Subject: Mississippi Officials fear white-tailed deer in Lamar County may have chronic wasting disease
Officials fear white-tailed deer in Lamar County may have chronic wasting disease
Ellen Ciurczak, American Staff WriterPublished 4:12 p.m. CT Aug. 17, 2017 | Updated 4:47 p.m. CT Aug. 17, 2017
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife will sample deer in Lamar County for chronic wasting diseaseEllen Ciurczak/Hattiesburg American
Lamar County deer hunters are being asked to bring in the heads of their game so state wildlife officials can test the specimens for chronic wasting disease. William McKinley, with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, spoke before Lamar County supervisors Thursday and asked if the department could use fire stations as drop-off points for the heads.
McKinley explained that a Purvis man who pleaded guilty to illegally transporting live white-tailed deer from Texas to Lamar County had managed to let some of those deer loose in the county.
More: 3rd man sentenced in deer transport case Dewayne Slade's high fence at his ranch had been damaged in the Jan. 21 tornado, allowing 21 of the out-of-state deer to escape.
"We now have a situation where the deer are loose on the free range," McKinley said. "(The judge in the case ruled) that anyone within five miles of that fence can have their deer sampled. "In order to sample a deer, we need the head of that deer. May we use these particular fire stations to drop off deer heads?"
McKinley asked that the wildlife department be allowed to put freezers in the tornado shelters at five fire stations, so hunters could drop off the heads 24 hours a day for sampling. The concern is the out-of-state deer might be carrying chronic wasting disease, which causes spongy degeneration of the brains of infected animals and always results in death.
"We would provide the freezers, garbage bags and zip ties," McKinley said. "We would make weekly pickups."
Hunters would need to bring in the deer head along with a few inches of neck, drop the sample into the garbage bag, zip tie it and put an information tag on the bag.
Hunters would be allowed to keep the antlers of the deer if they wished.
According to the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, there is no evidence the disease poses a risk to humans, but public health officials recommend human exposure to infected deer be limited as potential health risks continue to be evaluated.
The department will hold a hearing to publicize the information in mid-September and anyone who owns one acre of land within 5 miles of the fence is invited to attend.
Deer hunting begins with archery season Oct. 14. Supervisors unanimously voted to approve the use of the fire stations as drop-off points.
"I don't see a problem with it," President Joe Bounds said. "That won't interfere with day-to-day operations of the fire stations." McKinley said there would be no cost to the county.
The department would even reimburse for the electricity used to run the freezers. "We have never found chronic wasting disease in Mississippi," McKinley said. "I hope we keep it that way. "It is a hideous disease." Lamar County fire station drop-off points
Pine Ridge Station 1: 1460 Mississippi 589, Purvis Oak Grove Station 2: 236 Old Okahola School Road, Purvis Pine Ridge Station 2: 624 Purvis Oloh Road, Purvis Purvis Volunteer Fire Department: 805 Main St., Purvis Southeast Lamar Station 2: 2394 Little Black Creek Road, Lumberton
Transportation of Big Game Harvested in Other States 8/18/2017 9:23:40 AM From MDWFP
JACKSON – Mississippians traveling out of state to hunt big game this fall need to be aware of a new rule affecting the transport of their trophy. In May 2016, the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks passed 40 Miss. Admin Code, Part 2, Rule 2.7 Prohibition on Cervid Carcass Importation, to Protect Mississippi from Chronic Wasting Disease.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal neurological disease that affects cervids and has been found in 24 states and 3 foreign countries.
A cervid is a member of the deer family and includes white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, red deer, sika deer, and fallow deer.
Rule 2.7 states that it is unlawful to import, transport, or possess any portion of a cervid carcass originating from any state, territory, or foreign country where the occurrence of CWD has been confirmed by either the state wildlife agency, state agriculture agency, state veterinarian, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
This rule shall not apply to the importation of: Meat from cervids that has been completely deboned. Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates or cleaned skulls where no tissue is attached to the skull.
Cleaned teeth.
Finished taxidermy and antler products.
Hides and tanned products.
Any portions of white-tailed deer originating from the land between the Mississippi River levees in Arkansas As of August 15, 2017, CWD has been confirmed in the following states:
Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Additionally, the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Norway, and South Korea are CWD positive.
CWD has not been found in Mississippi.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks continues to monitor Mississippi for CWD.
They ask for your help by reporting any sick deer you observe.
To report a sick deer, please call 601-432-2199. For more information on CWD, please visit the CWD Alliance website at cwd-info.org.
