Louisiana Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Surveillance and Testing Program?
>>>Louisiana Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Surveillance and Testing Program?
LOL!!!
LDWF monitoring for CWD in state’s white-tailed deer population Disease has
been found in Texas and Arkansas; plans already in place if detected here From
News Reports
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is actively monitoring
the state's deer herd for chronic wasting disease, a fatal brain infection that
has already been found in both Arkansas and Texas. The Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries is actively monitoring the state's deer herd for chronic
wasting disease, a fatal brain infection that has already been found in both
Arkansas and Texas.
Even though no cases of chronic wasting disease have been found in
Louisiana, the state is stepping up preventive efforts to monitor Louisiana’s
native white-tailed deer population for the incurable brain infection.
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the
disease has already entered both Texas and Arkansas, and the state has developed
a plan in the event it eventually is found here.
“We’ve been monitoring for CWD statewide for more than 10 years, and have
checked 7,000-plus deer and have not discovered it,” said Dr. Jim LaCour, the
state wildlife veterinarian who updated the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries
Commission on the disease during its meeting today in Baton Rouge. “We are being
proactive because it’s in our neighboring states, and it’s close enough that we
need to be on guard.’’
CWD is a neurodegenerative disease found in most deer species, including
moose, elk and mule deer, as well as white-tailed deer. It is infectious and
always fatal. It’s part of a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (TSEs) and is similar to BSE (mad cow disease) in cattle and
scrapie in sheep. The diseases cause irreversible damage to brain tissue which
leads to salivation, neurological symptoms, emaciation and death of the animal,
according to a press release.
CWD is caused by prions, which are proteins normally found in the body that
have mutated. These prions kill nerve cells and cause holes to develop in the
brain tissue. They are spread through direct deer-to-deer contact or through
contact with urine, feces, saliva and body parts of infected deer or infectious
materials in the soil. It’s most commonly found in deer pens and captive
facilities, the release states.
It is different from hemorrhagic disease (epizootic hemorrhagic disease
virus and/ or bluetongue virus), which is a virus spread by bites from infected
insects.
Deer infected with CWD can spread the disease even before symptoms develop,
and it can take one to two years for infected animals to become symptomatic.
When symptoms appear they can include emaciation, lethargy, abnormal behavior
and loss of bodily functions. Other signs include excessive salivation, loss of
appetite, progressive weight loss, excessive thirst and urination, teeth
grinding and drooping ears.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no
evidence that CWD can infect humans. However, the CDCP recommends caution in
handling venison in the infected region and that deer be tested for CWD before
consuming.
The prions remain for years in the environment and there has not been a
method discovered to eradicate them.
“Once the infected deer die, after they decompose, those particles go into
the soil and they stay there indefinitely,’’ LaCour said.
CWD has been documented in 23 states and two Canadian provinces.
Though Louisiana has yet to see a case of CWD, LaCour and Jimmy Ernst, the
Deer Management Assistance Program coordinator, said the LDWF has developed a
plan should the disease be found here.
Once it is discovered, there will be feeding and baiting restrictions in
the geographic area where the disease is initially found. It may also be
necessary to reduce and maintain a lower deer density in that area, the release
states.
There also will be movement restrictions placed on deer body parts, and the
creation of a CWD management zone — the size of which will depend on the
location and distribution of infected deer.
“Hunters won’t be able to bring a whole deer out from property within that
radius,’’ Ernst said. “They’ll be able to bring out the deboned meat, a clean
skull plate with the antlers, and the cape, which is the skin of the head and
shoulders.
“The goal is to take an area around the initial case and maintain intensive
surveillance. We will liberalize the season locally and we will test those
harvested animals as they come out. By stopping baiting and feeding, which
congregates animals, and by reducing the population, there isn’t as much
deer-to-deer interaction. That will slow the spread of the disease. We will
continue surveillance and control in that area for an indefinite period of time.
Hopefully, working with hunters and landowners, we can minimize the spread of
the disease with these measures.’’
Ernst said the LDWF will remain vigilant in testing and enacting
preventative measures against CWD introduction into Louisiana. Working with
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to prevent importation of
potential CWD-infected animals into the state through the LDAF-licensed deer pen
program is a continuing effort of LDWF.
For more information about chronic wasting disease, click here.
What to Know About Chronic Wasting Disease
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries continues to monitor and
test the state’s white-tailed deer population for chronic wasting disease (CDW).
It has not been found in Louisiana but Texas and Arkansas have documented it.
Here are some facts about the disease:
CWD FACT SHEET
What is Chronic Wasting Disease?
CWD is a neurodegenerative disease found in most deer species, including
moose, elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer. It is infectious, always fatal and
there is no known cure. It’s part of a group of diseases known as transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) and is similar to BSE (mad cow disease) of
cattle and scrapie in sheep. These diseases cause irreversible damage to brain
tissue which leads to salivation, neurological symptoms, emaciation and death of
the animal.
