Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Chronic wasting disease is a threat to Wyoming’s deer

Chronic wasting disease is a threat to Wyoming’s deer

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is concerned about chronic wasting disease (CWD) and how it may affect the future of Wyoming’s deer.

 4/17/2018 8:31:11 AM

CHEYENNE -

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is concerned about chronic wasting disease (CWD) and how it may affect the future of Wyoming’s deer. The disease is fatal to deer, elk and moose. Recent research in Wyoming and Colorado shows that it poses a serious threat to deer populations in areas with a high prevalence of the disease, and may even be impacting elk in at least one Colorado population. Two recently published academic studies show Wyoming deer herds with higher CWD prevalence may see significant decreases in population due to the disease. 

 CWD was first discovered in Wyoming more than 30 years ago. Since that time, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has strived to gain a better understanding of the disease through research and on the ground monitoring. In cooperation with other researchers, Game and Fish has evaluated vaccines, considered genetics, assisted with validation of diagnostic tests, and gathered over 30 years of prevalence data. 

 “Unfortunately, CWD is not a disease we can eradicate. There is no proven way to get rid of it, but we are committed to being part of the solution for years to come,” said director of Game and Fish, Scott Talbott. “Wyoming is partnering with other states to fight this disease.” 

 Game and Fish has joined two collaborative efforts to research management of the disease. One project developed recommendations for strategies that states can use to potentially slow the spread and reduce prevalence of CWD. The other is a study of whether hunting may decrease the prevalence of CWD in deer populations. 

 “We have learned an incredible amount about CWD over the past 30 years, but unfortunately one of the biggest questions remaining is how to manage our populations to limit the harm from this disease. These studies are a way to start to address those questions,” said Dr. Mary Wood, State Wildlife Veterinarian.

 “We know there are no easy answers and anything we do to address CWD will take a deep commitment and many years before we know if it was effective,” said Talbott, who also serves as chair of the National Fish and Wildlife Health Initiative, a committee of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 

 Game and Fish also expresses its appreciation to the people of Wyoming who care about wildlife. Game and fish plans to continue with hunter harvest sampling to monitor CWD. Hunters have provided samples allowing the agency to learn about this disease and hunters may be integral to fighting it. People who have reported sick animals also help monitor the disease. “We have more to learn and part of that learning is maintaining an open dialogue with people across the state and sharing the most recent findings regarding CWD,” Talbott said. 

 Please visit the Game and Fish website for more information on chronic wasting disease transmission and regulations on transportation and disposal of carcasses. 

 (renny.mackay1@wyo.gov)

- WGFD -


NEW TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION DISEASE (MAD CAMEL DISEASE) IN A NEW SPECIES

NEW OUTBREAK OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION DISEASE IN A NEW SPECIES

Subject: Prion Disease in Dromedary Camels, Algeria

Our identification of this prion disease in a geographically widespread livestock species requires urgent enforcement of surveillance and assessment of the potential risks to human and animal health.




*** APHIS USDA CFIA CWD TSE Prion Herd Certifications Update ***

FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018 

Docket No. APHIS-2018-0011 Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Standards Singeltary Submission March 30, 2018

Terry S. Singeltary Sr., Bacliff, Texas USA 77518 flounder9@verizon.net Attachments (1) Docket No. APHIS-2018-0011 Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Standards Singeltary View Attachment:View as format pdf 





WEDNESDAY, APRIL 04, 2018 

Canada Chronic Wasting Disease Voluntary Herd Certification Program Updated


THURSDAY, APRIL 05, 2018 

Boone and Crocket Club B&C News Release CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TSE Prion


SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2018 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease Global Pandemic Urgent Update April 9, 2018


TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2018 

Animal TSEs and public health: What remains of past lessons?


SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2018

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Goes Global Finland Falls, Behind Norway and S. Korea

FINLAND REPORTS FIRST CASE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION IN A moose or European elk (Alces alces)


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2018 

The executioner in Nordfjella and Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Skrantesjuke


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018 

NORWAY CWD TSE PRION Skrantesjuke Nordfjella zone 1 Complete Eradication Complete


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018 

World Animal Organization (OIE) Appoints Veterinary Institute as first European reference laboratory for land animal health field of CWD or skrantesjuke scratch disease


PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO, AND BE SURE TO SEE AROUND THE 8 MINUTE MARK, VERY, VERY, DISTURBING...terry


MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 

Rumor has it, Dr. Kroll to speak for Michigan DNR about Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion, God Help Michigan


LISTEN TO THIS NICE LITTLE CWD BLUES DIDDY BY TAMI ABOUT WISCONSIN CWD TSE PRION. WOW, ANNUAL UPDATES NOW, FROM HERE ON OUT, ABOUT CWD...200,000 CWD TESTS, WITH OVER 3500 CWD POSITIVE CASES, SEEING INCREASING TRENDS IN PREVALENCE AND DISTRIBUTION...CARCASS DISPOSAL SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE...CWD SAMPLING EFFORTS GONE DONE, WHILE CWD POSITIVES HAVE GONE UP...ALSO, 40 SELF SERVING KIOSKS ACROSS STATE AND FREE HUNTER SERVICE CWD TESTING AND SICK DEER POLICY REPORTING AND TESTING ACROSS STATE!


PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO, AND BE SURE TO SEE AROUND THE 8 MINUTE MARK, VERY, VERY, DISTURBING...terry


MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 

***> Rumor has it, Dr. Kroll to speak for Michigan DNR about Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion, God Help Michigan!


FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018 

***> WISCONSIN DATCP Resolutions target spread of chronic wasting disease depopulation of Copper Hills Hunting Preserve near Oulu has begun


SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2018 

Oklahoma ODWC BILL NO. 2885 To ALLOW IMPORTS OF CERVIDAE FROM CANADIAN PROVINCE WITH CWD TSE PRION


Sunday, February 25, 2018 

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018 

***> Chronic wasting disease: Bambi vs. the prion 

Research Project: Immunodiagnostics to Detect Prions and Other Important Animal Pathogens 

Location: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research


MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2018 

Wyoming, Hanna, WGFD diagnosed chronic wasting disease (CWD) for the first time in Deer Hunt Area 161


WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017 

Wyoming Game and Fish Department diagnosed chronic wasting disease (CWD) for the first time in Deer Hunt Area 118 near Meeteetse


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2017 

Endemic chronic wasting disease causes mule deer population decline in Wyoming


WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017

Chronic wasting disease continues to spread Disease of cervids causing local population declines


WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017

Wyoming CWD found in new elk hunt area in Southeast Washakie County CWD found in new elk hunt area in Southeast Washakie County


The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has diagnosed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a cow elk that was found dead in southeast Washakie County. 

 7/26/2017 11:10:05 AM

CHEYENNE -

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has diagnosed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a cow elk that was found dead in southeast Washakie County. The elk was found about 30 miles southwest of Kaycee. The dead elk was part of the Bighorns elk movement study. This study is evaluating the migrations and behaviors of elk in the Bighorn Mountains. CWD is less common in elk than it is in deer, and CWD has been documented in this part of the state in deer, for elk it has previously been detected to the northeast of Elk Hunt Area 48, where this recent cow elk was found, in Elk Hunt Area 34. “We have many means of monitoring for CWD and following its movement across the state. The disease moves very slowly, especially in elk, but this research and data is necessary as it will guide our future management decisions,” said Scott Edberg, deputy division chief of the Wildlife Division. “We will continue our increased level of monitoring and ask for those who hunt to help by submitting harvested animals for testing. We also ask that those who see a sick animal to report it to Game and Fish.” Last year, Game and Fish personnel collected and analyzed more than 3,350 CWD samples throughout the state, a significant increase from past years. This year Game and Fish will sample a similar number.

