more randomly … suggesting that mountain 
lions were selecting for infected individuals when they targeted adult 
deer.”
 
 
NO, NO, NOT NO, BUT HELL KNOW !!! 
 
PLEASE be careful what you ask for.
 
recently, canine spongiform encephalopathy has been confirmed.
 
I proved this in 2005, with a letter from MAFF/DEFRA et al confirming my 
suspicions of the ‘hound study’ way back. this was covered up. see documents 
below.
 
also, recently, cwd to the domestic cat is a great concern.
 
even though to date, as far as I am aware of, the cwd study on the mountain 
lion has not produced any confirmation yet, we already know that the feline 
species is highly succeptible to the TSE prion. domestic cats and the exotic zoo 
big cats.
 
so in my honest opinion, any program that would use wild animals to prey on 
other wild animals, as a tool to help curb CWD TSE prion disease, would only 
help enhance the spread of disease, and it would only help spread the disease to 
other species. ...TSS
 
Monday, February 14, 2011
 
THE ROLE OF PREDATION IN DISEASE CONTROL: A COMPARISON OF SELECTIVE AND 
NONSELECTIVE REMOVAL ON PRION DISEASE DYNAMICS IN DEER
 
NO, NO, NOT NO, BUT HELL NO !
 
Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 47(1), 2011, pp. 78-93 © Wildlife Disease 
Association 2011
 
 
OR-09: Canine spongiform encephalopathy—A new form of animal prion disease 
 
Monique David, Mourad Tayebi UT Health; Houston, TX USA 
 
It was also hypothesized that BSE might have originated from an 
unrecognized sporadic or genetic case of bovine prion disease incorporated into 
cattle feed or even cattle feed contaminated with prion-infected human remains.1 
However, strong support for a genetic origin of BSE has recently been 
demonstrated in an H-type BSE case exhibiting the novel mutation E211K.2 
Furthermore, a specific prion protein strain causing BSE in cattle is believed 
to be the etiological agent responsible for the novel human prion disease, 
variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).3 Cases of vCJD have been identified in 
a number countries, including France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, 
Japan, US and the UK with the largest number of cases. Naturally occurring 
feline spongiform encephalopathy of domestic cats4 and spongiform 
encephalopathies of a number of zoo animals so-called exotic ungulate 
encephalopathies5,6 are also recognized as animal prion diseases, and are 
thought to have resulted from the same BSE-contaminated food given to cattle and 
humans, although and at least in some of these cases, a sporadic and/or genetic 
etiology cannot be ruled out. The canine species seems to display resistance to 
prion disease and no single case has so far been reported.7,8 Here, we describe 
a case of a 9 week old male Rottweiler puppy presenting neurological deficits; 
and histological examination revealed spongiform vacuolation characteristic of 
those associated with prion diseases.9 Initial biochemical studies using 
anti-PrP antibodies revealed the presence of partially proteinase K-resistant 
fragment by western blotting. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry revealed 
spongiform degeneration consistent with those found in prion disease and 
displayed staining for PrPSc in the cortex. 
 
Of major importance, PrPSc isolated from the Rottweiler was able to cross 
the species barrier transmitted to hamster in vitro with PMCA and in vivo (one 
hamster out of 5). Futhermore, second in vivo passage to hamsters, led to 100% 
attack rate (n = 4) and animals displayed untypical lesional profile and shorter 
incubation period. 
 
In this study, we show that the canine species might be sensitive to prion 
disease and that PrPSc isolated from a dog can be transmitted to dogs and 
hamsters in vitro using PMCA and in vivo to hamsters. 
 
If our preliminary results are confirmed, the proposal will have a major 
impact on animal and public health and would certainly lead to implementing new 
control measures for ‘canine spongiform encephalopathy’ (CSE). 
 
 
2. Richt JA, Hall SM. BSE case associated with prion protein gene mutation. 
PLoS Pathog 2008; 4:e1000156; PMID:18787697; 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal. 
ppat.1000156.
 
3. Collinge J. Human prion diseases and bovine spongiform encephalopathy 
(BSE). Hum Mol Genet 1997; 6:1699-705; PMID:9300662; 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ 
hmg/6.10.1699.
 
4. Wyatt JM, Pearson GR, Smerdon TN, Gruffydd-Jones TJ, Wells GA, Wilesmith 
JW. Naturally occurring scrapie-like spongiform encephalopathy in five domestic 
cats. Vet Rec 1991; 129:233-6; PMID:1957458; 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.129.11.233.
 
 
6. Kirkwood JK, Wells GA, Wilesmith JW, Cunningham AA, Jackson SI. 
Spongiform encephalopathy in an arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) and a greater kudu 
(Tragelaphus strepsiceros). Vet Rec 1990; 127:418-20; PMID:2264242.
 