Has it been found in Louisiana’s white-tailed deer population?
No. But Texas and Arkansas have recorded it. The disease has been
documented in 23 states and two Canadian provinces. The Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries has been monitoring and testing for CWD for more than 10
years and has checked more than 7,000 deer during that time period. The state
has yet to test positive for it.
What causes CWD and how is it spread?
CWD is caused by prions, which are proteins normally found in the body that
have mutated. These prions kill nerve cells and cause holes to develop in the
brain tissue. They are spread through direct deer-to-deer contact or through
contact with urine, feces, saliva and body parts of infected deer or infectious
materials in the soil. It’s most commonly found in deer pens and captive
facilities. It is different from hemorrhagic disease (epizootic hemorrhagic
disease virus and/ or bluetongue virus), which is a virus spread by bites from
infected insects.
What signs do deer with CWD display?
It can take one to two years for CWD to incubate and exhibit outward
symptoms in the infected animal. When symptoms appear they can include
emaciation, lethargy, abnormal behavior and loss of bodily functions. Other
signs include excessive salivation, loss of appetite, progressive weight loss,
excessive thirst and urination, teeth grinding and drooping ears.
MAYBE LOUISIANA HAS NOT FOUND CWD TO DATE, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT TESTING FOR
CWD ENOUGH. see pitiful PITIFUL cwd test figures of recent years ;
2014 – 2015 LOUISIANA ONLY TESTED 18 SAMPLES STATEWIDE FOR CWD...TSS
WILDLIFE DISEASE
The statewide Wildlife Disease Program was administered by the State
Wildlife Veterinarian and the Assistant State Wildlife Veterinarian. Chronic
Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance continued as 18 samples were submitted from
all regions of the state to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study
laboratory. Due to cessation of federal funding for this program, only target
animals such as neurological or emaciated deer, deer hit by cars, deer harvested
adjacent to captive cervid facilities, and escaped exotic cervids were
tested.
2012 – 2013 LOUISIANA ON 21 SAMPLES STATEWIDE FOR CWD...TSS
WILDLIFE DISEASE The statewide Wildlife Disease Program was administered by
the State Wildlife Veterinarian. An assistant state wildlife veterinarian began
work for LDWF this year.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance continued as 21 samples were
submitted from all regions of the state to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife
Disease Study laboratory. Due to cessation of federal funding for this program,
only target animals such as neurological or emaciated deer, deer hit by cars,
deer harvested adjacent to captive cervid facilities, and escaped exotic cervids
were tested.
2011 – 2012 LOUISIANA CWD SAMPLE TESTING FIGURES
WILDLIFE DISEASE
The statewide Wildlife Disease Program was administered by the State
Wildlife Veterinarian.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance continued as 517 samples were
submitted from all regions of the state to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife
Disease Study laboratory. Samples were collected from hunter-killed deer which
are considered low probability samples, as well as from road-killed, pen-
killed, and taxidermy specimens which are considered high probability samples.
All samples tested negative for CWD.
FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010
Wildlife Disease
The statewide Wildlife Disease Program was administered by the State
Wildlife Veterinarian. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance continued as
600 samples were submitted from all regions of the state to the Southeastern
Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study laboratory. Samples were collected from
hunterkilled deer which are considered low probability samples, as well as from
road-killed, pen- killed and taxidermy specimens which are considered high
probability samples. All samples tested negative for CWD.
update;
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Louisiana Notice of Intent Cervid Carcass Importation (LAC XIX.V.1.119) CWD TSE PRION
http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2016/07/louisiana-notice-of-intent-cervid.html
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD quarantine Louisiana via CWD index herd
Pennsylvania Update May 28,... 2013
6 doe from Pennsylvania CWD index herd still on the loose in Louisiana,
quarantine began on October 18, 2012, still ongoing, Lake Charles premises.
United States v. Billy Powell, No. 6:11-CR-00059 (E.D. Tex.), AUSA Jim
Noble.
On September 22, 2011, licensed deer breeder Billy Powell was sentenced to
serve six months’ home confinement as a condition of a three-year term of
probation. Powell was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine, to be deposited
into the Fish and Wildlife Lacy Act Reward Fund, as well as pay $500,000 in
restitution to Texas Parks and Wildlife. During the term of probation, Powell
will be prohibited from participating in any manner of commercial deer breeding.
Additionally, Powell must
ECS Monthly Bulletin October 2011 17
forfeit any illegally imported deer, any progeny of those deer, and any
biological material derived from the deer, including antlers, mounts, semen, and
cloned deer. Powell has already forfeited more than 1,300 straws of frozen semen
valued at approximately $961,500.
