Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet and Marketing of this Product in Nutritional Supplements for Humans?
Research Project: TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES: THE ROLE OF
GENETICS, STRAIN VARIATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION IN DISEASE CONTROL
Title: Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet
Authors
item Angers, R - UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY item Napier, D - UNIVERSITY OF
KENTUCKY item Seward, T - UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY item Green, M - UNIVERSITY OF
KENTUCKY item Spraker, T - COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY item O'Rourke, Katherine
item Balachandran, A - CANADIAN FOOD INSPCTN AG item Telling, G - UNIVERSITY OF
KENTUCKY
Submitted to: Emerging Infectious Diseases Publication Type: Peer Reviewed
Journal Publication Acceptance Date: February 1, 2009
Publication Date: May 1, 2009 Repository URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687044/pdf/08-1458_finalR.pdf
Citation: Angers RC, Seward TS, Napier D, Green M, Hoover E, Spraker T, et
al. 2009. Chronic wasting disease prions in elk antler velvet. Emerg Infect Dis
15(5):696-703.
Interpretive Summary: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurologic
disease of deer and elk in the United States and Canada. The disease is
associated with accumulations of infectious proteins in the brain, nervous
system, blood, and a limited number of other tissues. In this study, the
investigators examined elk antler velvet, the covering that grows on elk antlers
every year. Antler velvet is rich in blood and nervous supply and may represent
a source of infectious material as the velvet is shed every year. Antler velvet
and brain tissue from four infected elk was examined by immunohistochemistry and
biochemical methods, with no evidence of the abnormal prion protein in antler
velvet. The same preparations were tested in genetically engineered mice
susceptible to CWD. Mice in both inoculated groups developed prion disease. This
finding demonstrates that antler velvet from CWD infected elk contain infectious
material and may represent a risk material to other elk. Technical Abstract:
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or
prion disease of captive and free ranging white tailed deer, mule deer, Rocky
Mountain elk and moose in the some parts of the United States and Canada. The
presence of the disease has sharply curtailed movement of captive animals and
reduced the domestic or international market for some cervid by-products. The
disease appears to be transmitted by Rocky Mountain elk relatively late in the
disease course, but the sources of the infectious material remain undefined.
Brain and lymphoid tissue contain the highest levels of the abnormal prion
protein, the marker for disease, and transmission in white tailed deer can be
accomplished by blood transfusion from experimentally infected deer to naive
deer. In this study, the investigators examined the transmission potential of
antler velvet, a highly vascularized and innervated epidermal tissue covering
the growing antler. Antler velvet is shed each year and is widely used as a
nutritional supplement. Genetically engineered mice susceptible to CWD were
inoculated with homogenates of paired brain and antler velvet from 4 elk with
CWD. Mice in both groups developed a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
These findings demonstrate prion infectivity accumulates in antler velvet and
may have impact on marketing of this product.
Last Modified: 7/24/2016
Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet
Rachel C. Angers,1 Tanya S. Seward, Dana Napier, Michael Green, Edward
Hoover, Terry Spraker, Katherine O’Rourke, Aru Balachandran, and Glenn C.
Telling
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, fatal prion disease of deer
and elk that continues to emerge in new locations. To explore the means by which
prions are transmitted with high efficiency among cervids, we examined prion
infectivity in the apical skin layer covering the growing antler (antler velvet)
by using CWD-susceptible transgenic mice and protein misfolding cyclic
amplification. Our finding of prions in antler velvet of CWD-affected elk
suggests that this tissue may play a role in disease transmission among cervids.
Humans who consume antler velvet as a nutritional supplement are at risk for
exposure to prions. The fact that CWD prion incubation times in transgenic mice
expressing elk prion protein are consistently more rapid raises the possibility
that residue 226, the sole primary structural difference between deer and elk
prion protein, may be a major determinant of CWD pathogenesis.
snip...
Implications for Horizontal CWD Transmission and Human Exposure
Our studies indicate that antler velvet represents a previously
unrecognized source of CWD prions in the environment. Whereas oral transmission
of rodent-adapted scrapie prions is known to be ≈5 orders of magnitude less
efficient than transmission by intracerebral inoculation (14,15), the relative
efficiency of oral CWD prion transmission is unknown. Multiple exposures to low
levels of CWD prions in the environment (16,17), as well as increased
infectivity when prions are bound to soil minerals (18), are factors that may
influence transmission.
The appearance of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans exposed to
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) (19,20) and the demonstration of CWD
prions in muscle (3) placed the human species barrier to CWD prions at the
forefront of public health concerns. Our studies indicate that antler velvet
represents an additional source for human exposure to CWD prions. Widely used in
traditional Asian medicine to treat a variety of ailments including impotence,
arthritis, and high blood pressure, antler velvet can be readily purchased in
caplet form and its usage has increased worldwide.
Fortunately, to date there is no epidemiologic evidence that rates of CJD
in the CWD-endemic region (Colorado, USA) have increased (21,22). Also
reassuring is the inefficient in vitro conversion of human PrP to
protease-resistant PrP by CWD (23). Two studies have shown that CWD prions
failed to induce disease in Tg mice expressing human PrP (24,25). However, the
failure of BSE to be transmitted to Tg mice expressing human prion protein
(HuPrP) was cited as early evidence of a BSE transmission barrier in humans
(26); subsequent studies demonstrated a strong effect of the codon 129
polymorphism on transmissibility of BSE prions (27). To date, only mice
expressing HuPrP with methionine at 129 have been challenged with CWD. In
support of the argument that humans might be susceptible to CWD, intracerebral
inoculation of squirrel monkeys produced disease after >30 months (28). Prion
strain properties are also critical when considering the potential for
interspecies transmission. The existence of multiple CWD strains has been
suggested by several studies (4,25,29,30), but strain isolation and host range
characterization have not been reported. Finally, it is worth considering that
if CWD were to cross the species barrier into humans, this transmission source
might not be recognized if the disease profile overlapped with one of the forms
of sporadic CJD reported in North America.
snip...end
Volume 15, Number 5—May 2009
Research
Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet
ABOUT that deer antler spray and CWD TSE PRION...
