Thursday, April 28, 2016

Three charged with various violations of the federal Lacey Act for white-tailed deer importation from Texas to Mississippi

Subject: Three charged with various violations of the federal Lacey Act for white-tailed deer importation from Texas to Mississippi

 

Three charged with white-tailed deer importation
 
Brian Broom, The Clarion-Ledger 11:17 a.m. CDT April 28, 2016
 
Wildlife director describes situation as scary
 
Three men, including two from Mississippi, have been accused of importing white-tailed deer into Mississippi in a federal indictment that was unsealed this week.
 
According to US Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi, Coleman Virgil Slade, 70, of Purvis, Don Durrett, 72, of Aspermont, Texas, and Dewayne Slade, 44, of Purvis, have been charged with various violations of the federal Lacey Act.
 
Durrett and Dewayne Slade appeared for arraignment on Tuesday and pled not guilty to the seven-count federal indictment. Coleman Virgil Slade is expected to be arraigned at a later date. According to the indictment, from January of 2009 through December of 2012, the Slades and Durrett conspired to purchase and transport in interstate commerce live white-tailed deer from Texas to Mississippi in violation of both state and federal laws. If convicted, each faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
 
The indictment states Dewayne Slade owns a high-fence enclosure of approximately 420 acres in Lamar County. It also states that Durrett owns and operates a 9,000-acre enclosed ranch in Stonewall County, Texas. According to the indictment, deer were moved from Durrett's ranch to Dewayne Slade's enclosure, "...for the purpose of breeding and killing trophy white-tailed buck deer."
 
The quest for big bucks in Mississippi is an economic driver at many levels, but importation is banned, regardless. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Wildlife Bureau director Chad Dacus explained why.
 
"The main reason is the potential disease transmission," Dacus said. "Any time you're moving animals around, that's an opportunity to move disease."
 
One disease that has been at the forefront of discussion among hunters and biologists is chronic wasting disease. It is always fatal to deer and there is no cure. It has also been known to spread by transportation of deer.
 
Dacus found the suspected importation of deer into Mississippi particularly troubling because they came from Texas — a state with confirmed cases of CWD in several locations.
 
"Any time you have deer coming from a state that is CWD-positive, it's a scary situation," Dacus said.
 
The indictment comes at a time when Mississippi hunters and biologists are in a heightened state of concern over the disease. News came from neighboring Arkansas earlier this year that an elk had tested positive for the disease in the northwest portion of the state. Since then, 81 deer and three elk have been found to be positive and the origin of the outbreak is unknown.
 
The trial for Durrett and the Slades is scheduled for June 20 in Hattiesburg.
 
THE CLARION LEDGER
 
Black racer: One of Mississippi's fastest snakes
 
Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com. Follow The Clarion-Ledger Outdoors on Facebook and @BrianBroom on Twitter.
 
 
Saturday, April 02, 2016
 
TEXAS TAHC BREAKS IT'S SILENCE WITH TWO MORE CASES CWD CAPTIVE DEER BRINGING TOTAL TO 10 CAPTIVES REPORTED TO DATE
 
 
Friday, February 26, 2016
 
TEXAS Hartley County Mule Deer Tests Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion
 
 
Friday, February 05, 2016
 
TEXAS NEW CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD CASE DISCOVERD AT CAPTIVE DEER RELEASE SITE
 
 
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
 
TVMDL hosts legislative representatives, discusses CWD
 
 
Monday, April 25, 2016
 
TEXAS Nilgai Exotic Antelope Let Loose for Trophy Hunts Blamed for Spreading Cattle Tick Fever, and what about CWD TSE Prion Disease ?
 
 
Thursday, August 20, 2015
 
TEXAS CAPTIVE Deer Industry, Pens, Breeding, Big Business, Invites Crooks and CWD
 
 
 
Monday, April 25, 2016
 
Arkansas AGFC Phase 2 sampling reveals CWD positive deer in Madison and Pope counties
 
 
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
 
Arkansas First Phase of CWD sampling reveals 23 percent prevalence rate in focal area With 82 Confirmed to Date
 
 
Friday, April 22, 2016
 
*** COLORADO CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION SURVEILLANCE AND TESTING PROGRAM IS MINIMAL AND LIMITED ***
 
 
Thursday, April 14, 2016
 
Louisiana Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Surveillance and Testing Program?
 
LOL!
 
 
Thursday, April 07, 2016
 
What is the risk of chronic wasting disease being introduced into Great Britain? An updated Qualitative Risk Assessment March 2016
 
Sheep and cattle may be exposed to CWD via common grazing areas with affected deer but so far, appear to be poorly susceptible to mule deer CWD (Sigurdson, 2008).
 
***In contrast, cattle are highly susceptible to white-tailed deer CWD and mule deer CWD in experimental conditions but no natural CWD infections in cattle have been reported (Sigurdson, 2008; Hamir et al., 2006). It is not known how susceptible humans are to CWD but given that the prion can be present in muscle, it is likely that humans have been exposed to the agent via consumption of venison (Sigurdson, 2008). Initial experimental research, however, suggests that human susceptibility to CWD is low and there may be a robust species barrier for CWD transmission to humans (Sigurdson, 2008). It is apparent, though, that CWD is affecting wild and farmed cervid populations in endemic areas with some deer populations decreasing as a result.
 
snip...
 
For the purpose of the qualitative risk assessment developed here it is necessary to estimate the probability that a 30-ml bottle of lure contains urine from an infected deer. This requires an estimate of the proportion of deer herds in the USA which are infected with CWD together with the within herd prevalence.
 
The distribution map of CWD in US shows it is present mainly in central states (Figure 1). However, Virginia in the east of the country has recorded seven recent cases of CWD (Anon 2015a). Some US manufacturers claim to take steps to prevent urine being taken from infected animals eg by sourcing from farms where the deer are randomly tested for CWD (Anon 2015a). However, if disease is already present and testing is not carried out regularly, captive populations are not necessarily disease free (Strausser 2014). Urine-based deer lures have been known to be collected from domestic white-tailed deer herds and therefore there is a recognised risk. This is reflected by 6 US States which have
 
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banned the use of natural deer urine for lures, as the deer urine may be sourced from CWD-endemic areas in the USA as well as from areas free of CWD. For example, the US State of Virginia is banning the use of urine-based deer lures on July 2015 and Vermont from 2016 due to the risk of spread of CWD. Alaska banned their use in 2012 (Anon 2015a). Pennsylvania Game Commission has banned urine-based deer lures and acknowledged that there is no way to detect their use (Strausser 2014). On the basis of unpublished data (J. Manson, Pers. Comm.) it appears that up to 50% of deer herds can be infected with 80-90% of animals infected within some herds.
 
*** It is therefore assumed that probability that a 30-ml bottle of deer urine lure imported from the USA is sources from an infected deer is medium.
 
SNIP...
 
In the USA, under the Food and Drug Administration’s BSE Feed Regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) most material (exceptions include milk, tallow, and gelatin) from deer and elk is prohibited for use in feed for ruminant animals. With regards to feed for non-ruminant animals, under FDA law, CWD positive deer may not be used for any animal feed or feed ingredients. ***For elk and deer considered at high risk for CWD, the FDA recommends that these animals do not enter the animal feed system. ***However, this recommendation is guidance and not a requirement by law.
 
***Animals considered at high risk for CWD include:
 
***1) animals from areas declared to be endemic for CWD and/or to be CWD eradication zones and
 
***2) deer and elk that at some time during the 60-month period prior to slaughter were in a captive herd that contained a CWD-positive animal.
 