For more information regarding wildlife in Mississippi, visit our website at www.mdwfp.com or call us at (601) 432-2199.
Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mdwfp or on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MDWFPonline. ###
Beware of potential threat to state's deer STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Diseases are a big concern for deer biologists and managers. Since the reestablishment of white-tailed deer across the Southeast, hemorrhagic disease has had a negative impact on their populations. Hemorrhagic disease in deer can be caused by epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses, or bluetongue viruses, and is spread by black gnats.
These viruses occur each year. Much like the flu in humans, this disease is worse in incidence and severity in some years. However, biologists and hunters throughout the Southeast could soon be longing for the good ole days when hemorrhagic disease was the only big threat to deer populations.
In recent years, chronic wasting disease has been making its way into the Southeast. This disease could pose a much greater threat to deer populations than hemorrhagic disease. There is still a lot we do not understand about this disease, but it could be a game changer.
Chronic wasting disease, a neurological disease in deer, elk, moose and other members of the deer family, is similar to scrapie of sheep and mad cow disease of cattle. The infectious agents are called prions, which are abnormal cellular proteins synthesized in the brain, spinal cord and lymph tissues. They are highly resistant to heat and disinfectants. In fact, even after captive facilities/deer farms have been depopulated after deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease, there is no guarantee that they can ever be completely disinfected.
Chronic wasting disease can be transmitted directly from animal to animal or indirectly through exposure to prions that persist in the environment. Prions can be passed in saliva, urine or feces, which is the main reason most biologists and some hunters have negative views of supplemental feeding and baiting of deer for harvest. These practices will not introduce the disease, but they greatly increase the risk of spreading it. While there is no convincing evidence that this disease can affect humans, the science is not 100 percent settled.
Chronic wasting disease is thought to have originated in the Colorado-Wyoming region. For many years, it seemed to be limited to deer and elk in that area. Today, 23 states have had documented cases of the disease. Texas and Arkansas are the latest. The threat of this disease to our state’s deer herd is very real.
The wasting disease was most likely spread by a combination of factors. Moving deer and related animals -- both legally and illegally -- from states affected by the disease is one cause. Other culprits are hunters who unknowingly brought infected deer or elk carcasses back to their home states. This problem prompted the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to pass regulations in 2016 making it unlawful to import, transport or possess any portion of a deer or related species from any state, territory or foreign country where chronic wasting disease has been confirmed. Once those prions are here, they are most likely here forever.
Whether we can keep Mississippi free of this disease is questionable. It is possible the disease is already here, and we just have not found it yet. In the meantime, all we can do is take all preventative measures and hope we keep it out of Mississippi and other unaffected states.
For more information on chronic wasting disease, visit http://cwd-info.org.
Extension Outdoors logoEditor’s Note: Extension Outdoors is a column authored by several different experts in the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Released: May 12, 2017
Contacts: Mr. Chad M. Dacus, Mr. Bill Hamrick Photos for publication (click for high resolution image):
MDWFP asking for hunters’ help in tracking chronic deer wasting disease
ByJared Bounds Posted on August 3, 2017
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a contagious neurological disease affecting deer, elk and moose. It causes the brain to degenerate into a spongy mass, resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death. Imagine mad cow, but in deer. It may not be transmittable to humans (public health officials are still researching the effects), but it’s still dangerous, highly contagious and should terrify hunters. That’s why the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is asking for your help in securing deer samples for testing.
Courtesy of Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Mississippi isn’t known for harboring CWD, so why are wildlife officials looking for help? Illegal deer importation.
From January of 2009 through December of 2012, Coleman Virgil Slade, 70, Dewayne Slade, 44, of Purvis, and Don Durrett, 72, of Aspermont, Texas conspired to import white-tail deer from Texas to the Slade’s land in Lamar County. Texas deer have been identified as carriers of CWD.
In January 2017, the massive storms that spawned 24 tornadoes ripped through Lamar County, destroying the fencing used to contain those illegally imported deer.
Officials fear those animals could be contaminating Mississippi’s white-tail deer population.
Thankfully, white-tail deer populations rarely roam far, making the study area quite small: only about 5 miles around the area near Hattiesburg.