7. Bartz JC, McKenzie DI, Bessen RA, Marsh RF, Aiken JM. Transmissible mink 
encephalopathy species barrier effect between ferret and mink: PrP gene and 
protein analysis. J Gen Virol 1994; 75:2947-53; PMID:7964604; 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317- 
75-11-2947.
 
8. Lysek DA, Schorn C, Nivon LG, Esteve-Moya V, Christen B, Calzolai L, et 
al. Prion protein NMR structures of cats, dogs, pigs, and sheep. Proc Natl Acad 
Sci U S A 2005; 102:640-5; PMID:15647367; 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0408937102.
 
 
 
Monday, March 26, 2012 
 
CANINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY: A NEW FORM OF ANIMAL PRION DISEASE 
 
 
Monday, March 8, 2010 
 
Canine Spongiform Encephalopathy aka MAD DOG DISEASE 
 
 
======================================= 
 
2013 
 
Strain characteristics of the in vitro-adapted rabbit and dog BSE agent 
remained invariable with respect to the original cattle BSE prion, suggesting 
that the naturally low susceptibility of rabbits and dogs to prion infections 
should not alter their zoonotic potential if these animals became infected with 
BSE. 
 
======================================= 
 
Neurobiology of Disease 
 
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Induces Misfolding of Alleged 
Prion-Resistant Species Cellular Prion Protein without Altering Its 
Pathobiological Features 
 
Enric Vidal3, Natalia Fernández-Borges1, Belén Pintado4, Montserrat 
Ordóñez3, Mercedes Márquez6, Dolors Fondevila5,6, Juan María Torres7, Martí 
Pumarola5,6, and Joaquín Castilla1,2 + Author Affiliations
 
1CIC bioGUNE, 48160 Derio, Bizkaia, Spain, 
 
2IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain, 
 
3Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de 
Barcelona (UAB)-IRTA, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain, 
 
4Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 
Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain, 
 
5Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, UAB, 08193 
Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain, 
 
6Murine Pathology Unit, Centre de Biotecnologia Animal i Teràpia Gènica, 
UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain, and 
 
7Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal-Instituto Nacional de 
Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, 
Spain 
 
Author contributions: E.V., N.F.-B., and J.C. designed research; E.V., 
N.F.-B., B.P., M.O., M.M., D.F., and J.C. performed research; E.V., N.F.-B., 
B.P., and J.C. contributed unpublished reagents/analytic tools; E.V., N.F.-B., 
B.P., M.O., M.M., D.F., J.M.T., M.P., and J.C. analyzed data; E.V. and J.C. 
wrote the paper. 
 
Abstract 
 
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions were responsible for an 
unforeseen epizootic in cattle which had a vast social, economic, and public 
health impact. This was primarily because BSE prions were found to be 
transmissible to humans. Other species were also susceptible to BSE either by 
natural infection (e.g., felids, caprids) or in experimental settings (e.g., 
sheep, mice). However, certain species closely related to humans, such as canids 
and leporids, were apparently resistant to BSE. In vitro prion amplification 
techniques (saPMCA) were used to successfully misfold the cellular prion protein 
(PrPc) of these allegedly resistant species into a BSE-type prion protein. The 
biochemical and biological properties of the new prions generated in vitro after 
seeding rabbit and dog brain homogenates with classical BSE were studied. 
Pathobiological features of the resultant prion strains were determined after 
their inoculation into transgenic mice expressing bovine and human PrPC. Strain 
characteristics of the in vitro-adapted rabbit and dog BSE agent remained 
invariable with respect to the original cattle BSE prion, suggesting that the 
naturally low susceptibility of rabbits and dogs to prion infections should not 
alter their zoonotic potential if these animals became infected with BSE. This 
study provides a sound basis for risk assessment regarding prion diseases in 
purportedly resistant species. 
 
Received January 18, 2013. Revision received March 7, 2013. Accepted March 
23, 2013. Copyright © 2013 the authors 0270-6474/13/337778-09$15.00/0 
 
 
2005
 
DEFRA Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
 
Area 307, London, SW1P 4PQ Telephone: 0207 904 6000 Direct line: 0207 904 
6287 E-mail: h.mcdonagh.defra.gsi.gov.uk
 
GTN: FAX:
 
Mr T S Singeltary P.O. Box 42 Bacliff Texas USA 77518
 
21 November 2001
 
Dear Mr Singeltary
 
TSE IN HOUNDS
 
Thank you for e-mail regarding the hounds survey. I am sorry for the long 
delay in responding.
 