After a four-year investigation, Powell pleaded guilty to smuggling
approximately 37 whitetail deer in violation of the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372
(a)(2)(A), 3373 (d)(2)) from Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio into Texas over a
three-year period. Powell also admitted that he made a false statement and
submitted a false document (18 U.S.C. § 1001) to a United States Fish and
Wildlife agent.
On at least four separate occasions between October 2006 and June 2008,
Powell illegally imported the deer, many of which came from captive deer farms
in Indiana, to his deer breeding facility in Texas. Powell was aware that Texas
law prohibits any person from possessing a deer acquired from an out-of-state
source. The fair market value of these deer exceeded approximately $800,000,
with the additional value of the semen and the progeny estimated to exceed $1.25
million. The defendant also lied to a Fish and Wildlife agent regarding the
actual number of deer that he had brought into the state.
As an unfortunate consequence of Powell’s actions, all 334 deer at his
facility had to be euthanized to facilitate testing for chronic wasting disease
(CWD) and bovine tuberculosis (BT), as there currently is no live-animal test
for CWD. This was necessary to ensure that neither disease was present in
Powell's deer breeding facility or in any deer breeding facility that had
received deer from Powell's facility since October 2004. Once these diseases
become established in wild populations, they are extremely difficult, if not
impossible, to eradicate.
This case was investigated by the Special Operations Unit of the Texas
Parks and Wildlife and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Louisiana Business, 3 Associates Charged With Smuggling Deer Into
Mississippi
featured-miss-deer-smuggling
Posted by Matt Alpert
February 14, 2014
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A Louisiana business, its CEO and two associates have been indicted on
charges of illegally smuggling deer into Mississippi.
The Sun Herald reported that the accused men smuggled whitetail deer from
Louisiana to wildlife enclosures they managed in Mississippi for the purposes of
breeding and trophy buck hunting, which is illegal under the Federal Lacey
Act.
Both federal and state law prohibits smuggling deer into Mississippi from
out of state to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease and bovine
tuberculosis. Both diseases can wreak havoc on deer populations.
More Stories About CWD More Stories About CWD Check out these articles
about the threat of chronic wasting disease in deer populations throughout the
US.
Omni Pinnacle, an emergency response services company that responds to
natural disasters throughout the US, is the company at the center of the
criminal charges. Its CEO, Brian R. Reine, and his associates Ronald W. Reine
and Bruce A. Swilley, Jr. are the three men accused of smuggling deer. They were
arraigned on Wednesday, and released on bonds of $25,000 each.
From Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2012, the Reines smuggled whitetail deer from
Louisiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Pennsylvania into wildlife enclosures in
Mississippi’s Pearl River and Lamar Counties. The deer were used for breeding
and trophy hunts for some of Omni Pinnacle’s business gatherings and public
relations meetings.
If convicted, Omni Pinnacle faces a $500,000 fine, and the men face up to
five years in prison and $250,000 fines for each charge. They are scheduled on
March 17 for a hearing in a U.S. District Court in Gulfport, Miss.
RELATED: Big Game Outfitter Charged With Wounding Mountain Lions To Make
Them Easier To Hunt
Chronic wasting disease is a deadly disease that affects the nervous system
of deer. Both the federal and state governments throughout the US have strict
laws intended to prevent the spread of the disease among deer populations.
Smuggling deer across state lines can spread the disease to untainted deer
populations.
Open season on escaped exotic deer near Delhi
Daily Comet - www.dailycomet.com 13 Nov 2009
Location: Delhi, Richland Parish, Louisiana -
. . . Up to 14 fallow deer and an unknown number of sika deer escaped
through a broken fence at High Delta Exotics, a wildlife park and hunting ranch,
John Hanks, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries,
said Thursday.
He said the deer might have diseases they could spread to native
whitetails. "The biggest we're worried about is chronic wasting disease," he
said. The disease has not been found in Louisiana deer.
NORTH AMERICA IS ALREADY RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPPING CWD TO KOREA, HOW MANY
MORE COUNTRIES MUST FALL DUE TO THE OIE AND THE USDA $$$
Friday, May 13, 2011
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) outbreaks and surveillance program in the
Republic of Korea
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
The first detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Europe
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI, 2016) has reported a case of prion
disease Cervid Spongiform Encephalopathy detected in free ranging wild reindeer
(Rangifer tarandus tarandus)
Saturday, April 9, 2016
The Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI, 2016) has reported a case of prion
disease Cervid Spongiform Encephalopathy detected in free ranging wild reindeer
(Rangifer tarandus tarandus)
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Monday, April 11, 2016
***DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY DUE TO A FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE
TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD IN
THE UNITED STATES AND NORTH AMERICA ?
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
14
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
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 well as non-ruminants such as cats and dogs as
well, as soon as possible for the following reasons...