***Therefore, in the USA, materials from cervids other than CWD positive animals may be used in animal feed and feed ingredients for non-ruminants. The amount of animal PAP that is of deer and/or elk origin imported from the USA to GB cannot be determined, however, as it is not specified in TRACES. It may constitute a small percentage of the very low tonnage of non-fish origin processed animal proteins that were imported from US into GB.
 
*** Overall, therefore, it is considered there is a greater than negligible risk that (non-ruminant) animal feed and pet food containing deer and/or elk protein is imported into GB. There is uncertainty associated with this estimate given the lack of data on the amount of deer and/or elk protein possibly being imported in these products.
 
SNIP...
 
 
Summary and MORE HERE ;
 
What is the risk of chronic wasting disease being introduced into Great Britain? An updated Qualitative Risk Assessment March 2016
 
 
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
 
*** The first detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Europe
 
 
Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed Singeltary Submission
 
Greetings again FDA and Mr. Pritchett et al, I would kindly like to comment on ; Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed Singeltary Submission
 
#158
 
Guidance for Industry
 
Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed
 
This version of the guidance replaces the version made available September15, 2003.
 
This document has been revised to update the docket number, contact information, and standard disclosures. Submit comments on this guidance at any time.
 
Submit electronic comments to http://www.regulations.gov. Submit written comments to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. All comments should be identified with the Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186).
 
For further information regarding this guidance, contact Burt Pritchett, Center for Veterinary Medicine (HFV-222), Food and Drug Administration, 7519 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855, 240-402-6276, E-mail: burt.pritchett@fda.hhs.gov.
 
Additional copies of this guidance document may be requested from the Policy and Regulations Staff (HFV-6), Center for Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration, 7519 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855, and may be viewed on the Internet at either http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/default.htm or http://www.regulations.gov.
 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine March 2016
 
Contains Nonbinding Recommendations
 
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Guidance for Industry Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed
 
This guidance represents the current thinking of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) on this topic. It does not establish any rights for any person and is not binding on FDA or the public. You can use an alternative approach if it satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations. To discuss an alternative approach, contact the FDA office responsible for this guidance as listed on the title page.
 
I. Introduction
 
Under FDA’s BSE feed regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) most material from deer and elk is prohibited for use in feed for ruminant animals. This guidance document describes FDA’s recommendations regarding the use in all animal feed of all material from deer and elk that are positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) or are considered at high risk for CWD. The potential risks from CWD to humans or non-cervid animals such as poultry and swine are not well understood. However, because of recent recognition that CWD is spreading rapidly in white-tailed deer, and because CWD’s route of transmission is poorly understood, FDA is making recommendations regarding the use in animal feed of rendered materials from deer and elk that are CWD-positive or that are at high risk for CWD.
 
In general, FDA’s guidance documents do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities. Instead, guidances describe the Agency’s current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited. The use of the word should in Agency guidances means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required.
 
II. Background
 
CWD is a neurological (brain) disease of farmed and wild deer and elk that belong in the animal family cervidae (cervids). Only deer and elk are known to be susceptible to CWD by natural transmission. The disease has been found in farmed and wild mule deer, white-tailed deer, North American elk, and in farmed black-tailed deer. CWD belongs to a family of animal and human diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or “mad cow” disease) in cattle; scrapie in sheep and goats; and classical and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases (CJD and vCJD) in humans. There is no known treatment for these diseases, and there is no vaccine to prevent them. In addition, although validated postmortem diagnostic tests are available, there are no validated diagnostic tests for CWD that can be used to test for the disease in live animals.
 
Contains Nonbinding Recommendations
 
III. Use in animal feed of material from CWD-positive deer and elk
 
Material from CWD-positive animals may not be used in any animal feed or feed ingredients. Pursuant to Sec. 402(a)(5) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, animal feed and feed ingredients containing material from a CWD-positive animal would be considered adulterated. FDA recommends that any such adulterated feed or feed ingredients be recalled or otherwise removed from the marketplace.
 
IV. Use in animal feed of material from deer and elk considered at high risk for CWD Deer and elk considered at high risk for CWD include:
 
(1) animals from areas declared by State officials to be endemic for CWD and/or to be CWD eradication zones; and
 
(2) deer and elk that at some time during the 60-month period immediately before the time of slaughter were in a captive herd that contained a CWD-positive animal.
 
FDA recommends that materials from deer and elk considered at high risk for CWD no longer be entered into the animal feed system. Under present circumstances, FDA is not recommending that feed made from deer and elk from a non-endemic area be recalled if a State later declares the area endemic for CWD or a CWD eradication zone. In addition, at this time, FDA is not recommending that feed made from deer and elk believed to be from a captive herd that contained no CWD-positive animals be recalled if that herd is subsequently found to contain a CWD-positive animal.
 
V. Use in animal feed of material from deer and elk NOT considered at high risk for CWD FDA continues to consider materials from deer and elk NOT considered at high risk for CWD to be acceptable for use in NON-RUMINANT animal feeds in accordance with current agency regulations, 21 CFR 589.2000. Deer and elk not considered at high risk include:
 
(1) deer and elk from areas not declared by State officials to be endemic for CWD and/or to be CWD eradication zones; and
 
(2) deer and elk that were not at some time during the 60-month period immediately before the time of slaughter in a captive herd that contained a CWD-positive animal.
 
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Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed Singeltary Submission
 
Greetings again FDA and Mr. Pritchett et al,
 
MY comments and source reference of sound science on this very important issue are as follows ;
 
Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed Singeltary Submission
 
I kindly wish to once again submit to Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed.
 
Thank you kindly for allowing me to comment again, ...and again...and again, on a topic so important, why it is ‘NON-BINDING’ is beyond me. this should have been finalized and made ‘BINDING’ or MANDATORY OVER A DECADE AGO.
 
but here lay the problem, once made ‘BINDING’ or ‘MANDATORY’, it is still nothing but ink on paper. we have had a mad cow feed ban in place since August 1997, and since then, literally 100s of millions of pounds BANNED MAD COW FEED has been sent out to commerce and fed out (see reference materials). ENFORCEMENT OF SAID BINDING REGULATIONS HAS FAILED US TOO MANY TIMES.
 
so, in my opinion, any non-binding or voluntary regulations will not work, and to state further, ‘BINDING’ or MANDATORY regulations will not work unless enforced. with that said, we know that Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion easily transmits to other cervid through the oral route. the old transmission studies of BSE TSE floored scientist once they figured out what they had, and please don’t forget about those mink that were fed 95%+ dead stock downer cow, that all came down with TME.
 
please see ; It is clear that the designing scientists must also have shared Mr Bradleys surprise at the results because all the dose levels right down to 1 gram triggered infection.
 
 
it is clear that the designing scientists must have also shared Mr Bradleys surprise at the results because all the dose levels right down to 1 gram triggered infection.
 
 
Evidence That Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy Results from Feeding Infected Cattle Over the next 8-10 weeks, approximately 40% of all the adult mink on the farm died from TME.
 
snip...
 
The rancher was a ''dead stock'' feeder using mostly (>95%) downer or dead dairy cattle...
 