I have been screaming this since my neighbors mom died from cjd, and she
had been taking a supplement that contained bovine brain, bovine eyeball, and
other SRMs specified risk materials, the most high risk for mad cow disease.
just saying...
I made a submission to the BSE Inquiry long ago during the BSE Inquiry
days, and they seemed pretty interested.
Sender: "Patricia Cantos"
To: "Terry S Singeltary Sr. (E-mail)"
Subject: Your submission to the Inquiry
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 10:10:05 +0100
3 July 1998
Mr Terry S Singeltary Sr.
E-Mail: Flounder at wt.net
Ref: E2979
Dear Mr Singeltary,
Thank you for your E-mail message of the 30th of June 1998 providing the
Inquiry with your further comments.
Thank you for offering to provide the Inquiry with any test results on the
nutritional supplements your mother was taking before she died.
As requested I am sending you our general Information Pack and a copy of
the Chairman's letter. Please contact me if your system cannot read the
attachments.
Regarding your question, the Inquiry is looking into many aspects of the
scientific evidence on BSE and nvCJD. I would refer you to the transcripts of
evidence we have already heard which are found on our internet site at ;
Could you please provide the Inquiry with a copy of the press article you
refer to in your e-mail? If not an approximate date for the article so that we
can locate it?
In the meantime, thank you for you comments. Please do not hesitate to
contact me on...
snip...end...tss
everyone I tell this too gets it screwed up...MY MOTHER WAS NOT TAKING
THOSE SUPPLEMENTS IPLEX (that I ever knew of). this was my neighbors mother that
died exactly one year _previously_ and to the day of sporadic CJD that was
diagnosed as Alzheimer’s at first. my mother died exactly a year later from the
Heidenhain Variant of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease hvCJD, and exceedingly rare
strains of the ever growing sporadic CJD’s. _both_ cases confirmed. ...kind
regards, terry
TSEs i.e. mad cow disease's BSE/BASE and NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
IPLEX, mad by standard process;
vacuum dried bovine BRAIN, bone meal, bovine EYE, veal Bone, bovine liver
powder, bovine adrenal, vacuum dried bovine kidney, and vacuum dried porcine
stomach.
also;
what about potential mad cow candy bars ?
see their potential mad cow candy bar list too...
THESE are just a few of MANY of just this ONE COMPANY...TSS
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION CENTER FOR BIOLOGICS EVALUATION AND RESEARCH
TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Friday, January 19, 2001 snip...
17 But I think that we could exhibit some quite
18 reasonable concern about blood donors who are taking dietary
19 supplements that contain a certain amount of unspecified-
20 origin brain, brain-related, brain and pituitary material.
21 If they have done this for more than a sniff or something
22 like that, then, perhaps, they should be deferred as blood
23 donors.
24 That is probably worse than spending six months in
25 the U.K.
1/19/01
3681t2.rtf(845) page 501
see full text ;
everyone I tell this too gets it screwed up...MY MOTHER WAS NOT TAKING
THOSE SUPPLEMENTS IPLEX (that I ever knew of). this was my neighbors mother that
died exactly one year _previously_ and to the day of sporadic CJD that was
diagnosed as Alzheimer’s at first. my mother died exactly a year later from the
Heidenhain Variant of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease hvCJD, and exceedingly rare
strains of the ever growing sporadic CJD’s. _both_ cases confirmed. ...kind
regards, terry
TSEs i.e. mad cow disease's BSE/BASE and NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
IPLEX, mad by standard process;
vacuum dried bovine BRAIN, bone meal, bovine EYE, veal Bone, bovine liver
powder, bovine adrenal, vacuum dried bovine kidney, and vacuum dried porcine
stomach.
also;
what about potential mad cow candy bars ?
see their potential mad cow candy bar list too...
THESE are just a few of MANY of just this ONE COMPANY...TSS
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION CENTER FOR BIOLOGICS EVALUATION AND RESEARCH
TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Friday, January 19, 2001 snip...
17 But I think that we could exhibit some quite
18 reasonable concern about blood donors who are taking dietary
19 supplements that contain a certain amount of unspecified-
20 origin brain, brain-related, brain and pituitary material.
21 If they have done this for more than a sniff or something
22 like that, then, perhaps, they should be deferred as blood
23 donors.
24 That is probably worse than spending six months in
25 the U.K.
1/19/01
3681t2.rtf(845) page 501
Docket Management Docket: 96N-0417 - Current Good Manufacturing Practice in
Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Dietary Ingredients a Comment Number: EC -2
Accepted - Volume 7
see full text ;
2003 - 2004 Product Catalog
Standard Process Inc.
NATURAL COCOA STANDARDBAR (mad cow candy bar) (i will just list animal
organs) bovine adrenal, bovine liver, bovine spleen, ovine spleen, bovine
kidney...
NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER STANDARDBAR
bovine adrenal, bovine liver, bovine spleen, ovine spleen, bovine kidney...
USF (MAD COW) OINTMENT (RUB A DUB DUB, KURU ETC) ;
bovine orhic glandular extract
UTROPHIN PMG
bovine uterus PMG
VASCULIN
bovine heart PMG extract, veal bone PMG extract, bovine liever, porcine
duodenum, bovine adrenal Cytosol extract, bovine spleen, ovine spleen
IPLEX (neighbors mom died from CJD while taking these pills for years)
bovine eye PMG extract, veal bone PMG, bovine liver, porcine stomach,
bovine adrenal, bovine kidney, bovine adrenal Cytosol extract, BOVINE BRAIN,
bovine bone, veal bone meal
MYO-PLUS
bovine heart PMG, bovine liver, porcine stomach, bovine orchic extract,
bovine spleen, ovine spleen, bovine adrenal Cytosol extract, BOVINE BRAIN
NEUROPLEX
bovine orchic Cytosol extract, bovine spleen, BOVINE BRAIN PMG EXTRACT,
BOVINE ANTERIOR PITUITARY, bovine liver, BOVINE PITUITARY PMG EXTRACT, AND MORE
BOVINE BRAIN...