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 ;
*** 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
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...
Monday, April 04, 2016
Limited amplification of chronic wasting disease prions in the peripheral
tissues of intracerebrally inoculated cattle
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Roundup USA April 1, 2016
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Docket No. FDA-2016-N-0321 Risk Assessment of Foodborne Illness Associated
with Pathogens from Produce Grown in Fields Amended with Untreated Biological
Soil Amendments of Animal Origin; Request for Comments, Scientific Data, and
Information Singeltary Submission
Friday, April 08, 2016
Arkansas AGFC Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Confirms 23 Additional
Cases Total At 79 To Date
Friday, April 01, 2016
ARKANSAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION CASES EXPLODE BY 27 NEW
CASES WITH 50 CASES TOTAL TO DATE
TEXAS TAHC BREAKS IT'S SILENCE WITH TWO MORE CASES CWD CAPTIVE DEER
BRINGING TOTAL TO 10 CAPTIVES REPORTED TO DATE
April 1, 2016
New CWD Cases Discovered at Captive Deer Breeding Facilities
AUSTIN – Two new cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Texas captive
deer, including the first confirmed from a live test tonsillar biopsy sample,
have been validated. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Texas
Animal Health Commission (TAHC) are conducting an epidemiological investigation
into these new cases.
One case involves a 3 1/2-year-old captive raised white-tailed doe that was
born and raised on-site and died on-site of natural causes at a deer breeding
facility in Medina County where the disease had not previously been found. Test
samples were submitted in compliance with TAHC herd plan requirements.
The live test finding is from a 2 ½-year-old captive white-tailed buck in
the Uvalde- Medina County deer breeding facility that was the source of a CWD
positive white-tailed buck harvested by a hunter from a release site on the same
ranch.
With these new confirmations, 10 white-tailed deer in or originating from
deer breeding facilities have been confirmed positive for CWD in the state since
the original detection in June 2015.
Tissue samples revealed the presence of CWD prions during testing at the
Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) in College
Station. The samples were submitted to the National Veterinary Services
Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, which validated the suspect findings Friday
evening.
The disease was first recognized in 1967 in captive mule deer in Colorado.
CWD has also been documented in captive and/or free-ranging deer in 24 states
and 2 Canadian provinces. In Texas, the disease was first discovered in 2012 in
free-ranging mule deer along a remote area of the Hueco Mountains near the
Texas-New Mexico border, and last summer was detected in two, separate captive
white-tailed deer breeding facilities in Medina and Lavaca counties.
CWD among cervids is a progressive, fatal disease that commonly results in
altered behavior as a result of microscopic changes made to the brain of
affected animals. An animal may carry the disease for years without outward
indication, but in the latter stages, signs may include listlessness, lowering
of the head, weight loss, repetitive walking in set patterns and a lack of
responsiveness. To date there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk to humans or
non-cervids. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
the World Health Organization recommend not to consume meat from infected
animals.
More information on CWD can be found on TPWD’s website, http://www.tpwd.texas.gov/CWD or at the
Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance website, http://www.cwd-info.org.
More information about the TAHC CWD program may be found at http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/animal_health/cwd/cwd.html
###
>>>One case involves a 3 1/2-year-old captive raised white-tailed
doe that was born and raised on-site and died on-site of natural causes at a
deer breeding facility in Medina County where the disease had not previously
been found. <<<
which came first, the chicken or the egg. that would be like you dying from
CJD or Asbestosis, yet your death certificate says congestive heart failure for
cause of death. you must then get the death certificate changed to read the
actual cause of death. ...
TEXAS CWD TESTING TOTAL FIGURES ??? anyone’s guess to date. TAHC et al
should take up Arkansas reporting of test results to the public and open
discussion. ...
>>>One case involves a 3 1/2-year-old captive raised white-tailed
doe that was born and raised on-site and died on-site of natural causes at a
deer breeding facility in Medina County where the disease had not previously
been found. <<<
which came first, the chicken or the egg. that would be like you dying from
CJD or Asbestosis, yet your death certificate says congestive heart failure for
cause of death. you must then get the death certificate changed to read the
actual cause of death. ...
TEXAS CWD TESTING TOTAL FIGURES ??? anyone’s guess to date. TAHC et al
should take up Arkansas reporting of test results to the public and open
discussion. ...
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
CWD ROUNDUP
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Five Deer Test Positive for
Chronic Wasting Disease ONE OUTSIDE CWD MANAGEMENT ZONE
Friday, March 18, 2016
Michigan confirms additional CWD-positive free-ranging, white-tailed deer,
bringing the total to seven
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Wisconsin CWD sample survey 2015 confirms 290 cases of Chronic Wasting
Disease TSE Prion
Thursday, March 10, 2016
WYOMING RIDE EM COWBOY HELICOPTER WRANGLING RAMBO STYLE DEER BULLDOGGING
RODEO FOR CWD VIDEO
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE: The Final Epidemic
Tuesday, March 08, 2016
Oklahoma Chronic Wasting Disease CWD of Deer and Elk Surveillance, Testing,
and Preparedness ???