Please visit the Game and Fish website for more information on chronic wasting disease transmission and regulations on transportation and disposal of carcasses. (renny.mackay1@wyo.gov)

- WGFD -


MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2017 

Wyoming CWD Postive Mule Deer Doe Near Pinedale


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 01, 2017 

Wyoming mule deer test positive for CWD in Cody


TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 

Wyoming CWD Report monitoring efforts increase with focus on improving herd health


 Title: Chronic wasting disease: Bambi vs. the prion
Author 
Submitted to: Meeting Abstract 
Publication Type: Abstract Only 
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/31/2018 
Publication Date: 3/2/2018 
Citation: Silva, C.J. 2018. Chronic wasting disease: Bambi vs. the prion. Northern California Branch American Society for Microbiology Spring Meeting, March 2-3, 2018. Session 2. Presentation 2.
Interpretive Summary:
Technical Abstract: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was first described in Colorado in 1967 and subsequently recognized as a prion disease in 1980. CWD has a long and asymptomatic incubation period (> 1 year) followed by a short disease course that ends in the death of the animal. There is no known treatment or cure for prion diseases. Since its first description, CWD has been identified in 24 states, two Canadian provinces, Korea and Norway. CWD is the only prion disease spread by wild animals in their natural environment. It infects both farmed and wild cervids, including white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, mule deer, elk (American), moose (American and European), red deer (European), and reindeer (European). CWD is caused by prions (PrPSc), which are infectious proteins, able to induce a normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) to refold into the prion conformation and, thereby, propagate an infection. PrPSc and PrPC are isosequential and possess identical covalent post-translational modifications. PrPSc is a multimer of refolded PrPC and resistant to proteinase K (PK) digestion while PrPC is monomeric and has no PK resistance. PrPC secondary structure is comprised of a small amount of beta-sheet (~ 5 %), a larger portion of alpha-helix (~ 28 %) and the remainder is unstructured. In contrast, the secondary structure of PrPSc is composed of beta-sheet and unstructured regions with no alpha-helix. The PrPC monomer is globular, while the monomeric portion of the multimeric PrPSc is believed to be a four-rung beta-solenoid. PrPSc can propagate more than one conformation (strain), each with its own distinct pathological phenotype. This means that more than one prion disease can infect a given host and that prions can respond, in a limited way, to selection pressures. In order words, they can evolve. There are a number of CWD prion strains that infect cervids. Some prion strains infect the brain and spinal cord, but only have a limited distribution of CWD prions throughout the lymphatic system. Cervids infected with other prion strains show a wide distribution of prions throughout the lymphatic system in addition to infecting the brain and spinal cord. As a result, CWD can be spread from animal to animal (horizontal) by normal contact. Furthermore, asymptomatic animals also shed prions in urine, feces, and saliva. These prions reside in the environment where they can be ingested, thereby infecting other animals. Prions are very stable, which means that they can remain infectious in a contaminated environment for years. Managing this disease is a substantial challenge.
10:10 - 11:00 Chronic Wasting Disease — Bambi vs. the Prion Chris Silva, PhD — US Department of Agriculture, Albany, CA Just what are prions? Most microbiologists have heard of them, but never worked with them or studied them. How much have we learned about how they cause disease? And have you ever heard of a „mad deer disease?‟ Join Dr. Silva to hear the latest scoop.
Efficient prion disease transmission through common environmental materials
Sandra Pritzkow1 , Rodrigo Morales1 , Adam Lyon1 , Luis Concha-Marambio1,2, Akihiko Urayama1 and Claudio Soto1,2,*
From the 1 Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s disease and Related Brain Disorders, Dept. of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
2 Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Medicina, Av. San Carlos de Apoquindo 2200, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile.
Running title: Role of environmental materials in prion transmission
* To whom correspondence should be addressed: Claudio Soto. Department of Neurology. The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. 6431 Fannin St. MSE R422, Houston, Texas, 77030, USA. Phone: +1 (713) 500-7086. E-mail: Claudio.Soto@uth.tmc.edu.
Keywords: transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, prions, disease transmission, environmental contamination, protein misfolding cyclic amplification, chronic wasting disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, scrapie
ABSTRACT Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases associated with a protein-based infectious agent, termed prion. Compelling evidence suggests that natural transmission of prion diseases is mediated by environmental contamination with infectious prions. We hypothesized that several natural and man-made materials, commonly found in the environments of wild and captive animals, can bind prions and may act as vectors for disease transmission. To test our hypothesis, we exposed surfaces composed of various common environmental materials (i.e. wood, rocks, plastic, glass, cement, stainless steel, aluminum, and brass) to hamster-adapted 263K scrapie prions and studied their attachment and retention of infectivity in vitro and in vivo. Our results indicated that these surfaces, with the sole exception of brass, efficiently bind, retain, and release prions. Prion replication was studied in vitro using the protein misfolding cyclic amplification technology and infectivity of surface-bound prions was analyzed by intracerebrally challenging hamsters with contaminated implants. Our results revealed that virtually all prion-contaminated materials transmitted the disease at high rates. To investigate a more natural form of exposure to environmental contamination, we simply housed animals with large contaminated spheres made of the different materials under study, instead of injecting them with prion materials. Strikingly, most of the hamsters developed classical clinical signs of prion disease and typical disease-associated brain changes. Our findings suggest that prion contamination of surfaces commonly present in the environment can be a source of disease transmission, thus expanding our understanding of the mechanisms for prion spreading in nature. 
snip...
In addition, an interesting observation was that bedding in contact with prion contaminated spheres was able to acquire the infectious agent and mediate disease transmission. This result, in addition to the rubbing simulation, point that infectious prions can relatively easily move from one surface to another, contributing to spread the infectious material in the environment. Moreover, we showed that prions can be released from the surfaces by washing, thus a natural secondary method for the spread and transfer may be rain. This could rationally explain the recent PMCA detection of prions in the stream water samples from CWD endemic areas (38).
Overall, our results show that prions can bind to different surfaces and remain infectious. However, we do not know if transmission requires the release of prions from the implants or whether initial conversion happens on the surface itself, in which case this would suggest that prion replication can occur in solid phase. Further testing the properties of prions bound to surfaces is needed in order to better understand the role of these materials in natural prion transmission and to evaluate, for example, if bound prions are more or less infectious than free prions. The information obtained in this study may provide important insight on the behavior and spread of prions in natural environments, and help to set guidelines to prevent disease spread on farms and among freeranging animals. 
PRICE OF TSE PRION POKER GOES UP!
NEW TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION DISEASE (MAD CAMEL DISEASE) IN A NEW SPECIES