NEUROTROPHIN PMG
BOVINE BRAIN PMG
NIACINAMIDE B6 VM
bovine liver, porcine stomach, bovine spleen ovine spleen, BOVINE BRAIN
OCULOTROPHIN PMG BOVINE EYE PMG
ORCHEX
bovine liver, bovine orchic Cytosol extract, porcine stomch, bovine spleen,
ovine spleen, BOVINE BRAIN
OSTARPLEX
veal bone PMG extract, veal bone PMG extract, bovine liver, porcine
stomach, bovine adrenal, bovine spleen, ovine spleen, BOVINE BRAIN
PARAPLEX
bovine pancreas PMG extract, porcine duodenum, bovine adrenal PMG, BOVINE
PITUITARY PMG EXTRACT, bovine thyroid PMG extract
PITUITROPHIN PMG
RUMAPLEX
BOVINE BRAIN, veal bone PMG extract, bovine adrenal, bovine prostate
Cytosol extract, veal bone meal, bovine liver PMG extract, bovine spleen, ovine
spleen, bovine liver
SENAPLEX
bovine liver PMG extract, bovine adrenal, BOVNE BRAIN, veal bone meal,
bovine kidney, bovine orchic extract, bovine spleen, ovine spleen ..........
THESE are just a few of MANY of just this ONE COMPANY.
FOR the following reason, I implore that the FDA take serious action in
further protecting the consumer from the TSE agent via nutritional supplements.
Does all that e-mail spam promising sexual vitality actually hide serious
risk of contracting MAD COW DISEASE?
Volume 361, Number 9368 03 May 2003
Correspondence
Tighter regulation needed for dietary supplements in USA
Sir--Mary Palmer and colleagues (Jan 11, p 101)1 found that dietary
supplements have the potential to cause serious adverse effects. The
investigators state that research on the hazards and risks of dietary
supplements should be a priority. The safety of individuals who consume these
products is important, and organisations such as the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) need to take initiative by enforcing stricter regulations
on supplements. Several commonly used products--for example ginkgo biloba, St
John's Wort, and ephedrine--can have serious adverse effects.2 Although the FDA
requires multiple studies on the safety and efficacy for pharmaceutical products
before placing them on the market, standards are less robust for dietary
supplements. In the USA, under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act
(DSHEA) of 1994, supplements are subject to the same regulatory requirements as
food. There are no provisions that require FDA approval for the safety or
effectiveness of supplements,3 which leaves consumers and manufacturers
essentially responsible for the health effects of these products. The DSHEA of
1994 needs to be revised so that dietary supplements are subject to the same
regulations as pharmacological drugs. The FDA needs to review clinical studies
on the safety and efficacy of dietary supplements. Organisations such as Public
Citizen and the American Medical Association are already taking steps to achieve
these changes. However, they face immense opposition from groups such as the
National Nutritional Foods Association, the American Herbal Association, and the
Council for Responsible Nutrition. To overcome such resistance, consumer
organisations, health-care providers, and government agencies need to approach
this subject in unison. The public needs to be able to assess the risks and
benefits of dietary supplements before consuming them. Health-care providers and
the more than 100 million Americans who consume these products4 should encourage
the FDA to treat supplements with the stringent regulations it enforces on
pharmaceutical products.
Nipa Kinariwala
----------------------------------------------------------
700 Bolinwood Drive, Apartment 12A, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA (e-mail
nskinari at aol.com) 1 Palmer ME, Haller C, McKinney PE, et al. Adverse events
associated with dietary supplements: an observational study. Lancet 2003; 361:
101-06. [Text ] 2 Cupp MJ. Herbal remedies: adverse effects and drug
interactions. Am Fam Physician 1999; 59: 1239-45. [PubMed ] 3 Unites States Food
and Drug Administration. Overview of dietary supplements. Jan 3, 2001. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-oview.html
(accessed Feb 20, 2002). 4 Pear R. Feds call for tighter control over
nutritional supplements. Organic Consumers Association, April 17, 2001. http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/dietsupp.cfm
(accessed Feb 20, 2002).
snip...end tss letter to fda.
=================== 2013 ================
my plight with Metabolife, the GAO et al, and my submission to the BSE
inquiry, about mad cow in a pill ;
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
GAO-13-244, Mar 18, 2013 Dietary Supplements FDA May Have Opportunities to
Expand Its Use of Reported Health Problems to Oversee Product
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 2:46 PM
To: mailto:gomezj%40gao.gov Cc: mailto:siggerudk%40gao.gov ;
mailto:youngc1%40gao.gov ; mailto:oighotline%40gao.gov
Monday, February 01, 2010
Import Alert 17-04 BSE CJD HIGH RISK TISSUES, Nutritional Supplements and
Cosmetics Import Alert 17-04
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet (Nutritional
Supplements and CJD)
10.3201/eid1505.081458 Suggested citation for this article: Angers RC,
Seward TS, Napier D, Green M, Hoover E, Spraker T, et al. Chronic wasting
disease prions in elk antler velvet. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 May; [Epub ahead of
print]
Docket Management Docket: 96N-0417 - Current Good Manufacturing Practice in
Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Dietary Ingredients a
Comment Number: EC –2
Accepted - Volume 7
Docket Management Docket: 96N-0417 - Current Good Manufacturing Practice in
Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Dietary Ingredients a Comment Number: EC -2
Accepted - Volume 7
snip...
what did Paul Brown say about this previously;
i bring your attention to (page 500) Dr. Paul Brown statements;
253 1 DR. BOLTON: I have an additional question about 2 that. What is the
assurance that additional locally sourced 3 tracheas are not added into that
manufacturing process, thus 4 boosting the yield, if you will, but being
returned to the 5 U.S. as being produced from U.S.-sourced raw material? 6 DR.