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
Kansas Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion 52 cases 2015 updated report
'ALARMING'
Sunday, March 06, 2016
Missouri 2015-2016 CWD Surveillance Summary to Date, with confirmed cases
mounting
TEXAS CWD TESTING TOTAL FIGURES ??? anyone’s guess to date. TAHC et al
should take up Arkansas reporting of test results to the public and open
discussion. ...
Friday, February 26, 2016
TEXAS Hartley County Mule Deer Tests Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease
CWD TSE Prion
Friday, February 26, 2016
Pennsylvania Monitoring the Growing Threat of Chronic Wasting Disease CWD
TSE Prion
Friday, February 05, 2016
TEXAS NEW CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD CASE DISCOVERD AT CAPTIVE DEER
RELEASE SITE
Tuesday, February 02, 2016
Illinois six out of 19 deer samples tested positive for CWD in the Oswego
zone of Kendall County
Friday, February 05, 2016
IOWA Two Wild Deer Test Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in Allamakee
County
Friday, January 29, 2016
NEBRASKA Three Positives for CWD Found in Recent Testing of Deer
Friday, November 20, 2015
ODNR Takes Action to Monitor Chronic Wasting Disease in Ohio's Deer Herd
Friday, October 23, 2015
Ohio Wildlife Council Passes Rule to Help Monitor CWD
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Ohio confirms to me Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Spreads 19 confirmed cases
to date
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
World Class Whitetails quarantined CWD deer Daniel M. Yoder charged with
two counts of tampering with evidence
Thursday, October 23, 2014
*** FIRST CASE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CONFIRMED IN OHIO ON PRIVATE
PRESERVE
Monday, June 11, 2012
*** OHIO Captive deer escapees and non-reporting ***
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Roundup USA April 1, 2016
Friday, February 05, 2016
Report of the Committee on Wildlife Diseases FY2015 CWD TSE PRION
Detections in Farmed Cervids and Wild
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health; Meeting [Docket No.
APHIS-2016-0007] Singeltary Submission
Friday, March 18, 2016 CFSAN
Constituent Update: FDA Announces Final Rule on Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy BSE MAD COW TSE PRION Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition - Constituent Update
Monday, March 28, 2016
National Scrapie Eradication Program February 2016 Monthly Report
*** Docket No. APHIS-2007-0127 Scrapie in Sheep and Goats Terry Singeltary
Sr. Submission ***
Monday, November 16, 2015
*** Docket No. APHIS-2007-0127 Scrapie in Sheep and Goats Terry Singeltary
Sr. Submission ***
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
RANCHO He did not know that they were placing healthy cow heads next to
suspect carcasses BSE TSE Prion
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, Valerie 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 long 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***
===============
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.
***Our study demonstrates susceptibility of adult cattle to oral
transmission of classical BSE. ***
***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to
sheep and human. ***
P.86: Estimating the risk of transmission of BSE and scrapie to ruminants
and humans by protein misfolding cyclic amplification
Morikazu Imamura, Naoko Tabeta, Yoshifumi Iwamaru, and Yuichi Murayama
National Institute of Animal Health; Tsukuba, Japan
To assess the risk of the transmission of ruminant prions to ruminants and
humans at the molecular level, we investigated the ability of abnormal prion
protein (PrPSc) of typical and atypical BSEs (L-type and H-type) and typical
scrapie to convert normal prion protein (PrPC) from bovine, ovine, and human to
proteinase K-resistant PrPSc-like form (PrPres) using serial protein misfolding
cyclic amplification (PMCA).
Six rounds of serial PMCA was performed using 10% brain homogenates from
transgenic mice expressing bovine, ovine or human PrPC in combination with PrPSc
seed from typical and atypical BSE- or typical scrapie-infected brain
homogenates from native host species. In the conventional PMCA, the conversion
of PrPC to PrPres was observed only when the species of PrPC source and PrPSc
seed matched. However, in the PMCA with supplements (digitonin, synthetic polyA
and heparin), both bovine and ovine PrPC were converted by PrPSc from all tested
prion strains. On the other hand, human PrPC was converted by PrPSc from typical
and H-type BSE in this PMCA condition.
Although these results were not compatible with the previous reports
describing the lack of transmissibility of H-type BSE to ovine and human
transgenic mice,
***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to
sheep and human.
Bioassay will be required to determine whether the PMCA products are
infectious to these animals.
================
==========================================
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.
==================
***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
Conversely, FSE maintained sufficient BSE characteristics to more
efficiently convert bovine rPrP than feline rPrP. Additionally, human rPrP was
competent for conversion by CWD and fCWD.