 
*** PLEASE SEE THIS URGENT UPDATE ON CWD AND FEED ANIMAL PROTEIN ***
 
Sunday, March 20, 2016 Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed ***UPDATED MARCH 2016*** Singeltary Submission
 
 
 
Sunday, March 20, 2016
 
UPDATED MARCH 2016 URGENT Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed Singeltary Submission
 
 
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
 
Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0764 for Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards Singeltary Comment Submission
 
 
Saturday, April 16, 2016
 
APHIS [Docket No. APHIS-2016-0029] Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health; Meeting May 2, 2016, and June 16, 2016 Singeltary Submission
 
 
In Confidence - Perceptions of unconventional slow virus diseases of animals in the USA - APRIL-MAY 1989 - G A H Wells
 
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Visits to Colorado State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Sybille Wildlife Research and Conservation Education Unit.
 
The main objective here was to obtain some understanding of CWD. A visit was made to the University of wyoming Game and Fish Department, Sybille wildlife Research and Conservation Education Unit where most of the cases of CWD have occurred. The Sybille Wildlife facility is situated some 50 miles northeast of Laramie, Wyoming through the Laramie Mountains. Here most of the hoofed big game species of North America; Hule Deer (odocoileus hemionus), Whitetail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Elk (Cervis canadensis) Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americana), Bighorn Sheep (0vis canadensis} and Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and some other wildlife species are kept in small numbers for experimental use in the investigation of wildlife diseases.
 
A colony of the blackfooted ferret (Hustela nigripes) has been established because of its imminent extinction. At present there are only 35 but it is proposed to breed up to 200 and then, probably in 1991, re-introduce them into the wild in a nation wide operation. Blackfooted ferret diet is mainly Prairie Dog (Cynoms spp.) and it is thought that the elimination of this species from large areas by poisoning campaigns in the past has been responsible for the precipitous ferret decline.
 
The buildings and pens at the facility are entirely of wooden/log construction with heavy duty wire mesh fences. Pen floors are bare earth. A long race connecting many different areas within the facility enables movement of deer and antelope between pens when necessary. There is provision for holding deer of different sizes in a custom built crush for bleeding and treatments.
 
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The educational role of the unit includes school visits to provide instruction in the work of the department and to promote conservation. I was accompanied on this visit by Stuart Young and Beth Williams. on arrival I was introduced to Hughie Dawson who has managed the facility for some 20 years.
 
CWD occurred principally in two locations, this one at Sybille and in a similar facility at Fort Collins, Colorado, some 120 miles southwest. It was estimated that in total probably 60-10 cases of CWD have occurred.
 
It was difficult to gain a clear account of incidence and temporal sequence of events ( - this presumably is data awaiting publication - see below) but during the period 1981-84, 10-15 cases occurred at the Sybille facility. Recollections as to the relative total numbers of cases at each facility were confusing. Beth Williams recalled that more cases had occurred in the Colorado facility.
 
The morbidity amongst mule deer in the facilities ie. those of the natural potentially exposed group has been about 90% with 100% mortality. the age distribution of affected deer was very similar to that in ESE. The clinical duration of cases was 6-8 weeks. Mortality in CWD cases was greatest in winter months which can be very cold.
 
When the problem was fully appreciated both the Sybille and the Colorado facilities were depopulated. All cervids were culled but Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain goat, where present simultaneously in the facility, were retained. There have been no cases of CWD in these non cervid species.
 
A few cases continue to occur at Sybille, the last was 4 months ago.
 
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An account of the occurrence of CWD at the Colorado facility was obtained from Terry spraker, Diagnostic Laboratory, CSU College of Veterinary Medicine, Fort Collins. He examined tissues from cases of CWD at the Colorado facility some time prior to Beth Williams's involvement and examination of brains which resulted in the initial diagnosis. The deer holding facilities in Colorado comprise the Colorado Division of Wildlife Research Pen, established 10 years ago and some older deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus of CSU, close to Fort Collins. Originally there were just 1-2 cases CWD/year and a total of 24 over several years. In contrast to Beth Williams recollection Terry Spraker thought more cases had‘ occurred at Sybille than in Colorado. The cull at the Colorado facility involved 20-30 clinically normal deer. Early lesions in dorsal nucleus of the vagus and olfactory cortex were found in (some) of these deer. At the time of the cull here Pronghorn was the only other hoofed species present. Bighorn sheep and Mountain Goat were introduced only one year after the cull and occupied ground where CWD had occurred. Immediately after depopulation the ground was ploughed and disinfection was carried out using ?1% NaOH. The buildings/pens were not changed. There has been no recurrence of disease at the Colorado facility since the cull.
 
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Transmission Studies
 
Mule deer transmissions of CWD were by intracerebral inoculation and compared with natural cases (‘’first passage by this route’’ MARKED OUT...TSS) resulted in a more rapidly progressive clinical disease with repeated episodes of synocopy ending in coma. one control animal became affected, it is J believed through contamination of inoculum (?saline). Further CWD transmissions were carried out by Dick Marsh into ferret, mink and squirrel monkey. Transmission occurred in all of these species with the shortest incubation period in the ferret.
 
Mouse and hamster transmissions were attempted at Wyoming State Diagnostic Laboratory, Laramie and at CSU Fort Collins but were unsuccessful.
 
Also at the Wyoming State Diagnostic Laboratory, Laramie, transmission to goats was attempted. In 1984 three goats were inoculated intracerebrally with a 10% CWD brain suspension. one goat, untreated, was placed in contact with the CWD inoculated goats and three controls, housed separately, received saline intracerebrally. To date these animals remain healthy.
 
Epidemiology of CWD
 
Descriptive epidemiological data has been collected from the two wildlife facilities and a publication is in preparation.
 
The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the context of the locations in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the respective wildlife research programmes. Despite its subsequent recognition as a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific research funding was forthcoming. The USDA viewed it as a wildlife problem and consequently not their province! Thus
 
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there have been no specific epidemiological studies, other than information gained from noting the occurrence of cases. Because of the relatively short term nature of the programmed research at the facilities it has not been possible to keep Mule Deer under the appropriate experimental circumstances or for sufficient periods to establish horizontal or maternal transmission. Beth Williams is of the view that the occurrence of CWD at Sybille is entirely related to propagative spread by contagion. Investigations have failed to identify any common source of infection and the incident has presented a protracted time course with sporadic cases throughout. There is no evidence that wild born deer were responsible for introduction of the disease to the facility.
 
I asked Hughie Dawson about the nutritional aspects of the deer kept at Sybille. Mule Deer calves are reared on condensed milk and homogenised or pasteurised domestic cow's milk from birth to 1 month or to 6 months. some would be given "Lamb milk replacer" which has a higher butter fat content than either of the former products, but is derived also from domestic cow's milk. It was thought that at the Colorado facility calves would receive only "evaporated milk". Calves are weaned on to a pelletted feed containing corn, wheat bran and linseed meal with no crude mineral suppliment. Salt licks ("sulphur blocks") which have a specific mineral composition are supplied.
 
CWD has occurred or is suspected to have occurred in establishments supplied with Mule Deer from the Colorado facility. In some cases evidence for this is tenuous. For example, it is understood that Denver zoo state that "they have not had cases of CWD" and yet they have had cases of Mule Deer succumbing to a chronic wasting disorder which was not diagnosed. A case of CWD occurred in a Mule Deer in Toronto zoo in 1976. The animal in
 
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question came from Denver zoo but was originally from the Colorado wildlife facility.
 
Pathology of CWD
 
A paper (Williams et al) is in preparation on the distribution of brain lesions in CWD. Vacuolar changes occur predominantly in the dorsal nucleus of the vagus nerve (this nucleus is invariably affected), the hypothalamus and the olfactory cortex with occasional vacuolation of the olfactory tract white matter.
 