McCURDY: Are there data to indicate how many 7 grams, or whatever, of infected
brain are likely to infect 8 an organism, either animal or man, when taken
orally? 9 DR. BROWN: If I am not mistaken, and I can be 10 corrected, I think a
half a gram is enough in a cow, orally; [FULL TEXT ABOUT 600 PAGES] 3681t2.rtf
snip...
Unregulated "foods" such as 'nutritional supplements' containing various
extracts from ruminants, whether imported or derived from 3 US
cattle/sheep/cervids ("antler velvet" extracts!) should be forbidden or at least
very seriously regulated.
(neighbors Mom, whom also died from CJD, had been taking bovine based
supplement, which contained brain, eye, and many other bovine/ovine tissues for
years, 'IPLEX').
my plight with metabolife and there 'bovine complex' about risk factors of
TSE in there product ;
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. wrote:
######## Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy > > #########
1. Dietary Supplements: Review of Health-Related Call Records for
Users of Metabolife 356. GAO-03-494, March 31.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: METABOLIFE AND TSEs GAO-03-494 ''URGENT DATA''
Date: Thu, 01 May 2003 11:23:01 –0500
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
To: NelliganJ at gao.gov
The General Accounting Office (GAO) today released the following reports
and testimonies: ‘'
REPORTS;
1. Dietary Supplements: Review of Health-Related Call Records for
Users of Metabolife 356. GAO-03-494, March 31.
GREETINGS GAO:
i was suprised that i did not see any listing of bovine tissue in >
metabolife on it's label. have they ceased using these desiccated tissues???
i see that the lable on this product METABOLIFE 356, does not state that it
has any tissues of desiccated bovine organs? i no > the product use to, so i
am curious if they have ceased the use of the tissues of cattle they _use_ to
use (see below)???
METABOLIFE 356
BOVINE COMPLEX/GLANDULAR SYSTEM
OVARIES, PROSTATE, SCROTUM AND ADRENAL
USDA SOURCE CATTLE
i tried warning them years ago of this potential threat of CJD/TSEs;
From: Randy Smith
To: "'flounder at wt.net'"
Subject: Metabolife
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 14:21:35 –0800
Dear Sir,
We are looking at reformulation. I agree that slow virus diseases present a
problem in some areas of the world.
Our product uses healthy USDA inspected cattle for the glandular extract.
If you have any links to more information on this subject I would like to
examine them.
Thank you for your interest and concern,
Dr. Smith
============
From: Randy Smith
To: "'flounder at wt.net'"
Subject: RE: [Fwd: Your submission to the Inquiry]
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 10:37:07 –0800
Terry,
Thank you for your note and the information links you forwarded to me.
I am new to Metabolife International, however hopefully as my role here
enlarges I well have a greater impact on formulation and product development.
Metabolife International does believe in placing safety first. And I am
going to do my best to see that we continue to do so.
Sincerely,
Dr. Smith
============
-----Original Message-----
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [mailto:flounder at wt.net]
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 1998 5:49 PM
To: rsmith at metabolife.com
Subject: [Fwd: Your submission to the Inquiry]
Dr. Smith, I am truly impressed with you honesty, THANKS.....I am not just
spouting off about the potential dangers, here. THEY ARE REAL.....I have
forwarded an e-mail from the BSE Inquiry, in which I made a statement about
them........You might want to go to the site and read through it........IT WILL
TAKE A WHILE........ THINGS ARE HAPPENING HERE SIR, THAT YOU ARE NOT AWARE OF,
AND AS MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT...............I JUST HOPE, THAT THE REFORMULATION YOU
SPEAK OF, IS IN FACT GOING TO TAKE PLACE.
The Department of Health, here in the U.S., is also worried about the
potential dangers involved hear............Terry/MADSON
==================================================
From: Randy Smith
To: "'flounder at wt.net'"
Subject: RE: [Fwd: MEDICINES "GREATER BSE RISK THAN BEEF"!!!!]
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 09:55:17 –0800
Return-Receipt-To: Randy Smith
Thanks very much for the info. I appreciate all these articles I can get.
It does sound very familiar - just follow the green ($) trail.
-----Original Message-----
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [mailto:flounder at wt.net]
Sent: Friday, December 18, 1998 5:15 PM
To: rsmith at metabolife.com
Subject: [Fwd: MEDICINES "GREATER BSE RISK THAN BEEF"!!!!]
Randy, thought you might be interested in > >
this...............MADSON!!!!!1
snip...
===============================
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: re: METABOLIFE AND TSEs GAO-03-494 ''URGENT DATA''
Date: Thu, 01 May 2003 16:04:35 –0400
From: "Marcia G Crosse"
To:
CC: "Charles W Davenport" , "Carolyn Feis Korman" > > , "Martin
Gahart" >
Mr. Singletary,
We were informed by representatives of Metabolife, Inc. that Metabolife 356
was reformulated to remove bovine complex as an ingredient in the product,
approximately September 2001. We did not independently verify the contents of
the product.
Sincerely,
Marcia Crosse
Acting Director
Health CarePublic Health and Science Issues
U.S. General Accounting Office
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20548
===================
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: METABOLIFE AND TSEs GAO-03-494 ''URGENT DATA''
Date: Thu, 01 May 2003 15:48:52 –0500
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr."