NEW OUTBREAK OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION DISEASE IN A NEW SPECIES

Subject: Prion Disease in Dromedary Camels, Algeria

Our identification of this prion disease in a geographically widespread livestock species requires urgent enforcement of surveillance and assessment of the potential risks to human and animal health.




2017 USAHA RESOLUTION

RESOLUTION NUMBER: 1 Combined with 6, 13, 16, and 22 APPROVED

SOURCE: COMMITTEE ON ANIMAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AND EMERGING DISEASES

 COMMITTEE ON SWINE

 COMMITTEE ON CATTLE AND BISON

 COMMITTEE ON SHEEP, GOATS AND CAMELIDS

SUBJECT MATTER: Adequate Funding for Prevention, Diagnosis, and Response for Foreign Animal Disease Outbreaks 


Tuesday, April 17, 2018 

Genetic variation of the prion protein gene (PRNP) in alpaca (Vicugna pacos)


*** APHIS USDA CFIA CWD TSE Prion Herd Certifications Update ***

FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018 

Docket No. APHIS-2018-0011 Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Standards Singeltary Submission March 30, 2018

Terry S. Singeltary Sr., Bacliff, Texas USA 77518 flounder9@verizon.net Attachments (1) Docket No. APHIS-2018-0011 Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Standards Singeltary View Attachment:View as format pdf 





WEDNESDAY, APRIL 04, 2018 

Canada Chronic Wasting Disease Voluntary Herd Certification Program Updated


THURSDAY, APRIL 05, 2018 

Boone and Crocket Club B&C News Release CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TSE Prion


SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2018 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease Global Pandemic Urgent Update April 9, 2018


TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2018 

Animal TSEs and public health: What remains of past lessons?


SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2018

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Goes Global Finland Falls, Behind Norway and S. Korea

FINLAND REPORTS FIRST CASE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION IN A moose or European elk (Alces alces)


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2018 

The executioner in Nordfjella and Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Skrantesjuke


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018 

NORWAY CWD TSE PRION Skrantesjuke Nordfjella zone 1 Complete Eradication Complete


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018 

World Animal Organization (OIE) Appoints Veterinary Institute as first European reference laboratory for land animal health field of CWD or skrantesjuke scratch disease


PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO, AND BE SURE TO SEE AROUND THE 8 MINUTE MARK, VERY, VERY, DISTURBING...terry


LISTEN TO THIS CWD BLUES DIDDY ABOUT WISCONSIN CWD TSE PRION...terry


FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018 

WISCONSIN DATCP Resolutions target spread of chronic wasting disease depopulation of Copper Hills Hunting Preserve near Oulu has begun


TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2018 

Pathologic and biochemical characterization of PrPSc from elk with PRNP polymorphisms at codon 132 after experimental infection with the chronic wasting disease agent

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/04/pathologic-and-biochemical.html

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018 

Illinois Legislation and SB-2493 set to help spread chronic wasting disease cwd tse prion, please vote NO!

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/04/illinois-legislation-and-sb-2493-set-to.html

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018 

Illinois Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion cases mounting with 75 confirmed 2017 and 685 total to date


THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018 

New Mexico Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion 2017 2018 Sample Survey Update


SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2018 

Oklahoma ODWC BILL NO. 2885 To ALLOW IMPORTS OF CERVIDAE FROM CANADIAN PROVINCE WITH CWD TSE PRION


SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2018

TEXAS DETECTS IT'S 101 CASE of CWD TSE PRION Breeder White-tailed Deer with no end in sight

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/03/texas-detects-its-101-case-of-cwd-tse.html

2018 03/27/18 Breeder Deer Uvalde Facility #3 White-tailed Deer M 2.5

TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2018 

Texas Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Mad Deer Disease TPWD EXPANDS CONTAINMENT ZONE IN PANHANDLE

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/03/texas-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse.html

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/diseases/cwd/tracking/

HURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 

TEXAS CWD TSE PRION JUMP TO 100 POSITIVE, NEW CASES 17 BREEDER, 1 BREEDER RELEASE, AND 1 WILD SINCE JAN 31, 2018

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/03/texas-cwd-tse-prion-jump-to-100.html

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018 

TEXAS TPWD CWD TSE PRION 2 MORE FROM BREEDER RELEASE SITE TOTALS 81 CASES TO DATE

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/02/texas-tpwd-cwd-tse-prion-2-more-from.html

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

TEXAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION MOUNTING, JUMPS TO 79 CASES TO DATE

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/01/texas-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse.html

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018 

***> Texas Deer Breeders Continue fight against the state’s wildlife agency and its regulations trying to contain CWD TSE Prion

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/02/texas-deer-breeders-continue-fight.html

SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2016 

***> TEXAS CWD DEER BREEDERS PLEA TO GOVERNOR ABBOTT TO CIRCUMVENT TPWD SOUND SCIENCE TO LET DISEASE SPREAD

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2016/05/texas-cwd-deer-breeders-plea-to.html

TEXAS HISTORY OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION AKA MAD COW TYPE DISEASE

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2017/08/texas-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse.html

MONDAY, APRIL 09, 2018 

Michigan Reminder: Chronic wasting disease public meetings April 10-May 3


January 14, 2018

Michigan’s Chronic Wasting Disease Working Group Recommendations Report to the Natural Resources Commission Prepared December 2017 CWD Confirmed Cases holding for now at 57 cases



MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 

Rumor has it, Dr. Kroll to speak for Michigan DNR about Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion, God Help Michigan 


FRIDAY, APRIL 06, 2018 

Missouri MDC reports 33 CWD positives out of nearly 24,500 samples tested 2017-2018 sampling and testing efforts


WEDNESDAY, APRIL 04, 2018 

2017 Annual Report | Pennsylvania Game Commission Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion


SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2018

Pennsylvania CWD TSE Prion Cases Explodes 51 deer from the 2017-18 hunting seasons have tested positive for CWD majority of samples collected still are being analyzed


MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2018 

Pennsylvania CWD TSE Prion has been found in captive deer in Huntingdon and Lancaster counties


WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018 

Maryland Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Found In Ten Deer Allegany and Washington Counties

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2018/02/maryland-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.html

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2018 

Montana Special Hunts 9 more cases CWD TSE Prion to date, more samples still pending


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 09, 2018 

Mississippi Chronic Wasting Disease confirmed in a White-tailed Deer


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018 

*** MISSISSIPPI STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Chronic Wasting Disease: Public Health Recommendations ***


WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 07, 2018 

New Mexico Bans All Live Cervid Importation Due To CWD TSE Prion still NO Final 2017 Positives Update for N.M.


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 09, 2018 

Virginia 2017 Hunt Confirms 16 Cases Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion


MONDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2018 

Nebraska Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion 2017 Survey Confirms 203 Positives From 1,807 Deer Sampled


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2018 

Arkansas Reports 346 Positive CWD TSE Prion cases found as of January 8, 2018


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 08, 2018 

Utah Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Update to date from 2017 Hunting Season


TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018 

Colorado Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion 7/2015-6/2016 Results (2017?)


THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 

Ohio Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prioin aka mad deer update 2016-2017 SEASON SUMMARY


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 08, 2018

Iowa DNR Wayne County Confirms CWD with 7 additional CWD positive tests so far from deer in northeast from 2017 season


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2018 

Chronic wasting disease management in ranched elk using rectal biopsy testing Research Paper 09 Feb 2018


MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2018 

Wyoming, Hanna, WGFD diagnosed chronic wasting disease (CWD) for the first time in Deer Hunt Area 161


MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2018 

North Dakota CWD Confirmed whitetail buck and a mule deer doe 2017 deer gun season from unit 3F2


SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2018 

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion RoundUp February 18, 2018


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2017 

*** Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion (aka mad deer disease) Update USA December 14, 2017 ***

(zoonosis and environmental risk factors towards the bottom, after state by state reports)


MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2017 

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION UDATE March 13, 2017


SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2017 

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION GLOBAL UPDATE JANUARY 14, 2017


MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

Rethinking Major grain organizations opposition to CFIA's control zone approach to Chronic Wasting CWD TSE Prion Mad Deer Type Disease 2017?


WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2017

*** Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion aka Mad Deer Disease and the Real Estate Market Land Values ***


ZOONOTIC, ZOONOSIS, CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION 

10. ZOONOTIC, ZOONOSIS, CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION AKA MAD DEER ELK DISEASE IN HUMANS, has it already happened, that should be the question... 

''In particular the US data do not clearly exclude the possibility of human (sporadic or familial) TSE development due to consumption of venison. The Working Group thus recognizes a potential risk to consumers if a TSE would be present in European cervids.'' Scientific opinion on chronic wasting disease (II)

EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) Antonia Ricci Ana Allende Declan Bolton Marianne Chemaly Robert Davies Pablo Salvador Fernández Escámez ... See all authors 

First published: 17 January 2018 https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5132 ;

also, see; 

8. Even though human TSE‐exposure risk through consumption of game from European cervids can be assumed to be minor, if at all existing, no final conclusion can be drawn due to the overall lack of scientific data. In particular the US data do not clearly exclude the possibility of human (sporadic or familial) TSE development due to consumption of venison. The Working Group thus recognizes a potential risk to consumers if a TSE would be present in European cervids. It might be prudent considering appropriate measures to reduce such a risk, e.g. excluding tissues such as CNS and lymphoid tissues from the human food chain, which would greatly reduce any potential risk for consumers. However, it is stressed that currently, no data regarding a risk of TSE infections from cervid products are available. 

snip... 