As you note, the hound survey remains unpublished. However the Spongiform 
Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), the UK Government's independent 
Advisory Committee on all aspects related to BSE-like disease, gave the hound 
study detailed consideration at their meeting in January 1994. As a summary of 
this meeting published in the BSE inquiry noted, the Committee were clearly 
concerned about the work that had been carried out, concluding that there had 
clearly been problems with it, particularly the control on the histology, and 
that it was more or less inconclusive. However was agreed that there should be a 
re-evaluation of the pathological material in the study.
 
Later, at their meeting in June 95, The Committee re-evaluated the hound 
study to see if any useful results could be gained from it. The Chairman 
concluded that there were varying opinions within the Committee on further work. 
It did not suggest any further transmission studies and thought that the lack of 
clinical data was a major weakness.
 
Overall, it is clear that SEAC had major concerns about the survey as 
conducted. As a result it is likely that the authors felt that it would not 
stand up to r~eer review and hence it was never published. As noted above, and 
in the detailed minutes of the SEAC meeting in June 95, SEAC considered whether 
additional work should be performed to examine dogs for evidence of TSE 
infection. Although the Committee had mixed views about the merits of conducting 
further work, the Chairman noted that when the Southwood Committee made their 
recommendation to complete an assessment of possible spongiform disease in dogs, 
no TSEs had been identified in other species and hence dogs were perceived as a 
high risk population and worthy of study. However subsequent to the original 
recommendation, made in 1990, a number of other species had been identified with 
TSE ( e.g. cats) so a study in hounds was less
 
 
As this study remains unpublished, my understanding is that the ownership 
of the data essentially remains with the original researchers. Thus 
unfortunately, I am unable to help with your request to supply information on 
the hound survey directly. My only suggestion is that you contact one of the 
researchers originally involved in the project, such as Gerald Wells. He can be 
contacted at the following address.
 
Dr Gerald Wells, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, 
Surrey, KT 15 3NB, UK
 
You may also wish to be aware that since November 1994 all suspected cases 
of spongiform encephalopathy in animals and poultry were made notifiable. Hence 
since that date there has been a requirement for vets to report any suspect SE 
in dogs for further investigation. To date there has never been positive 
identification of a TSE in a dog.
 
I hope this is helpful
 
Yours sincerely 4
 
HUGH MCDONAGH BSE CORRESPONDENCE SECTION 
 
====================================== 
 
HOUND SURVEY
 
I am sorry, but I really could have been a co-signatory of Gerald's 
minute.
 
I do NOT think that we can justify devoting any resources to this study, 
especially as larger and more important projects such as the pathogenesis study 
will be quite demanding.
 
If there is a POLITICAL need to continue with the examination of hound 
brains then it should be passed entirely to the VI Service. 
 
J W WILESMITH Epidemiology Unit 18 October 1991
 
Mr. R Bradley
 
cc: Mr. G A H Wells 
 
 
3.3. Mr R J Higgins in conjunction with Mr G A Wells and Mr A C Scott would 
by the end of the year, indentify the three brains that were from the 
''POSITIVE'' end of the lesion spectrum. 
 
 
TSE in dogs have not been documented simply because OF THE ONLY STUDY, 
those brain tissue samples were screwed up too. see my investigation of this 
here, and to follow, later follow up, a letter from defra, AND SEE SUSPICIOUS 
BRAIN TISSUE SAF's. ...TSS 
 
 
TSE & HOUNDS
 
GAH WELLS (very important statement here...TSS)
 
HOUND STUDY
 
AS implied in the Inset 25 we must not _ASSUME_ that transmission of BSE to 
other species will invariably present pathology typical of a scrapie-like 
disease.
 
snip...
 
 
76 pages on hound study;
 
snip...
 
 
The spongiform changes were not pathognomonic (ie. conclusive proof) for 
prion disease, as they were atypical, being largely present in white matter 
rather than grey matter in the brain and spinal cord. However, Tony Scott, then 
head of electron microscopy work on TSEs, had no doubt that these SAFs were 
genuine and that these hounds therefore must have had a scrapie-like disease. I 
reviewed all the sections myself (original notes appended) and although the 
pathology was not typical, I could not exclude the possibility that this was a 
scrapie-like disorder, as white matter vacuolation is seen in TSEs and Wallerian 
degeneration was also present in the white matter of the hounds, another feature 
of scrapie.
 
38.I reviewed the literature on hound neuropathology, and discovered that 
micrographs and descriptive neuropathology from papers on 'hound ataxia' 
mirrored those in material from Robert Higgins' hound survey. Dr Tony Palmer 
(Cambridge) had done much of this work, and I obtained original sections from 
hound ataxia cases from him. This enabled me provisionally to conclude that 
Robert Higgins had in all probability detected hound ataxia, but also that hound 
ataxia itself was possibly a TSE. Gerald Wells confirmed in 'blind' examination 
of single restricted microscopic fields that there was no distinction between 
the white matter vacuolation present in BSE and scrapie cases, and that 
occurring in hound ataxia and the hound survey cases.
 