To: Marcia G Crosse
CC: Charles W Davenport , Carolyn Feis Korman > > , Martin Gahart
> References: > >
THANK YOU!
MIRACLES DO HAPPEN! ;-)
now all we need to do is;
snip......
one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind ;-)
however;
''We did not independently verify the contents of the product''
???
TSS
####### http://mailhost.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/warc/bse-l.html
########
Could you get mad cow from a pill ? Some doctors say a class of pills that
promise smarts, energy, and sexual vitality may cause mad-cow disease.
The government isn't worried. Should you be?
June 1, 2001
Health Magazine
by Susan Freinkel
The German Magazine Der Spiegel came out to the house here and interviewed
me in 2001 (I think), about that token purina mad cow feed mill blunder, and
they were very concerned about these type supplements that carried the SRMs that
could very well carry the TSE prion agent. ...please see ;
GERMAN DER SPIEGEL MAGAZINEDie
BSE-Angst erreicht Amerika: Trotz strikter Auflagen gelangte in Texas
verbotenes Tiermehl ins Rinderfutter - die Kontrollen der Aufsichtsbehörden sind
lax.
DER SPIEGEL (9/2001) - 24.02.2001 (9397 Zeichen) USA: Loch in der Mauer Die
BSE-Angst erreicht Amerika: Trotz strikter Auflagen gelangte in Texas verbotenes
Tiermehl ins Rinderfutter - die Kontrollen der Aufsichtsbehördensind lax.Link
auf diesen Artikel im Archiv:
"Löcher wie in einem Schweizer Käse" hat auch Terry Singeltary im Regelwerk
der FDA ausgemacht. Der Texaner kam auf einem tragischen Umweg zu dem Thema:
Nachdem seine Mutter 1997 binnen weniger Wochen an der
Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Krankheit gestorben war, versuchte er, die Ursachen der
Infektion aufzuspüren. Er klagte auf die Herausgabe von Regierungsdokumenten und
arbeitete sich durch Fachliteratur; heute ist er überzeugt, dass seine Mutter
durch die stetige Einnahme von angeblich kräftigenden Mitteln erkrankte, in
denen - völlig legal - Anteile aus Rinderprodukten enthalten sind.
Von der Fachwelt wurde Singeltary lange als versponnener Außenseiter
belächelt. Doch mittlerweile sorgen sich auch Experten, dass ausgerechnet diese
verschreibungsfreien Wundercocktails zur Stärkung von Intelligenz, Immunsystem
oder Libido von den Importbeschränkungen ausgenommen sind. Dabei enthalten die
Pillen und Ampullen, die in Supermärkten verkauft werden, exotische Mixturen aus
Rinderaugen; dazu Extrakte von Hypophyse oder Kälberföten, Prostata, Lymphknoten
und gefriergetrocknetem Schweinemagen. In die USA hereingelassen werden auch
Blut, Fett, Gelatine und Samen. Diese Stoffe tauchen noch immer in US-Produkten
auf, inklusive Medizin und Kosmetika. Selbst in Impfstoffen waren möglicherweise
gefährliche Rinderprodukte enthalten. Zwar fordert die FDA schon seit acht
Jahren die US-Pharmaindustrie auf, keine Stoffe aus Ländern zu benutzen, in
denen die Gefahr einer BSE-Infizierung besteht. Aber erst kürzlich
verpflichteten sich fünf Unternehmen, darunter Branchenführer wie
GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis und American Home Products, ihre Seren nur noch aus
unverdächtigem Material herzustellen.
"Its as full of holes as Swiss Cheese" says Terry Singeltary of the FDA
regulations. ...
Sunday, November 10, 2013
LARGE CJD TSE PRION POTENTIAL CASE STUDY AMONG HUMANS WHO TAKE DEER ANTLER
VELVET WILL BE ONGOING FOR YEARS IF NOT DECADES, but who's cares $
*** CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TSE PRION UPDATE ON RECENT SCIENCE AND THE
POTENTIAL FOR ZOONOTIC TRANSMISSION GROWS ***
*** PRION 2016 TOKYO ***
*** Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions: An Update ***
Ignazio Cali1, Liuting Qing1, Jue Yuan1, Shenghai Huang2, Diane Kofskey1,3,
Nicholas Maurer1, Debbie McKenzie4, Jiri Safar1,3,5, Wenquan Zou1,3,5,6,
Pierluigi Gambetti1, Qingzhong Kong1,5,6
1Department of Pathology, 3National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance
Center, 5Department of Neurology, 6National Center for Regenerative Medicine,
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
4Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Prions and Protein
Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
2Encore Health Resources, 1331 Lamar St, Houston, TX 77010
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a widespread and highly transmissible
prion disease in free-ranging and captive cervid species in North America. The
zoonotic potential of CWD prions is a serious public health concern, but the
susceptibility of human CNS and peripheral organs to CWD prions remains largely
unresolved. We reported earlier that peripheral and CNS infections were detected
in transgenic mice expressing human PrP129M or PrP129V. Here we will present an
update on this project, including evidence for strain dependence and influence
of cervid PrP polymorphisms on CWD zoonosis as well as the characteristics of
experimental human CWD prions.