***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the
barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously
estimated.
================
***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the
barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously
estimated.***
================
*** PRICE OF CWD TSE PRION POKER GOES UP 2014 ***
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE PRION update January 2, 2014
*** chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of
the human prion protein.
*** Furthermore, the form of human PrPres produced in this in vitro assay
when seeded with CWD, resembles that found in the most common human prion
disease, namely sCJD of the MM1 subtype.
*** 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 ;
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 ***
Envt.07:
Pathological Prion Protein (PrPTSE) in Skeletal Muscles of Farmed and Free
Ranging White-Tailed Deer Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease
***The presence and seeding activity of PrPTSE in skeletal muscle from
CWD-infected cervids suggests prevention of such tissue in the human diet as a
precautionary measure for food safety, pending on further clarification of
whether CWD may be transmissible to humans.
Prions in Skeletal Muscles of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease Rachel C.
Angers1,*, Shawn R. Browning1,*,†, Tanya S. Seward2, Christina J. Sigurdson4,‡,
Michael W. Miller5, Edward A. Hoover4, Glenn C. Telling1,2,3,§ snip...
Abstract The emergence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk in
an increasingly wide geographic area, as well as the interspecies transmission
of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans in the form of variant Creutzfeldt
Jakob disease, have raised concerns about the zoonotic potential of CWD. Because
meat consumption is the most likely means of exposure, it is important to
determine whether skeletal muscle of diseased cervids contains prion
infectivity. Here bioassays in transgenic mice expressing cervid prion protein
revealed the presence of infectious prions in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected
deer, demonstrating that humans consuming or handling meat from CWD-infected
deer are at risk to prion exposure.
***********CJD REPORT 1994 increased risk for consumption of veal and
venison and lamb***********
CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM THIRD ANNUAL
REPORT AUGUST 1994
Consumption of venison and veal was much less widespread among both cases
and controls. For both of these meats there was evidence of a trend with
increasing frequency of consumption being associated with increasing risk of
CJD. (not nvCJD, but sporadic CJD...tss)
These associations were largely unchanged when attention was restricted to
pairs with data obtained from relatives. ...
Table 9 presents the results of an analysis of these data.
There is STRONG evidence of an association between ‘’regular’’ veal eating
and risk of CJD (p = .0.01).
Individuals reported to eat veal on average at least once a year appear to
be at 13 TIMES THE RISK of individuals who have never eaten veal.
There is, however, a very wide confidence interval around this estimate.
There is no strong evidence that eating veal less than once per year is
associated with increased risk of CJD (p = 0.51).
The association between venison eating and risk of CJD shows similar
pattern, with regular venison eating associated with a 9 FOLD INCREASE IN RISK
OF CJD (p = 0.04).
There is some evidence that risk of CJD INCREASES WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY
OF LAMB EATING (p = 0.02).
The evidence for such an association between beef eating and CJD is weaker
(p = 0.14). When only controls for whom a relative was interviewed are included,
this evidence becomes a little STRONGER (p = 0.08).
snip...
It was found that when veal was included in the model with another
exposure, the association between veal and CJD remained statistically
significant (p = < 0.05 for all exposures), while the other exposures
ceased to be statistically significant (p = > 0.05).
snip...
In conclusion, an analysis of dietary histories revealed statistical
associations between various meats/animal products and INCREASED RISK OF CJD.
When some account was taken of possible confounding, the association between
VEAL EATING AND RISK OF CJD EMERGED AS THE STRONGEST OF THESE ASSOCIATIONS
STATISTICALLY. ...
snip...
In the study in the USA, a range of foodstuffs were associated with an
increased risk of CJD, including liver consumption which was associated with an
apparent SIX-FOLD INCREASE IN THE RISK OF CJD. By comparing the data from 3
studies in relation to this particular dietary factor, the risk of liver
consumption became non-significant with an odds ratio of 1.2 (PERSONAL
COMMUNICATION, PROFESSOR A. HOFMAN. ERASMUS UNIVERSITY, ROTTERDAM). (???...TSS)
snip...see full report ;
CJD9/10022
October 1994
Mr R.N. Elmhirst Chairman British Deer Farmers Association Holly Lodge
Spencers Lane BerksWell Coventry CV7 7BZ
Dear Mr Elmhirst,
CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD) SURVEILLANCE UNIT REPORT
Thank you for your recent letter concerning the publication of the third
annual report from the CJD Surveillance Unit. I am sorry that you are
dissatisfied with the way in which this report was published.
The Surveillance Unit is a completely independant outside body and the
Department of Health is committed to publishing their reports as soon as they
become available. In the circumstances it is not the practice to circulate the
report for comment since the findings of the report would not be amended. In
future we can ensure that the British Deer Farmers Association receives a copy
of the report in advance of publication.