39.Hound ataxia had reportedly been occurring since the 1930's, and a known 
risk factor for its development was the feeding to hounds of downer cows, and 
particularly bovine offal. Circumstantial evidence suggests that bovine offal 
may also be causal in FSE, and TME in mink. Despite the inconclusive nature of 
the neuropathology, it was clearly evident that this putative canine spongiform 
encephalopathy merited further investigation.
 
40.The inconclusive results in hounds were never confirmed, nor was the 
link with hound ataxia pursued. I telephoned Robert Higgins six years after he 
first sent the slides to CVL. I was informed that despite his submitting a 
yearly report to the CVO including the suggestion that the hound work be 
continued, no further work had been done since 1991. This was surprising, to say 
the very least.
 
41.The hound work could have provided valuable evidence that a scrapie-like 
agent may have been present in cattle offal long before the BSE epidemic was 
recognised. The MAFF hound survey remains unpublished.
 
Histopathological support to various other published MAFF experiments
 
42.These included neuropathological examination of material from 
experiments studying the attempted transmission of BSE to chickens and pigs (CVL 
1991) and to mice (RVC 1994).
 
 
It was thought likely that at least some, and probably all, of the cases in 
zoo animals were caused by the BSE agent. Strong support for this hypothesis 
came from the findings of Bruce and others (1994) ( Bruce, M.E., Chree, A., 
McConnell, I., Foster, J., Pearson, G. & Fraser, H. (1994) Transmission of 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy and scrapie to mice: strain variation and 
species barrier. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 343, 405-411: 
J/PTRSL/343/405 ), who demonstrated that the pattern of variation in incubation 
period and lesion profile in six strains of mice inoculated with brain 
homogenates from an affected kudu and the nyala, was similar to that seen when 
this panel of mouse strains was inoculated with brain from cattle with BSE. The 
affected zoo bovids were all from herds that were exposed to feeds that were 
likely to have contained contaminated ruminant-derived protein and the zoo 
felids had been exposed, if only occasionally in some cases, to tissues from 
cattle unfit for human consumption.
 
snip...
 
 
NEW URL ; 
 
 
Friday, March 8, 2013 
 
Dogs may have been used to make Petfood and animal feed 
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 
 
Weld County Bi-Products dba Fort Morgan Pet Foods 6/1/12 significant 
deviations from requirements in FDA regulations that are intended to reduce the 
risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) within the United States
 
 
Comment from Terry Singeltary This is a Comment on the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) Notice: Draft Guidance for Industry on Ensuring Safety of 
Animal Feed Maintained and Fed On-Farm; Availability
 
For related information, Open Docket Folder Docket folder icon 
 
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Guidance for Industry Ensuring Safety of Animal Feed Maintained and Fed 
On-Farm Draft Guidance FDA-2014-D-1180 Singeltary Comment
 
Greetings FDA et al, 
 
I wish to comment on Guidance for Industry Ensuring Safety of Animal Feed 
Maintained and Fed On-Farm Draft Guidance FDA-2014-D-1180.
 
Once again, I wish to kindly bring up the failed attempt of the FDA and the 
ruminant to ruminant mad cow feed ban of August 4, 1997. This feed ban is still 
failing today, as we speak. Even more worrisome, is the fact it is still legal 
to feed cervids to cervids in the USA, in fact, the FDA only _recommends_ that 
deer and elk considered to be of _high_ risk for CWD do not enter the animal 
food chain, but there is NO law, its only voluntary, a recipe for a TSE prion 
disaster, as we have seen with the ruminant to ruminant feed ban for cattle, 
where in 2007, one decade post August 1997 mad cow feed ban, where in 2007 
10,000,000 POUNDS OF BANNED BLOOD LACED MEAT AND BONE MEAL WHEN OUT INTO 
COMMERCE, TO BE FED OUT. Since 2007, these BSE feed ban rules have been breached 
time and time again. tons and tons of mad cow feed went out in Alabama as well, 
where one of the mad cows were documented, just the year before in 2006, and in 
2013 and 2014, breaches so bad (OAI) Official Action Indicated were issued. 
those are like the one issued where 10 million pounds of banned blood laced meat 
and bone meal were fed out. 
 
Saturday, January 31, 2015 
 
European red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) are susceptible to Bovine 
Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE by Oral Alimentary route
 
 
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...
 
======
 
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. 
 
======
 
31 Jan 2015 at 20:14 GMT 
 
*** Ruminant feed ban for cervids in the United States? ***
 
31 Jan 2015 at 20:14 GMT 
 
 
Monday, October 26, 2015 
 
*** FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED 
VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OIA UPDATE October 2015 
 
 
 
 
with sad regards, terry 
 
     
    
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