PRION 2016 TOKYO
In Conjunction with Asia Pacific Prion Symposium 2016
PRION 2016 Tokyo
Prion 2016
PRION 2016 CONFERENCE TOKYO
Cervid to human prion transmission
Kong, Qingzhong
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
Abstract
Prion disease is transmissible and invariably fatal. Chronic wasting
disease (CWD) is the prion disease affecting deer, elk and moose, and it is a
widespread and expanding epidemic affecting 22 US States and 2 Canadian
provinces so far. CWD poses the most serious zoonotic prion transmission risks
in North America because of huge venison consumption (>6 million deer/elk
hunted and consumed annually in the USA alone), significant prion infectivity in
muscles and other tissues/fluids from CWD-affected cervids, and usually high
levels of individual exposure to CWD resulting from consumption of the affected
animal among often just family and friends. However, we still do not know
whether CWD prions can infect humans in the brain or peripheral tissues or
whether clinical/asymptomatic CWD zoonosis has already occurred, and we have no
essays to reliably detect CWD infection in humans. We hypothesize that:
(1) The classic CWD prion strain can infect humans at low levels in the
brain and peripheral lymphoid tissues;
(2) The cervid-to-human transmission barrier is dependent on the cervid
prion strain and influenced by the host (human) prion protein (PrP) primary
sequence;
(3) Reliable essays can be established to detect CWD infection in
humans;and
(4) CWD transmission to humans has already occurred. We will test these
hypotheses in 4 Aims using transgenic (Tg) mouse models and complementary in
vitro approaches.
Aim 1 will prove that the classical CWD strain may infect humans in brain
or peripheral lymphoid tissues at low levels by conducting systemic bioassays in
a set of "humanized" Tg mouse lines expressing common human PrP variants using a
number of CWD isolates at varying doses and routes. Experimental "human CWD"
samples will also be generated for Aim 3.
Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that the cervid-to-human prion transmission
barrier is dependent on prion strain and influenced by the host (human) PrP
sequence by examining and comparing the transmission efficiency and phenotypes
of several atypical/unusual CWD isolates/strains as well as a few prion strains
from other species that have adapted to cervid PrP sequence, utilizing the same
panel of humanized Tg mouse lines as in Aim 1.
Aim 3 will establish reliable essays for detection and surveillance of CWD
infection in humans by examining in details the clinical, pathological,
biochemical and in vitro seeding properties of existing and future experimental
"human CWD" samples generated from Aims 1-2 and compare them with those of
common sporadic human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) prions.
Aim 4 will attempt to detect clinical CWD-affected human cases by examining
a significant number of brain samples from prion-affected human subjects in the
USA and Canada who have consumed venison from CWD-endemic areas utilizing the
criteria and essays established in Aim 3. The findings from this proposal will
greatly advance our understandings on the potential and characteristics of
cervid prion transmission in humans, establish reliable essays for CWD zoonosis
and potentially discover the first case(s) of CWD infection in humans.
Public Health Relevance There are significant and increasing human exposure
to cervid prions because chronic wasting disease (CWD, a widespread and highly
infectious prion disease among deer and elk in North America) continues
spreading and consumption of venison remains popular, but our understanding on
cervid-to-human prion transmission is still very limited, raising public health
concerns. This proposal aims to define the zoonotic risks of cervid prions and
set up and apply essays to detect CWD zoonosis using mouse models and in vitro
methods. The findings will greatly expand our knowledge on the potentials and
characteristics of cervid prion transmission in humans, establish reliable
essays for such infections and may discover the first case(s) of CWD infection
in humans.
Funding Agency Agency National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type Research Project (R01)
Project # 1R01NS088604-01A1
Application # 9037884
Study Section Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neurodegeneration Study
Section (CMND)
Program Officer Wong, May
Project Start 2015-09-30
Project End 2019-07-31
Budget Start 2015-09-30
Budget End 2016-07-31
Support Year 1
Fiscal Year 2015
Total Cost $337,507
Indirect Cost $118,756
Institution
Name Case Western Reserve University
Department Pathology
Type Schools of Medicine
DUNS # 077758407
City Cleveland
State OH
Country United States
Zip Code 44106
===========================================================
We hypothesize that:
(1) The classic CWD prion strain can infect humans at low levels in the
brain and peripheral lymphoid tissues;
(2) The cervid-to-human transmission barrier is dependent on the cervid
prion strain and influenced by the host (human) prion protein (PrP) primary
sequence;
(3) Reliable essays can be established to detect CWD infection in
humans;and
(4) *** CWD transmission to humans has already occurred. *** We will test
these hypotheses in 4 Aims using transgenic (Tg) mouse models and complementary
in vitro approaches.
============================================================
Key Molecular Mechanisms of TSEs
Zabel, Mark D.
Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO, United States
Abstract Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs),
are fatal neurodegenerative diseases affecting humans, cervids, bovids, and
ovids. The absolute requirement of PrPC expression to generate prion diseases
and the lack of instructional nucleic acid define prions as unique infectious
agents. Prions exhibit species-specific tropism, inferring that unique prion
strains exist that preferentially infct certain host species and confront
transmission barriers to heterologous host species. However, transmission
barriers are not absolute. Scientific consensus agrees that the sheep TSE
scrapie probably breached the transmission barrier to cattle causing bovine
spongiform encephalopathy that subsequently breached the human transmission
barrier and likely caused several hundred deaths by a new-variant form of the
human TSE Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the UK and Europe. The impact to human
health, emotion and economies can still be felt in areas like farming, blood and
organ donations and the threat of a latent TSE epidemic. This precedent raises
the real possibility of other TSEs, like chronic wasting disease of cervids,
overcoming similar human transmission barriers. A groundbreaking discovery made
last year revealed that mice infected with heterologous prion strains facing
significant transmission barriers replicated prions far more readily in spleens
than brains6. Furthermore, these splenic prions exhibited weakened transmission
barriers and expanded host ranges compared to neurogenic prions. These data
question conventional wisdom of avoiding neural tissue to avoid prion
xenotransmission, when more promiscuous prions may lurk in extraneural tissues.
Data derived from work previously funded by NIH demonstrate that Complement
receptors CD21/35 bind prions and high density PrPC and differentially impact
prion disease depending on the prion isolate or strain used. Recent advances in
live animal and whole organ imaging have led us to generate preliminary data to
support novel, innovative approaches to assessing prion capture and transport.
We plan to test our unifying hypothesis for this proposal that CD21/35 control
the processes of peripheral prion capture, transport, strain selection and
xenotransmission in the following specific aims.