The Chief Medical Officer has undertaken to keep the public fully informed
of the results of any research in respect of CJD. This report was entirely the
work of the unit and was produced completely independantly of the the
Department.
The statistical results reqarding the consumption of venison was put into
perspective in the body of the report and was not mentioned at all in the press
release. Media attention regarding this report was low key but gave a realistic
presentation of the statistical findings of the Unit. This approach to
publication was successful in that consumption of venison was highlighted only
once by the media ie. in the News at one television proqramme.
I believe that a further statement about the report, or indeed statistical
links between CJD and consumption of venison, would increase, and quite possibly
give damaging credence, to the whole issue. From the low key media reports of
which I am aware it seems unlikely that venison consumption will suffer
adversely, if at all.
http://web.archive.org/web/20030511010117/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1994/10/00003001.pdf
*** 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).***
PRION 2015 CONFERENCE USA
***Our study demonstrates susceptibility of adult cattle to oral
transmission of classical BSE. ***
***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to
sheep and human. ***
P.86: Estimating the risk of transmission of BSE and scrapie to ruminants
and humans by protein misfolding cyclic amplification
Morikazu Imamura, Naoko Tabeta, Yoshifumi Iwamaru, and Yuichi Murayama
National Institute of Animal Health; Tsukuba, Japan
To assess the risk of the transmission of ruminant prions to ruminants and
humans at the molecular level, we investigated the ability of abnormal prion
protein (PrPSc) of typical and atypical BSEs (L-type and H-type) and typical
scrapie to convert normal prion protein (PrPC) from bovine, ovine, and human to
proteinase K-resistant PrPSc-like form (PrPres) using serial protein misfolding
cyclic amplification (PMCA).
Six rounds of serial PMCA was performed using 10% brain homogenates from
transgenic mice expressing bovine, ovine or human PrPC in combination with PrPSc
seed from typical and atypical BSE- or typical scrapie-infected brain
homogenates from native host species. In the conventional PMCA, the conversion
of PrPC to PrPres was observed only when the species of PrPC source and PrPSc
seed matched. However, in the PMCA with supplements (digitonin, synthetic polyA
and heparin), both bovine and ovine PrPC were converted by PrPSc from all tested
prion strains. On the other hand, human PrPC was converted by PrPSc from typical
and H-type BSE in this PMCA condition.
Although these results were not compatible with the previous reports
describing the lack of transmissibility of H-type BSE to ovine and human
transgenic mice,
***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to
sheep and human.
Bioassay will be required to determine whether the PMCA products are
infectious to these animals.
================
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 ;
Potential role of soil properties in the spread of CWD in western
Canada
Alsu Kuznetsova, Debbie McKenzie, Pamela Banser, Tariq Siddique & Judd
M. Aiken
Estimating Prion Adsorption Capacity of Soil by BioAssay of Subtracted
Infectivity from Complex Solutions (BASICS)
Estimating Prion Adsorption Capacity of Soil by BioAssay of Subtracted
Infectivity from Complex Solutions (BASICS) A. Christy Wyckoff, Krista L.
Lockwood, Crystal Meyerett-Reid, Brady A. Michel, Heather Bender, Kurt C.
VerCauteren, Mark D. Zabel PLOS x Published: March 4, 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0058630
Behavior of Prions in the Environment: Implications for Prion Biology
Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt1*, Jason C. Bartz2*
Prion Amplification and Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling Refine Detection of
Prion Infection A. Christy Wyckoff1, 2 n1 , Nathan Galloway3 n1 , Crystal
Meyerett-Reid1 , Jenny Powers4 , Terry Spraker1 , Ryan J. Monello4 , Bruce
Pulford1 , Margaret Wild4 , Michael Antolin3 , Kurt VerCauteren2 […] & Mark
Zabel1 - Show fewer authors Scientific Reports 5, Article number: 8358 (2015)
doi:10.1038/srep08358 Download Citation
Molecular ecology Proteins Statistics Received: 27 June 2014
CELL REPORTS
Report
Grass Plants Bind, Retain, Uptake, and Transport Infectious Prions
PRION UPDATE VIA VEGETABLE PLANTS FROM THE SOIL
56. Members considered that there is no evidence that crops grown on the
land which received composted excreta from BSE-challenged animals pose a TSE
risk to humans or animals. One member suggested that, as some of these animals
are orally challenged with high doses of BSE-infected materials, and the
distribution of infectivity in the digestive system is not completely
understood, it might be premature to conclude that there is no infective agent
in the manure.