Cerebellar lesions are sometimes present but there are very few changes in the spinal cord which probably accounts for the rarity of ataxia clinically. As in sheep scrapie the hypothalamic lesions correlate with the common clinical occurrence of polydipsia. Beth Williams is aware of occasional neuronal vacuoles occurring in the red nucleus of clinically normal deer! Spraker has added that he has experienced vacuoles in neurons of Gasserian ganglia and at the level of the obex in normal deer.
 
It has never been reported but Pat Merz carried out SAF detection on CWD brain material. Work may be undertaken with NIH on the immunohistological demonstration of PrP in sections but to date there has been no PrP work.
 
Does CWD occur in free-living cervids?
 
There is some, mostly circumstantial, evidence that CWD occurs in free-living cervids but to what extent, if at all, this represents an established reservoir of infection in the wild is not known.
 
At Sybille two Mule Deer orphans (wild caught) and a White—tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) hybrid developed clinical signs when only 2 1/2 years of age.
 
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An Elk (Cervus canadensis) wild caught as an adult, presumed 2 years old, developed signs when 3-4 years old.
 
Another group of elk, wild caught 400 miles from the facility, with an age range 2-8 years, old subsequently developed the disease in the facility (?period of captivity). The location of capture relative to the facility did not apparently rule out that they may have at some time had fence-line nose contact with animals in the facility!
 
Cases have also occurred in Mule Deer that were obtained from the wild within one hour of birth but these were never kept completely isolated through to maturity.
 
Also at Sybille there has been one case of CWD diagnosed in a free ranging Elk. It was killed in Sybille Canyon 3 miles from the facility. It could have had fence-line contact with captive Mule Deer in the facility.
 
Similar incidents had occurred in Colorado. In 1985 a free-ranging affected Elk was caught in the Rocky Mountain National Park within a 2 mile radius of the Colorado Division of Wildlife Research Pen. In 1986 and again in 1987 a single affected Mule Deer on each occasion was caught within a 5 mile radius of the Pen. These latter cases occurred within 2 years of the -cervid cull at the Pen (?1985). Brain tissue from the free—ranging Elk brain was inoculated into mice but for some reason these were kept for only 6 months and then the experiment was abandoned.
 
A specific exercise has been carried out by Beth Williams with the Wyoming State Diagnostic Laboratory and Fish Department to sample the brains of healthy wild Mule Deer for histological examination. On two separate occasions the first in 1985 and again in 1987 a total of 150 Mule Deer
 
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brains were collected from areas of, and ajacent to, Sybille Canyon. These deer would have been shot under a game permit by local hunters. As they were brought down from the hills to the Game station for the mandatory registration of the kill the heads were removed and ages estimated. Most were 2-5 year old with a few 6 year old. For obvious reasons hunters were reluctant to give up stag heads. Thus, but for 15-20 brains from stags, examinations were on brains from females. No evidence of CWD lesions was found in any of these brains. However, it was considered that sporadic cases of CWD, should they occur in the wild population, would soon become separated from the herd and fall prey to coyotes (Canis latrans).
 
The possibility of any reservoir of infection in wild cervids originating from scrapie in domestic sheep flocks seems remote. Scrapie has been recorded in only three flocks in Wyoming since 1947 and Beth Williams could recall only one previous occurrence in 1966. This had involved a Suffolk flock close to the border with Nebraska. However, there has been one new confirmed and a suspected affected flock this year in Wyoming. In the latter a ewe bought—in from an Illinois flock is incriminated.
 
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 about 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. Whether they were scrapie infected sheep or not is unclear. There were domestic sheep and goats present in the facility also in the 1960's but there is no evidence that these animals developed scrapie. During the 60's hybridization studies between the Bighorn and domestic sheep were carried
 
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out, again, without evidence of scrapie. Domestic goats were also kept at Sybille in the 1960's.
 
Spraker considers that the nasal route is responsible for transmission of CWD through nose to nose contact, which may well occur also between captive and free—living individuals.
 
In domestic cattle of which about 15-20 adults were necropsied per year at the Diagnostic Laboratory, CSU., Spraker had not encountered any lesions suggesting BSE. Polioencephalomalacia (PEM) and Encephalic Listeriosis were the most common morphologic neuropathological diagnoses. No bovine rabies was seen.
 
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Appendix I
 
VISIT TO USA - OR A E WRATHALL — INFO ON BSE AND SCRAPIE
 
Dr Clark lately of the Scrapie Research Unit, Mission Texas has I successfully transmitted ovine and caprine Scrapie to cattle. The experimental results have not been published but there are plans to do this. This work was initiated in 1978. A summary of it is:-
 
Expt A 6 Her x Jer calves born in 1978 were inoculated as follows with a 2nd Suffolk scrapie passage:- i/c 1ml; i/m, 5ml; s/c 5ml; oral 30ml.
 
1/6 went down after 48 months with a scrapie/BS2-like disease.
 
Expt B 6 Her or Jer or HxJ calves were inoculated with angora Goat virus 2/6 went down similarly after 36 months.
 
Expt C Mice inoculated from brains of calves/cattle in expts A & B were resistant, only 1/20 going down with scrapie and this was the reason given for not publishing.
 
Diagnosis in A, B, C was by histopath. No reports on SAF were given.
 
2. Dr Warren Foote indicated success so far in eliminating scrapie in offspring from experimentally— (and naturally) infected sheep by ET. He had found difficulty in obtaining embryos from naturally infected sheep (cf SPA).
 
3. Prof. A Robertson gave a brief accout of BSE. The us approach was to
 
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accord it a very low profile indeed. Dr A Thiermann showed the picture in the "Independent" with cattle being incinerated and thought this was a fanatical incident to be avoided in the US at all costs. BSE was not reported in USA.
 
4. Scrapie incidents (ie affected flocks) have shown a dramatic increase since 1978. In 1953 when the National Control scheme was started there were 10-14 incidents, in 1978 - 1 and in 1988 so far 60.
 
5. Scrapie agent was reported to have been isolated from a solitary fetus.
 
6. A western blotting diagnostic technique (? on PrP) shows some promise.
 
7. Results of a questionnaire sent to 33 states on" the subject of the national sheep scrapie programme survey indicated
 
17/33 wished to drop it
 
6/33 wished to develop it
 
8/33 had few sheep and were neutral
 
Information obtained from Dr Wrathall‘s notes of a meeting of the U.S. Animal Health Association at Little Rock, Arkansas Nov. 1988.
 
33
 
snip...see full text ;
 
In Confidence - Perceptions of unconventional slow virus diseases of animals in the USA - APRIL-MAY 1989 - G A H Wells
 
3. Prof. A. Robertson gave a brief account of BSE. The US approach was to accord it a very low profile indeed. Dr. A Thiermann showed the picture in the ''Independent'' with cattle being incinerated and thought this was a fanatical incident to be avoided in the US at all costs. ...
 
 
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
 
see Singeltary comment ;
 
 
*** Singeltary reply ; Molecular, Biochemical and Genetic Characteristics of BSE in Canada Singeltary reply ;
 
 
*** It also suggests a similar cause or source for atypical BSE in these countries. ***
 
Discussion: The C, L and H type BSE cases in Canada exhibit molecular characteristics similar to those described for classical and atypical BSE cases from Europe and Japan.
 