1. Assess the role of CD21/35 in splenic prion strain selection and host
range expansion.
2. Determine whether CD21/35 and C1q differentially bind distinct prion
strains
3. Monitor the effects of CD21/35 on prion trafficking in real time and
space
4. Assess the role of CD21/35 in incunabular prion trafficking
Public Health Relevance Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or prion
diseases, are devastating illnesses that greatly impact public health,
agriculture and wildlife in North America and around the world. The impact to
human health, emotion and economies can still be felt in areas like farming,
blood and organ donations and the threat of a latent TSE epidemic. This
precedent raises the real possibility of other TSEs, like chronic wasting
disease (CWD) of cervids, overcoming similar human transmission barriers. Early
this year Canada reported its first case of BSE in over a decade audits first
case of CWD in farmed elk in three years, underscoring the need for continued
vigilance and research. Identifying mechanisms of transmission and zoonoses
remains an extremely important and intense area of research that will benefit
human and other animal populations.
Funding Agency Agency National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type High Priority, Short Term Project Award (R56)
Project # 1R56AI122273-01A1
Application # 9211114
Study Section Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neurodegeneration Study
Section (CMND)
Program Officer Beisel, Christopher E
Project Start 2016-02-16
Project End 2017-01-31
Budget Start 2016-02-16
Budget End 2017-01-31
Support Year 1
Fiscal Year 2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost Institution Name Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Department Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type Schools of Veterinary Medicine
DUNS # 785979618 City Fort Collins
State CO
Country United States
Zip Code 80523
PMCA Detection of CWD Infection in Cervid and Non-Cervid Species
Hoover, Edward Arthur
Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO, United States
Abstract Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk is an emerging highly
transmissible prion disease now recognized in 18 States, 2 Canadian provinces,
and Korea. We have shown that Infected deer harbor and shed high levels of
infectious prions in saliva, blood, urine, and feces, and in the tissues
generating those body fluids and excreta, thereby leading to facile transmission
by direct contact and environmental contamination. We have also shown that CWD
can infect some non-cervid species, thus the potential risk CWD represents to
domestic animal species and to humans remains unknown. Whether prions borne in
blood, saliva, nasal fluids, milk, or excreta are generated or modified in the
proximate peripheral tissue sites, may differ in subtle ways from those
generated in brain, or may be adapted for mucosal infection remain open
questions. The increasing parallels in the pathogenesis between prion diseases
and human neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
diseases, add relevance to CWD as a transmissible protein misfolding disease.
The overall goal of this work is to elucidate the process of CWD prion
transmission from mucosal secretory and excretory tissue sites by addressing
these questions: (a) What are the kinetics and magnitude of CWD prion shedding
post-exposure? (b) Are excreted prions biochemically distinct, or not, from
those in the CNS? (c) Are peripheral epithelial or CNS tissues, or both, the
source of excreted prions? and (d) Are excreted prions adapted for horizontal
transmission via natural/trans-mucosal routes? The specific aims of this
proposal are: (1) To determine the onset and consistency of CWD prion shedding
in deer and cervidized mice; (2); To compare the biochemical and biophysical
properties of excretory vs. CNS prions; (3) To determine the capacity of
peripheral tissues to support replication of CWD prions; (4) To determine the
protease- sensitive infectious fraction of excreted vs. CNS prions; and (5) To
compare the mucosal infectivity of excretory vs. CNS prions. Understanding the
mechanisms that enable efficient prion dissemination and shedding will help
elucidate how horizontally transmissible prions evolve and succeed, and is the
basis of this proposal. Understanding how infectious misfolded proteins (prions)
are generated, trafficked, shed, and transmitted will aid in preventing,
treating, and managing the risks associated with these agents and the diseases
they cause.
Public Health Relevance Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk is an
emergent highly transmissible prion disease now recognized throughout the USA as
well as in Canada and Korea. We have shown that infected deer harbor and shed
high levels of infectious prions in saliva, blood, urine, and feces thereby
leading to transmission by direct contact and environmental contamination. In
that our studies have also shown that CWD can infect some non-cervid species,
the potential risk CWD may represents to domestic animal species and humans
remains unknown. The increasing parallels in the development of major human
neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and
prion diseases add relevance to CWD as a model of a transmissible protein
misfolding disease. Understanding how infectious misfolded proteins (prions) are
generated and transmitted will aid in interrupting, treating, and managing the
risks associated with these agents and the diseases they cause.
Funding Agency Agency National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type Research Project (R01)
Project # 4R01NS061902-07
Application # 9010980
Study Section Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neurodegeneration Study
Section (CMND)
Program Officer Wong, May Project Start 2009-09-30
Project End 2018-02-28
Budget Start 2016-03-01
Budget End 2017-02-28
Support Year 7
Fiscal Year 2016
Total Cost $409,868
Indirect Cost $134,234 Institution Name Colorado State University-Fort
Collins
Department Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type Schools of Veterinary Medicine
DUNS # 785979618 City Fort Collins
State CO
Country United States
Zip Code 80523
LOOKING FOR CWD IN HUMANS AS nvCJD or as an ATYPICAL CJD, LOOKING IN ALL
THE WRONG PLACES $$$
*** 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 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.
***********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
Monday, May 02, 2016
*** Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions: An Update Prion 2016 Tokyo ***
*** PRION 2014 CONFERENCE CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD
*** PPo3-7: Prion Transmission from Cervids to Humans is Strain-dependent
*** Here we report that a human prion strain that had adopted the cervid
prion protein (PrP) sequence through passage in cervidized transgenic mice
efficiently infected transgenic mice expressing human PrP,
*** indicating that the species barrier from cervid to humans is prion
strain-dependent and humans can be vulnerable to novel cervid prion strains.