Beginning this month, officials will be making contact with local landowners as hunting season begins. Public health and wildlife officials advise hunters to take the following precautions when pursuing or handling deer and elk that may have been exposed to CWD: – Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that is acting abnormally or appears to be sick. – Wear latex or rubber gloves when field dressing your deer. – Bone out the meat from your animal. Don’t saw through bone, and avoid cutting through the brain or spinal cord (backbone). – Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues. – Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing is completed. – Avoid consuming brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes of harvested animals. (Normal field dressing coupled with boning out a carcass will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all fatty tissue will remove remaining lymph nodes.) – Avoid consuming the meat from any animal that tests positive for the disease. – If you have your deer commercially processed, request that your animal is processed individually, without meat from other animals being added to meat from your animal. More information on chronic wasting disease here.
RELATED ITEMS:CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE, DEER PROGRAM, FEATURED, MDWFP, MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017
Chronic Wasting Disease possibly unleashed in Mississippi
THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016
Three charged with various violations of the federal Lacey Act for white-tailed deer importation from Texas to Mississippi
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012
Sen. Tommy Gollott Mississippi proposes another bill to allow CWD in Mississippi via Game Farms
2017 PRION CONFERENCE
First evidence of intracranial and peroral transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) into Cynomolgus macaques: a work in progress
Stefanie Czub1, Walter Schulz-Schaeffer2, Christiane Stahl-Hennig3, Michael Beekes4, Hermann Schaetzl5 and Dirk Motzkus6 1
University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine/Canadian Food Inspection Agency; 2Universitatsklinikum des Saarlandes und Medizinische Fakultat der Universitat des Saarlandes; 3 Deutsches Primaten Zentrum/Goettingen; 4 Robert-Koch-Institut Berlin; 5 University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; 6 presently: Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Research Center; previously: Deutsches Primaten Zentrum/Goettingen
This is a progress report of a project which started in 2009. 21 cynomolgus macaques were challenged with characterized CWD material from white-tailed deer (WTD) or elk by intracerebral (ic), oral, and skin exposure routes. Additional blood transfusion experiments are supposed to assess the CWD contamination risk of human blood product. Challenge materials originated from symptomatic cervids for ic, skin scarification and partially per oral routes (WTD brain). Challenge material for feeding of muscle derived from preclinical WTD and from preclinical macaques for blood transfusion experiments. We have confirmed that the CWD challenge material contained at least two different CWD agents (brain material) as well as CWD prions in muscle-associated nerves.
Here we present first data on a group of animals either challenged ic with steel wires or per orally and sacrificed with incubation times ranging from 4.5 to 6.9 years at postmortem. Three animals displayed signs of mild clinical disease, including anxiety, apathy, ataxia and/or tremor. In four animals wasting was observed, two of those had confirmed diabetes. All animals have variable signs of prion neuropathology in spinal cords and brains and by supersensitive IHC, reaction was detected in spinal cord segments of all animals. Protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuiC) and PET-blot assays to further substantiate these findings are on the way, as well as bioassays in bank voles and transgenic mice.
At present, a total of 10 animals are sacrificed and read-outs are ongoing. Preclinical incubation of the remaining macaques covers a range from 6.4 to 7.10 years. Based on the species barrier and an incubation time of > 5 years for BSE in macaques and about 10 years for scrapie in macaques, we expected an onset of clinical disease beyond 6 years post inoculation.
PRION 2017 DECIPHERING NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS
Subject: PRION 2017 CONFERENCE DECIPHERING NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS VIDEO
PRION 2017 CONFERENCE DECIPHERING NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS
*** PRION 2017 CONFERENCE VIDEO
SATURDAY, JULY 29, 2017
Risk Advisory Opinion: Potential Human Health Risks from Chronic Wasting Disease CFIA, PHAC, HC (HPFB and FNIHB), INAC, Parks Canada, ECCC and AAFC
TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017
PRION 2017 CONFERENCE ABSTRACT First evidence of intracranial and peroral transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) into Cynomolgus macaques: a work in progress
TUESDAY, JULY 04, 2017
*** PRION 2017 CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS ON CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION ***
TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017
PRION 2017 CONFERENCE ABSTRACT Chronic Wasting Disease in European moose is associated with PrPSc features different from North American CWD
URINE
SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017
*** Temporal patterns of chronic wasting disease prion excretion in three cervid species ***
WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017
Chronic wasting disease continues to spread Disease of cervids causing local population declines
SUNDAY, AUGUST 06, 2017
*** USA Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Emergency Response Plan Singeltary et al ***
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017
Norway Nordfjella 2 out of apprx 150 animals shot now suspect for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Skrantesjuke
*** WDA 2016 NEW YORK ***
We found that CWD adapts to a new host more readily than BSE and that human PrP was unexpectedly prone to misfolding by CWD prions. In addition, we investigated the role of specific regions of the bovine, deer and human PrP protein in resistance to conversion by prions from another species. We have concluded that the human protein has a region that confers unusual susceptibility to conversion by CWD prions.