*** This supports the theory that the importation of BSE contaminated feedstuff is the source of C-type BSE in Canada.
 
*** It also suggests a similar cause or source for atypical BSE in these countries. ***
 
see page 176 of 201 pages...tss
 
 
***atypical spontaneous BSE in France LOL***
 
FRANCE STOPS TESTING FOR MAD COW DISEASE BSE, and here’s why, to many spontaneous events of mad cow disease $$$
 
***so 20 cases of atypical BSE in France, compared to the remaining 40 cases in the remaining 12 Countries, divided by the remaining 12 Countries, about 3+ cases per country, besides Frances 20 cases. you cannot explain this away with any spontaneous BSe. ...TSS
 
Sunday, October 5, 2014
 
France stops BSE testing for Mad Cow Disease
 
 
Thursday, March 24, 2016
 
FRANCE CONFIRMS BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE MAD COW (ESB) chez une vache dans les Ardennes
 
 
***atypical spontaneous BSE in France LOL***
 
FRANCE STOPS TESTING FOR MAD COW DISEASE BSE, and here’s why, to many spontaneous events of mad cow disease $$$
 
If you Compare France to other Countries with atypical BSE, in my opinion, you cannot explain this with ‘spontaneous’.
 
Table 1: Number of Atypical BSE cases reported by EU Member States in the period 2001–2014 by country and by type (L- and H-BSE) (extracted from EU BSE databases on 1 July 2014). By 2015, these data might be more comprehensive following a request from the European Commission to Member States for re-testing and retrospective classification of all positive bovine isolates in the EU in the years 2003–2009
 
BSE type
 
Country 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013(a) 2014(a) Total
 
H-BSE Austria 1 1
 
France(b) 1 2 3 1 2 2 2 2 15
 
Germany 1 1 2
 
Ireland 1 1 2 1 5
 
The Netherlands 1 1
 
Poland 1 1 2
 
Portugal 1 1
 
Spain 1 1 2
 
Sweden 1 1
 
United Kingdom 1 1 1 1 1 5
 
Total 2 3 3 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 5 1 4 1 35
 
L-BSE Austria 1 1 2
 
Denmark 1 1
 
France(b) 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 1 14
 
Germany 1 1 2
 
Italy 1 1 1 1 1 5
 
The Netherlands 1 1 1 3
 
Poland 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 12
 
Spain 2 2
 
United Kingdom 1 1 1 1 4
 
Total 0 5 3 4 3 3 6 3 3 4 3 6 1 1 45
 
Total Atypical cases (H + L)
 
2 8 6 5 4 5 8 5 7 8 8 7 5 2 80
 
(a): Data for 2013-2014 are incomplete and may not include all cases/countries reported.
 
(b): France has performed extensive retrospective testing to classify BSE cases, which is probably the explanation for the higher number of Atypical BSE cases reported in this country.
 
The number of Atypical BSE cases detected in countries that have already identified them seems to be similar from year to year. In France, a retrospective study of all TSE-positive cattle identified through the compulsory EU surveillance between 2001 and 2007 indicated that the prevalence of H-BSE and L-BSE was 0.35 and 0.41 cases per million adult cattle tested, respectively, which increased to 1.9 and 1.7 cases per million, respectively, in tested animals over eight years old (Biacabe et al., 2008). No comprehensive study on the prevalence of Atypical BSE cases has yet been carried out in other EU Member States. All cases of Atypical BSE reported in the EU BSE databases have been identified by active surveillance testing (59 % in fallen stock, 38 % in healthy slaughtered cattle and 4 % in emergency slaughtered cattle). Cases were reported in animals over eight years of age, with the exception of two cases (one H-BSE and one L-BSE) detected in Spain in 2011/2012. One additional case of H-BSE was detected in Switzerland in 2012 in a cow born in Germany in 2005 (Guldimann et al., 2012).
 
 
 
for one, spontaneous TSE under natural field conditions, have ever been documented as spontaneous. in fact ;
 
***Moreover, sporadic disease has never been observed in breeding colonies or primate research laboratories, most notably among hundreds of animals over several decades of study at the National Institutes of Health25, and in nearly twenty older animals continuously housed in our own facility.***
 
 
same with atypical BSE, officials trying to lay claim as a spontaneous TSE, but with absolutely no evidence, and no one need look any further than France and why they stopped testing for mad cow disease, because to many atypical BSE cases were spontaneously happening, like about one third more than most of the other Countries.
 
I remember one cwd positive herd. after one was detected, all the game farmers and industry rallied around the owners. threats to the state officials, a rally was in the making to gather around the owners and block any attempt to test the remaining herd, right down to cutting the fence. this went on and on for years, floundering in the court system, while the owners and industry were crying in their milk over having to give up these cervid and test them. there was even a great threat that showed pictures of all those healthy deer standing in the field, then the threats to protect those healthy deer. while the court case floundered on, cwd just kept spreading, and spreading, and spreading between that herd that looked so healthy. well, in the end, and after all the those healthy looking deer were tested, the infection rate was 79.8%. ...
 
*** 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).
 
 
*** see history of this CWD blunder here ;
 
 
On June 5, 2013, DNR conducted a fence inspection, after gaining approval from surrounding landowners, and confirmed that the fenced had 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.
 
 
The overall incidence of clinical CWD in white-tailed deer was 82%
 
Species (cohort) CWD (cases/total) Incidence (%) Age at CWD death (mo)
 
 
”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.
 
 
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:
 
 
J Vet Diagn Invest 20:698–703 (2008)
 
Chronic wasting disease in a Wisconsin white-tailed deer farm
 
Delwyn P. Keane,1 Daniel J. Barr, Philip N. Bochsler, S. Mark Hall, Thomas Gidlewski, Katherine I. O’Rourke, Terry R. Spraker, Michael D. Samuel
 
Abstract.
 
In September 2002, chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disorder of captive and wild cervids, was diagnosed in a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from a captive farm in Wisconsin. The facility was subsequently quarantined, and in January 2006 the remaining 76 deer were depopulated. Sixty animals (79%) were found to be positive by immunohistochemical staining for the abnormal prion protein (PrPCWD) in at least one tissue; the prevalence of positive staining was high even in young deer. Although none of the deer displayed clinical signs suggestive of CWD at depopulation, 49 deer had considerable accumulation of the abnormal prion in the medulla at the level of the obex. Extraneural accumulation of the abnormal protein was observed in 59 deer, with accumulation in the retropharyngeal lymph node in 58 of 59 (98%), in the tonsil in 56 of 59 (95%), and in the rectal mucosal lymphoid tissue in 48 of 58 (83%). The retina was positive in 4 deer, all with marked accumulation of prion in the obex. One deer was considered positive for PrPCWD in the brain but not in the extraneural tissue, a novel observation in white-tailed deer. The infection rate in captive deer was 20- fold higher than in wild deer. Although weakly related to infection rates in extraneural tissues, prion genotype was strongly linked to progression of prion accumulation in the obex. Antemortem testing by biopsy of recto– anal mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue (or other peripheral lymphoid tissue) may be a useful adjunct to tonsil biopsy for surveillance in captive herds at risk for CWD infection.
 
Key words: Cervids; chronic wasting disease; prion; transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
 
 
State pays farmer $298,000 for infected deer herd
 
Jan. 16, 2016 8:05 p.m.
 
The State of Wisconsin paid nearly $300,000 to the Eau Claire County farmer whose deer herd was depopulated after it was found to be infected with chronic wasting disease.
 
Rick Vojtik, owner of Fairchild Whitetails in Fairchild, received an indemnity payment of $298,770 for 228 white-tailed deer killed on his farm, according to officials with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
 
The money was taken from the agency's general program revenue funded by Wisconsin taxpayers.
 