Furthermore, an unpublished study had indicated low level absorption of PrP
from soil by tomato plants although it should be noted that this study had not
been repeated. Details of this work would be sent to the SEAC Secretary. Dr
Matthews explained that most of the manure from animals challenged with high
doses of BSE had already been composted and used for coppicing. Members agreed
that the risks from disposal of residual manure from experimental animals would
be much less than historic risks of on farm contamination from naturally
infected animals at the height of the BSE epidemic. ...SNIP...END
SRM are certain cattle tissues capable of transmitting BSE. There is no
human health risk assessment to indicate the absence of human health concerns
associated with use of composted SRM domestically. To date, scientific evidence
has not been able to demonstrate that composting destroys prions. Although
domestic use would pose a negligible risk to livestock, there is a potential
risk to humans via direct ingestion of the compost or of compost particles
adhered to skin or plant material (e.g. carrots). Another potential route of
exposure is by ingestion of prions that have been taken up by plants. It has
been proven that bacteria are readily taken up by some plants (e.g. E. coli in
lettuce) thus the uptake of prions by plants cannot be precluded or dismissed at
this time. As a science-based regulator, the CFIA cannot change the policy on
this issue without a risk assessment demonstrating that the use of composted SRM
poses an acceptable risk to humans.
The BSE Inquiry / Statement No 19B (supplementary) Dr Alan Colchester
Issued 06/08/1999 (not scheduled to give oral evidence) SECOND STATEMENT TO THE
BSE INQUIRY Dr A Colchester BA BM BCh PhD FRCP Reader in Neurosciences &
Computing, University of Kent at Canterbury; Consultant Neurologist, Guy’s
Hospital London and William Harvey Hospital Ashford April 1999
snip...
88. Natural decay: Infectivity persists for a long time in the
environment. A study by Palsson in 1979 showed how scrapie was contracted by
healthy sheep, after they had grazed on land which had previously been grazed by
scrapie-infected sheep, even though the land had lain fallow for three years
before the healthy sheep were introduced. Brown also quoted an early experiment
of his own (1991), where he had buried scrapie-infected hamster brain and found
that he could still detect substantial infectivity three years later near where
the material had been placed. 89. Potential environmental routes of infection:
Brown discusses the various possible scenarios, including surface or subsurface
deposits of TSE-contaminated material, which would lead to a build-up of
long-lasting infectivity. Birds feeding on animal remains (such as gulls
visiting landfill sites) could disperse infectivity. Other animals could become
vectors if they later grazed on contaminated land. "A further question concerns
the risk of contamination of the surrounding water table or even surface water
channels, by effluents and discarded solid wastes from treatment plants. A
reasonable conclusion is that there is a potential for human infection to result
from environmental contamination by BSE-infected tissue residues. The potential
cannot be quantified because of the huge numbers of uncertainties and
assumptions that attend each stage of the disposal process". These comments,
from a long established authority on TSEs, closely echo my own statements which
were based on a recent examination of all the evidence. 90. Susceptibility: It
is likely that transmissibility of the disease to humans in vivo is probably
low, because sheep that die from scrapie and cattle that die from BSE are
probably a small fraction of the exposed population. However, no definitive data
are available.
91. Recommendations for disposal procedures: Brown recommends that
material which is actually or potentially contaminated by BSE should be: 1)
exposed to caustic soda; 2) thoroughly incinerated under carefully inspected
conditions; and 3) that any residue should be buried in landfill, to a depth
which would minimise any subsequent animal or human exposure, in areas that
would not intersect with any potable water-table source.
92. This review and recommendations from Brown have particular importance.
Brown is one of the world's foremost authorities on TSEs and is a senior
researcher in the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is notable that
such a respected authority is forthright in acknowledging the existence of
potential risks, and in identifying the appropriate measures necessary to
safeguard public health. Paper by SM Cousens, L Linsell, PG Smith, Dr M
Chandrakumar, JW Wilesmith, RSG Knight, M Zeidler, G Stewart, RG Will,
"Geographical distribution of variant CJD in the UK (excluding Northern
Ireland)". Lancet 353:18-21, 2 nd January 1999 93. The above paper {Appendix 41
(02/01/99)} (J/L/353/18) examined the possibility that patients with vCJD
(variant CJD) might live closer to rendering factories than would be expected by
chance. All 26 cases of vCJD in the UK with onset up to 31 st August 1998 were
studied. The incubation period of vCJD is not known but by analogy with other
human TSEs could lie within the range 5-25 years. If vCJD had arisen by exposure
to rendering products, such exposure might plausibly have occurred 8-10 years
before the onset of symptoms. The authors were able to obtain the addresses of
all rendering plants in the UK which were in production in 1988. For each case
of vCJD, the distance from the place of residence on 1st January 1998 to the
nearest rendering plant was calculated
snip...
Friday, February 08, 2013
*** Behavior of Prions in the Environment: Implications for Prion Biology
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.
snip...
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.
snip...
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.
kind regards, terry
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
4:33 PM
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