Student Presentations Session 2
The species barriers and public health threat of CWD and BSE prions
Ms. Kristen Davenport1, Dr. Davin Henderson1, Dr. Candace Mathiason1, Dr. Edward Hoover1 1Colorado State University
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is spreading rapidly through cervid populations in the USA. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, mad cow disease) arose in the 1980s because cattle were fed recycled animal protein. These and other prion diseases are caused by abnormal folding of the normal prion protein (PrP) into a disease causing form (PrPd), which is pathogenic to nervous system cells and can cause subsequent PrP to misfold. CWD spreads among cervids very efficiently, but it has not yet infected humans. On the other hand, BSE was spread only when cattle consumed infected bovine or ovine tissue, but did infect humans and other species. The objective of this research is to understand the role of PrP structure in cross-species infection by CWD and BSE. To study the propensity of each species’ PrP to be induced to misfold by the presence of PrPd from verious species, we have used an in vitro system that permits detection of PrPd in real-time. We measured the conversion efficiency of various combinations of PrPd seeds and PrP substrate combinations. We observed the cross-species behavior of CWD and BSE, in addition to feline-adapted CWD and BSE. We found that CWD adapts to a new host more readily than BSE and that human PrP was unexpectedly prone to misfolding by CWD prions. In addition, we investigated the role of specific regions of the bovine, deer and human PrP protein in resistance to conversion by prions from another species.
*** We have concluded that the human protein has a region that confers unusual susceptibility to conversion by CWD prions.
*** CWD is unique among prion diseases in its rapid spread in natural populations.
*** BSE prions are essentially unaltered upon passage to a new species, while CWD adapts to the new species.
*** This adaptation has consequences for surveillance of humans exposed to CWD.
Wildlife Disease Risk Communication Research Contributes to Wildlife Trust Administration Exploring perceptions about chronic wasting disease risks among wildlife and agriculture professionals and stakeholders
you can see more evidence here ;
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
*** Wisconsin Two deer that escaped farm had chronic wasting disease CWD ***
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2017
Pennsylvania 27 deer from Bedford County farm test positive for chronic wasting disease
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017
OHIO Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion UPDATE?
Iowa Supreme Court rules law allows quarantine of CWD deer, not land
This is very, very concerning imo.
IF this ruling is upheld as such ;
''The Iowa Supreme Court upheld the district court ruling — saying the law gives the DNR only the authority to quarantine the deer — not the land. The ruling says if the Iowa Legislature wants to expand the quarantine powers as suggested by the DNR, then it is free to do so.''
IF a 'precedent' is set as such, by the Legislature not intervening to expand quarantine powers to the DNR for CWD TSE Prion, and the precedent is set as such that the cervid industry and land there from, once contaminated with the CWD TSE Prion, are free to repopulate, sell the land, etc, imo, this will blow the lid off any containment efforts of this damn disease CWD TSE Prion. The Iowa Supreme Court did not just pass the cwd buck down the road, the Supreme Court of Iowa just threw the whole state of Iowa under the bus at 100 MPH. i remember the litigation that took place and the fuss over all those 'healthy' looking deer standing out in the pasture, i remember the photo postings and thread on the web on the deer farmers board, of all those healthy looking deer. the big rally behind the owners on the web, how they were going to come and cut the fences, folks liking the comments, 100 deer farmers were going to show up and stop the officials from coming in to test the deer. yep, it was on the www. all those healthy deer, while the litigation was going on, well, they were incubating the cwd tse prion, loading up the land even more, and in the end, 79.8% of those healthy looking deer had CWD TSE Prion. what about the exposure to the other species that come across that land, and then off to some other land? this makes no sense to me, if this is set in stone and the Legislation does not stop it, and stop if fast, any containment of the cwd tse prion will be futile, imo...terry
FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017
Iowa Supreme Court rules law allows quarantine of CWD deer, not land
MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2017
*** Texas Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion History
SUNDAY, AUGUST 06, 2017
USA Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Emergency Response Plan Singeltary et al
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017
JAVMA NEWS Atypical BSE found in Alabama cow September 01, 2017
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
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