 
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:
 
 
$298,770 + $465,000
 
THE CWD ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM FOR GAME FARMS MUST BE STOPPED!
 
IOWA CWD
 
Friday, February 05, 2016
 
IOWA Two Wild Deer Test Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in Allamakee County
 
 
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
 
Additional BSE TSE prion testing detects pathologic lesion in unusual brain location and PrPsc by PMCA only, how many cases have we missed?
 
 
***however in 1 C-type challenged animal, Prion 2015 Poster Abstracts S67 PrPsc was not detected using rapid tests for BSE.
 
***Subsequent testing resulted in the detection of pathologic lesion in unusual brain location and PrPsc detection by PMCA only.
 
*** IBNC Tauopathy or TSE Prion disease, it appears, no one is sure ***
 
Posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. on 03 Jul 2015 at 16:53 GMT
 
 
SEE THE DRASTIC REDUCTION OF CONFIRMED BSE CASES IN THE UK ONCE THE FEED BAN TOOK HOLD FROM THE TOP YEAR DOWN TO THE FIRST ZERO YEAR ;
 
1992 36680 SLAUGHTERED SUSPECTS IN WHICH BSE CONFIRMED
 
2013 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 
 
 
 
 
 
10 years post mad cow feed ban August 1997
 
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. BLOOD LACED MBM IN COMMERCE USA 2007
 
Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST
 
RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II
 
PRODUCT
 
Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling's 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried, Recall # V-024-2007
 
CODE
 
Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007
 
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
 
Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.
 
Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
 
REASON
 
Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was cross- contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
 
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
 
42,090 lbs.
 
DISTRIBUTION
 
WI
 
___________________________________
 
PRODUCT
 
Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL Prot- Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal, TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI - 8# SPECIAL DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J - PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY, A- BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007
 
CODE
 
The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with commodity and weights identified.
 
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
 
Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm initiated recall is complete.
 
REASON
 
Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
 
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
 
9,997,976 lbs.
 
DISTRIBUTION
 
ID and NV
 
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007
 
 
16 years post mad cow feed ban August 1997
 
2013
 
Sunday, December 15, 2013
 
FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OIA UPDATE DECEMBER 2013 UPDATE
 
 
17 years post mad cow feed ban August 1997
 
Monday, October 26, 2015
 
FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OIA UPDATE October 2015
 
 
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
 
FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEEDVIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OAI UPDATE DECEMBER 2014 BSE TSE PRION
 
 
Sunday, September 27, 2015
 
TEXAS CONFIRMATION OF BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE TSE PRION IN ONE SAMPLE OF SORGHUM DDGS OUT OF 168 DG SAMPLES
 
 
 
Subject: Texas Scrapie Confirmed in a Hartley County Sheep
 
NEWS RELEASE
 
April 22, 2016
 
Scrapie Confirmed in a Hartley County Sheep
 
AUSTIN - Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) officials have confirmed scrapie in a Hartley County ewe. The ewe was tested by TAHC after the owner reported signs of weight loss and lack of coordination to their local veterinarian. The premises was quarantined and a flock plan for monitoring is being developed by the TAHC and USDA.
 
"The TAHC is working closely with the flock owner, sharing all of the options for disease eradication," said Dr. David Finch, TAl-lC Region 1 Director. ‘We are thankful the producer was proactive in identifying a problem and seeking veterinary help immediately.”
 
Texas leads the nation in sheep and goat production. Since 2003, there have been no confirmed cases of scrapie in Texas. The last big spike in Texas scrapie cases was in 2006 when nine infected herds were identified and the last herd was released from restrictions in 2013.
 
According to USDA regulations, Texas must conduct adequate scrapie surveillance by collecting a minimum of 598 sheep samples annually. Since USDA slaughter surveillance started in FY 2003, the percent of cull sheep found positive for scrapie at slaughter (once adjusted for face color) has decreased 90 percent.
 
Scrapie is the oldest known transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, and under natural conditions only sheep and goats are known to be affected by scrapie. It is a fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It is not completely understood how scrapie is passed from one animal to the next and apparently healthy sheep infected with scrapie can spread the disease. Sheep and goats are typically infected as young lambs or kids, though adult sheep and goats can become infected.
 
The most effective method of scrapie prevention is to maintain a closed flock. Raising replacement ewes, purchasing genetically resistant rams and ewes, or buying from a certified-free scrapie flock are other options to reduce the risk of scrapie. At this time the resistant genetic markers in goats have not been identified, therefore it is important to maintain your sheep and goat herds separately.
 
The incubation period for scrapie is typically two to five years. Producers should record individual identification numbers and the seller's premise identification number on purchase and sales records. These records must be maintained for a minimum of five years.
 
 
 
see more history on scrapie and the real risk factors to humans therefrom ;
 
Friday, April 22, 2016
 
Texas Scrapie Confirmed in a Hartley County Sheep where CWD was detected in a Mule Deer
 
 
TEXAS Sheep and Goats
 
• Most recent scrapie positive animal in Texas was found in April, 2008.
 
• USDA-APHIS-VS set the national goal for surveillance at 46,000 traceable, mature sheep or goats. Target for Texas is 1,472.
 
• The Scrapie Program Review is being scheduled for this summer. No problems expected.
 
 
Prion. 10:S15-S21. 2016 ISSN: 1933-6896 printl 1933-690X online
 
Taylor & Francis
 
Prion 2016 Animal Prion Disease Workshop Abstracts
 
WS-01: Prion diseases in animals and zoonotic potential
 
Juan Maria Torres a, Olivier Andreoletti b, J uan-Carlos Espinosa a. Vincent Beringue c. Patricia Aguilar a,
 
Natalia Fernandez-Borges a. and Alba Marin-Moreno a
 
"Centro de Investigacion en Sanidad Animal ( CISA-INIA ). Valdeolmos, Madrid. Spain; b UMR INRA -ENVT 1225 Interactions Holes Agents Pathogenes. ENVT. Toulouse. France: "UR892. Virologie lmmunologie MolécuIaires, Jouy-en-Josas. France
 
Dietary exposure to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) contaminated bovine tissues is considered as the origin of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob (vCJD) disease in human. To date, BSE agent is the only recognized zoonotic prion. Despite the variety of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) agents that have been circulating for centuries in farmed ruminants there is no apparent epidemiological link between exposure to ruminant products and the occurrence of other form of TSE in human like sporadic Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (sCJD). However, the zoonotic potential of the diversity of circulating TSE agents has never been systematically assessed. The major issue in experimental assessment of TSEs zoonotic potential lies in the modeling of the ‘species barrier‘, the biological phenomenon that limits TSE agents’ propagation from a species to another. In the last decade, mice genetically engineered to express normal forms of the human prion protein has proved essential in studying human prions pathogenesis and modeling the capacity of TSEs to cross the human species barrier.
 
To assess the zoonotic potential of prions circulating in farmed ruminants, we study their transmission ability in transgenic mice expressing human PrPC (HuPrP-Tg). Two lines of mice expressing different forms of the human PrPC (129Met or 129Val) are used to determine the role of the Met129Val dimorphism in susceptibility/resistance to the different agents.
 
These transmission experiments confirm the ability of BSE prions to propagate in 129M- HuPrP-Tg mice and demonstrate that Met129 homozygotes may be susceptible to BSE in sheep or goat to a greater degree than the BSE agent in cattle and that these agents can convey molecular properties and neuropathological indistinguishable from vCJD. However homozygous 129V mice are resistant to all tested BSE derived prions independently of the originating species suggesting a higher transmission barrier for 129V-PrP variant.
 