PPo2-27:
Generation of a Novel form of Human PrPSc by Inter-species Transmission of
Cervid Prions
*** Our findings suggest that CWD prions have the capability to infect
humans, and that this ability depends on CWD strain adaptation, implying that
the risk for human health progressively increases with the spread of CWD among
cervids.
PPo2-7:
Biochemical and Biophysical Characterization of Different CWD Isolates
*** The data presented here substantiate and expand previous reports on the
existence of different CWD strains.
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.
>>>CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE , THERE WAS NO ABSOLUTE BARRIER TO
CONVERSION OF THE HUMAN PRION PROTEIN<<<
*** PRICE OF CWD TSE PRION POKER GOES UP 2014 ***
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE PRION update January 2, 2014
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Molecular Barriers to Zoonotic Transmission of Prions
*** chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of
the human prion protein.
*** Furthermore, the form of human PrPres produced in this in vitro assay
when seeded with CWD, resembles that found in the most common human prion
disease, namely sCJD of the MM1 subtype.
*** now, let’s see what the authors said about this casual link, personal
communications years ago, and then the latest on the zoonotic potential from CWD
to humans from the TOKYO PRION 2016 CONFERENCE.
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 ;
Monday, May 02, 2016
*** Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions: An Update Prion 2016 Tokyo ***
*** NIH awards $11 million to UTHealth researchers to study deadly CWD
prion diseases Claudio Soto, Ph.D. ***
Public Release: 29-Jun-2016
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 ***
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD, Scrapie, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE,
TSE, Prion Zoonosis Science History
see history of NIH may destroy human brain collection
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.
SCRAPIE AND CWD ZOONOSIS
PRION 2016 CONFERENCE TOKYO
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
Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent
incubation period
***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.***
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
CWD, SCRAPIE, ZOONOSIS, it’s for real folks, the risk factors have
increased greatly, and science has spoken, cwd and scrapie to humans as sporadic
cjd may have already happened.
Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent
incubation period
Emmanuel E. Comoy , Jacqueline Mikol , Sophie Luccantoni-Freire , Evelyne
Correia , Nathalie Lescoutra-Etchegaray , Valérie Durand , Capucine Dehen ,
Olivier Andreoletti , Cristina Casalone , Juergen A. Richt , Justin J. Greenlee
, Thierry Baron , Sylvie L. Benestad , Paul Brown & Jean-Philippe Deslys
Abstract
Classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (c-BSE) is the only animal prion
disease reputed to be zoonotic, causing variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD)
in humans and having guided protective measures for animal and human health
against animal prion diseases. Recently, partial transmissions to humanized mice
showed that the zoonotic potential of scrapie might be similar to c-BSE. We here
report the direct transmission of a natural classical scrapie isolate to
cynomolgus macaque, a highly relevant model for human prion diseases, after a
10-year silent incubation period, with features similar to those reported for
human cases of sporadic CJD. Scrapie is thus actually transmissible to primates
with incubation periods compatible with their life expectancy, although fourfold
longer than BSE. Long-term experimental transmission studies are necessary to
better assess the zoonotic potential of other prion diseases with high
prevalence, notably Chronic Wasting Disease of deer and elk and atypical/Nor98
scrapie.
snip...
In addition to previous studies on scrapie transmission to primate1,8,9 and
the recently published study on transgenic humanized mice13, our results
constitute new evidence for recommending that the potential risk of scrapie for
human health should not be dismissed. Indeed, human PrP transgenic mice and
primates are the most relevant models for investigating the human transmission
barrier. To what extent such models are informative for measuring the zoonotic
potential of an animal TSE under field exposure conditions is unknown. During
the past decades, many protective measures have been successfully implemented to
protect cattle from the spread of c-BSE, and some of these measures have been
extended to sheep and goats to protect from scrapie according to the principle
of precaution. Since cases of c-BSE have greatly reduced in number, those
protective measures are currently being challenged and relaxed in the absence of
other known zoonotic animal prion disease. We recommend that risk managers
should be aware of the long term potential risk to human health of at least
certain scrapie isolates, notably for lymphotropic strains like the classical
scrapie strain used in the current study. Relatively high amounts of infectivity
in peripheral lymphoid organs in animals infected with these strains could lead
to contamination of food products produced for human consumption. Efforts should
also be maintained to further assess the zoonotic potential of other animal
prion strains in long-term studies, notably lymphotropic strains with high
prevalence like CWD, which is spreading across North America, and atypical/Nor98
scrapie (Nor98)50 that was first detected in the past two decades and now
represents approximately half of all reported cases of prion diseases in small
ruminants worldwide, including territories previously considered as scrapie
free. Even if the prevailing view is that sporadic CJD is due to the spontaneous
formation of CJD prions, it remains possible that its apparent sporadic nature
may, at least in part, result from our limited capacity to identify an
environmental origin.
***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.***
2015
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***
===============
***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.
==============
*** Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at
least 16 years ***
Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3
***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.***
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
Saturday, May 28, 2016
*** Infection and detection of PrPCWD in soil from CWD infected farm in
Korea Prion 2016 Tokyo ***
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.
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 ***
*** Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at
least 16 years ***
Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3
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.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
*** Infection and detection of PrPCWD in soil from CWD infected farm in
Korea Prion 2016 Tokyo ***
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
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...
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. ...
”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.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION GLOBAL REPORT UPDATE JULY 17 2016
Saturday, July 23, 2016
BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE TSE PRION SURVEILLANCE, TESTING, AND
SRM REMOVAL UNITED STATE OF AMERICA UPDATE JULY 2016
see BSE TSE SRM breaches being served up to humans as appetizers...
Monday, June 20, 2016
Specified Risk Materials SRMs BSE TSE Prion Program
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD, Scrapie, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE,
TSE, Prion Zoonosis Science History
*** see history of NIH may destroy human brain collection ***
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Bacliff, Texas USA flounder9@verizon.net
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
3:52 PM
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