Transmission data also revealed that several scrapie prions propagate in HuPrP-Tg mice with efficiency comparable to that of cattle BSE. While the efficiency of transmission at primary passage was low, subsequent passages resulted in a highly virulent prion disease in both Met129 and Val129 mice. Transmission of the different scrapie isolates in these mice leads to the emergence of prion strain phenotypes that showed similar characteristics to those displayed by MM1 or VV2 sCJD prion. These results demonstrate that scrapie prions have a zoonotic potential and raise new questions about the possible link between animal and human prions.
 
 
Saturday, April 23, 2016
 
SCRAPIE WS-01: Prion diseases in animals and zoonotic potential 2016
 
Prion. 10:S15-S21. 2016 ISSN: 1933-6896 printl 1933-690X online
 
 
Friday, April 22, 2016
 
Texas Scrapie Confirmed in a Hartley County Sheep where CWD was detected in a Mule Deer
 
 
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 ;
 
with CWD TSE Prions, I am not sure there is any absolute yet, other than what we know with transmission studies, and we know tse prion kill, and tse prion are bad. science shows to date, that indeed soil, dirt, some better than others, can act as a carrier. same with objects, farm furniture. take it with how ever many grains of salt you wish, or not. if load factor plays a role in the end formula, then everything should be on the table, in my opinion. see ;
 
***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 ;
 
 
Oral Transmissibility of Prion Disease Is Enhanced by Binding to Soil Particles
 
Author Summary
 
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of incurable neurological diseases likely caused by a misfolded form of the prion protein. TSEs include scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (‘‘mad cow’’ disease) in cattle, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Scrapie and chronic wasting disease are unique among TSEs because they can be transmitted between animals, and the disease agents appear to persist in environments previously inhabited by infected animals. Soil has been hypothesized to act as a reservoir of infectivity and to bind the infectious agent. In the current study, we orally dosed experimental animals with a common clay mineral, montmorillonite, or whole soils laden with infectious prions, and compared the transmissibility to unbound agent. We found that prions bound to montmorillonite and whole soils remained orally infectious, and, in most cases, increased the oral transmission of disease compared to the unbound agent. The results presented in this study suggest that soil may contribute to environmental spread of TSEs by increasing the transmissibility of small amounts of infectious agent in the environment.
 
 
tse prion soil
 
 
 
 
 
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
 
Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission
 
 
The sources of dust borne prions are unknown but it seems reasonable to assume that faecal, urine, skin, parturient material and saliva-derived prions may contribute to this mobile environmental reservoir of infectivity. This work highlights a possible transmission route for scrapie within the farm environment, and this is likely to be paralleled in CWD which shows strong similarities with scrapie in terms of prion dissemination and disease transmission. The data indicate that the presence of scrapie prions in dust is likely to make the control of these diseases a considerable challenge.
 
 
>>>Particle-associated PrPTSE molecules may migrate from locations of deposition via transport processes affecting soil particles, including entrainment in and movement with air and overland flow. <<<
 
Fate of Prions in Soil: A Review
 
Christen B. Smith, Clarissa J. Booth, and Joel A. Pedersen*
 
Several reports have shown that prions can persist in soil for several years. Significant interest remains in developing methods that could be applied to degrade PrPTSE in naturally contaminated soils. Preliminary research suggests that serine proteases and the microbial consortia in stimulated soils and compost may partially degrade PrPTSE. Transition metal oxides in soil (viz. manganese oxide) may also mediate prion inactivation. Overall, the effect of prion attachment to soil particles on its persistence in the environment is not well understood, and additional study is needed to determine its implications on the environmental transmission of scrapie and CWD.
 
 
P.161: Prion soil binding may explain efficient horizontal CWD transmission
 
Conclusion. Silty clay loam exhibits highly efficient prion binding, inferring a durable environmental reservoir, and an efficient mechanism for indirect horizontal CWD transmission.
 
 
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
 
Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission
 
Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission
 
Timm Konold1*, Stephen A. C. Hawkins2, Lisa C. Thurston3, Ben C. Maddison4, Kevin C. Gough5, Anthony Duarte1 and Hugh A. Simmons1
 
1 Animal Sciences Unit, Animal and Plant Health Agency Weybridge, Addlestone, UK, 2 Pathology Department, Animal and Plant Health Agency Weybridge, Addlestone, UK, 3 Surveillance and Laboratory Services, Animal and Plant Health Agency Penrith, Penrith, UK, 4 ADAS UK, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK, 5 School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
 
Classical scrapie is an environmentally transmissible prion disease of sheep and goats. Prions can persist and remain potentially infectious in the environment for many years and thus pose a risk of infecting animals after re-stocking. In vitro studies using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) have suggested that objects on a scrapie affected sheep farm could contribute to disease transmission. This in vivo study aimed to determine the role of field furniture (water troughs, feeding troughs, fencing, and other objects that sheep may rub against) used by a scrapie-infected sheep flock as a vector for disease transmission to scrapie-free lambs with the prion protein genotype VRQ/VRQ, which is associated with high susceptibility to classical scrapie. When the field furniture was placed in clean accommodation, sheep became infected when exposed to either a water trough (four out of five) or to objects used for rubbing (four out of seven). This field furniture had been used by the scrapie-infected flock 8 weeks earlier and had previously been shown to harbor scrapie prions by sPMCA. Sheep also became infected (20 out of 23) through exposure to contaminated field furniture placed within pasture not used by scrapie-infected sheep for 40 months, even though swabs from this furniture tested negative by PMCA. This infection rate decreased (1 out of 12) on the same paddock after replacement with clean field furniture. Twelve grazing sheep exposed to field furniture not in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for 18 months remained scrapie free. The findings of this study highlight the role of field furniture used by scrapie-infected sheep to act as a reservoir for disease re-introduction although infectivity declines considerably if the field furniture has not been in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for several months. PMCA may not be as sensitive as VRQ/VRQ sheep to test for environmental contamination.
 
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Discussion
 
Classical scrapie is an environmentally transmissible disease because it has been reported in naïve, supposedly previously unexposed sheep placed in pastures formerly occupied by scrapie-infected sheep (4, 19, 20). Although the vector for disease transmission is not known, soil is likely to be an important reservoir for prions (2) where – based on studies in rodents – prions can adhere to minerals as a biologically active form (21) and remain infectious for more than 2 years (22). Similarly, chronic wasting disease (CWD) has re-occurred in mule deer housed in paddocks used by infected deer 2 years earlier, which was assumed to be through foraging and soil consumption (23).
 
Our study suggested that the risk of acquiring scrapie infection was greater through exposure to contaminated wooden, plastic, and metal surfaces via water or food troughs, fencing, and hurdles than through grazing. Drinking from a water trough used by the scrapie flock was sufficient to cause infection in sheep in a clean building. Exposure to fences and other objects used for rubbing also led to infection, which supported the hypothesis that skin may be a vector for disease transmission (9). The risk of these objects to cause infection was further demonstrated when 87% of 23 sheep presented with PrPSc in lymphoid tissue after grazing on one of the paddocks, which contained metal hurdles, a metal lamb creep and a water trough in contact with the scrapie flock up to 8 weeks earlier, whereas no infection had been demonstrated previously in sheep grazing on this paddock, when equipped with new fencing and field furniture. When the contaminated furniture and fencing were removed, the infection rate dropped significantly to 8% of 12 sheep, with soil of the paddock as the most likely source of infection caused by shedding of prions from the scrapie-infected sheep in this paddock up to a week earlier.
 
This study also indicated that the level of contamination of field furniture sufficient to cause infection was dependent on two factors: stage of incubation period and time of last use by scrapie-infected sheep. Drinking from a water trough that had been used by scrapie sheep in the predominantly pre-clinical phase did not appear to cause infection, whereas infection was shown in sheep drinking from the water trough used by scrapie sheep in the later stage of the disease. It is possible that contamination occurred through shedding of prions in saliva, which may have contaminated the surface of the water trough and subsequently the water when it was refilled. Contamination appeared to be sufficient to cause infection only if the trough was in contact with sheep that included clinical cases. Indeed, there is an increased risk of bodily fluid infectivity with disease progression in scrapie (24) and CWD (25) based on PrPSc detection by sPMCA. Although ultraviolet light and heat under natural conditions do not inactivate prions (26), furniture in contact with the scrapie flock, which was assumed to be sufficiently contaminated to cause infection, did not act as vector for disease if not used for 18 months, which suggest that the weathering process alone was sufficient to inactivate prions.
 
PrPSc detection by sPMCA is increasingly used as a surrogate for infectivity measurements by bioassay in sheep or mice. In this reported study, however, the levels of PrPSc present in the environment were below the limit of detection of the sPMCA method, yet were still sufficient to cause infection of in-contact animals. In the present study, the outdoor objects were removed from the infected flock 8 weeks prior to sampling and were positive by sPMCA at very low levels (2 out of 37 reactions). As this sPMCA assay also yielded 2 positive reactions out of 139 in samples from the scrapie-free farm, the sPMCA assay could not detect PrPSc on any of the objects above the background of the assay. False positive reactions with sPMCA at a low frequency associated with de novo formation of infectious prions have been reported (27, 28). This is in contrast to our previous study where we demonstrated that outdoor objects that had been in contact with the scrapie-infected flock up to 20 days prior to sampling harbored PrPSc that was detectable by sPMCA analysis [4 out of 15 reactions (12)] and was significantly more positive by the assay compared to analogous samples from the scrapie-free farm. This discrepancy could be due to the use of a different sPMCA substrate between the studies that may alter the efficiency of amplification of the environmental PrPSc. In addition, the present study had a longer timeframe between the objects being in contact with the infected flock and sampling, which may affect the levels of extractable PrPSc. Alternatively, there may be potentially patchy contamination of this furniture with PrPSc, which may have been missed by swabbing. The failure of sPMCA to detect CWD-associated PrP in saliva from clinically affected deer despite confirmation of infectivity in saliva-inoculated transgenic mice was associated with as yet unidentified inhibitors in saliva (29), and it is possible that the sensitivity of sPMCA is affected by other substances in the tested material. In addition, sampling of amplifiable PrPSc and subsequent detection by sPMCA may be more difficult from furniture exposed to weather, which is supported by the observation that PrPSc was detected by sPMCA more frequently in indoor than outdoor furniture (12). A recent experimental study has demonstrated that repeated cycles of drying and wetting of prion-contaminated soil, equivalent to what is expected under natural weathering conditions, could reduce PMCA amplification efficiency and extend the incubation period in hamsters inoculated with soil samples (30). This seems to apply also to this study even though the reduction in infectivity was more dramatic in the sPMCA assays than in the sheep model. Sheep were not kept until clinical end-point, which would have enabled us to compare incubation periods, but the lack of infection in sheep exposed to furniture that had not been in contact with scrapie sheep for a longer time period supports the hypothesis that prion degradation and subsequent loss of infectivity occurs even under natural conditions.
 
In conclusion, the results in the current study indicate that removal of furniture that had been in contact with scrapie-infected animals should be recommended, particularly since cleaning and decontamination may not effectively remove scrapie infectivity (31), even though infectivity declines considerably if the pasture and the field furniture have not been in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for several months. As sPMCA failed to detect PrPSc in furniture that was subjected to weathering, even though exposure led to infection in sheep, this method may not always be reliable in predicting the risk of scrapie infection through environmental contamination. These results suggest that the VRQ/VRQ sheep model may be more sensitive than sPMCA for the detection of environmentally associated scrapie, and suggest that extremely low levels of scrapie contamination are able to cause infection in susceptible sheep genotypes.
 
Keywords: classical scrapie, prion, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, sheep, field furniture, reservoir, serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification
 
 
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
 
*** Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission ***
 
 
Circulation of prions within dust on a scrapie affected farm
 
Kevin C Gough1, Claire A Baker2, Hugh A Simmons3, Steve A Hawkins3 and Ben C Maddison2*
 
Abstract
 
Prion diseases are fatal neurological disorders that affect humans and animals. Scrapie of sheep/goats and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) of deer/elk are contagious prion diseases where environmental reservoirs have a direct link to the transmission of disease. Using protein misfolding cyclic amplification we demonstrate that scrapie PrPSc can be detected within circulating dusts that are present on a farm that is naturally contaminated with sheep scrapie. The presence of infectious scrapie within airborne dusts may represent a possible route of infection and illustrates the difficulties that may be associated with the effective decontamination of such scrapie affected premises.
 
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Discussion
 
We present biochemical data illustrating the airborne movement of scrapie containing material within a contaminated farm environment. We were able to detect scrapie PrPSc within extracts from dusts collected over a 70 day period, in the absence of any sheep activity. We were also able to detect scrapie PrPSc within dusts collected within pasture at 30 m but not at 60 m distance away from the scrapie contaminated buildings, suggesting that the chance of contamination of pasture by scrapie contaminated dusts decreases with distance from contaminated farm buildings. PrPSc amplification by sPMCA has been shown to correlate with infectivity and amplified products have been shown to be infectious [14,15]. These experiments illustrate the potential for low dose scrapie infectivity to be present within such samples. We estimate low ng levels of scrapie positive brain equivalent were deposited per m2 over 70 days, in a barn previously occupied by sheep affected with scrapie. This movement of dusts and the accumulation of low levels of scrapie infectivity within this environment may in part explain previous observations where despite stringent pen decontamination regimens healthy lambs still became scrapie infected after apparent exposure from their environment alone [16]. The presence of sPMCA seeding activity and by inference, infectious prions within dusts, and their potential for airborne dissemination is highly novel and may have implications for the spread of scrapie within infected premises. The low level circulation and accumulation of scrapie prion containing dust material within the farm environment will likely impede the efficient decontamination of such scrapie contaminated buildings unless all possible reservoirs of dust are removed. Scrapie containing dusts could possibly infect animals during feeding and drinking, and respiratory and conjunctival routes may also be involved. It has been demonstrated that scrapie can be efficiently transmitted via the nasal route in sheep [17], as is also the case for CWD in both murine models and in white tailed deer [18-20].
 
The sources of dust borne prions are unknown but it seems reasonable to assume that faecal, urine, skin, parturient material and saliva-derived prions may contribute to this mobile environmental reservoir of infectivity. This work highlights a possible transmission route for scrapie within the farm environment, and this is likely to be paralleled in CWD which shows strong similarities with scrapie in terms of prion dissemination and disease transmission. The data indicate that the presence of scrapie prions in dust is likely to make the control of these diseases a considerable challenge.
 
 
Saturday, April 16, 2016
 
APHIS [Docket No. APHIS-2016-0029] Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health; Meeting May 2, 2016, and June 16, 2016 Singeltary Submission
 
 
 
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.