The tissue distribution of infectivity in CWD‐infected cervids is now known to extend beyond CNS and lymphoid tissues. While the removal of these specific tissues from the food chain would reduce human dietary exposure to infectivity, exclusion from the food chain of the whole carcass of any infected animal would be required to eliminate human dietary exposure. 


zoonosis zoonotic cervid tse prion cwd to humans, preparing for the storm 

***An alternative to modeling the species barrier is the cell-free conversion assay which points to CWD as the animal prion disease with the greatest zoonotic potential, after (and very much less than) BSE.116*** 


To date there is no direct evidence that CWD has been or can be transmitted from animals to humans. 

However, initial findings from a laboratory research project funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute (APRI) and Alberta Livestock Meat Agency (ALMA), and led by a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) scientist indicate that CWD has been transmitted to cynomolgus macaques (the non-human primate species most closely related to humans that may be used in research), through both the intracranial and oral routes of exposure. 

Both infected brain and muscle tissues were found to transmit disease. 

Health Canada’s Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB) was asked to consider the impact of these findings on the Branch’s current position on CWD in health products and foods. 

Summary and Recommendation: 

snip...

Health Portfolio partners were recently made aware of initial findings from a research project led by a CFIA scientist that have demonstrated that cynomolgus macaques can be infected via intracranial exposure and oral gavage with CWD infected muscle. 

These findings suggest that CWD, under specific experimental conditions, has the potential to cross the human species barrier, including by enteral feeding of CWD infected muscle. 


*** 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


CDC CWD 2018 TRANSMISSION


Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies

Spongiform Encephalopathy in Captive Wild ZOO BSE INQUIRY


BSE INQUIRY

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.


*** 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). ***

*** 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). ***

*** 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 ;


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 

CDC Now Recommends Strongly consider having the deer or elk tested for CWD before you eat the meat 


SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 2018 

CDC CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION UPDATE REPORT USA JANUARY 2018


Subject: CDC CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION UPDATE REPORT USA JANUARY 2018

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION IS THE USA AND NORTH AMERICA'S MAD COW DISEASE. 

THE USDA INC ET AL WORKED VERY HARD CONCEALING BSE TSE PRION IN CATTLE. they almost succeeded $$$

BUT CWD TSE PRION IN CERVIDS IS A DIFFERENT BEAST, THE COVER UP THERE, USDA INC COULD NOT CONTAIN.

SPORADIC CJD IS 85%+ OF ALL HUMAN TSE PRION DISEASE.

SPORADIC CJD HAS NOW BEEN LINKED TO TYPICAL AND ATYPICAL BSE, SCRAPIE, AND CWD.

SPORADIC/SPONTANEOUS TSE HAS NEVER BEEN PROVEN.

***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.***


CDC CWD TSE PRION UPDATE USA JANUARY 2018

As of January 2018, CWD in free-ranging deer, elk and/or moose has been reported in at least 22 states in the continental United States, as well as two provinces in Canada. In addition, CWD has been reported in reindeer and moose in Norway, and a small number of imported cases have been reported in South Korea. The disease has also been found in farmed deer and elk. CWD was first identified in captive deer in the late 1960s in Colorado and in wild deer in 1981. By the 1990s, it had been reported in surrounding areas in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. Since 2000, the area known to be affected by CWD in free-ranging animals has increased to at least 22 states, including states in the Midwest, Southwest, and limited areas on the East Coast.. It is possible that CWD may also occur in other states without strong animal surveillance systems, but that cases haven’t been detected yet. Once CWD is established in an area, the risk can remain for a long time in the environment. The affected areas are likely to continue to expand. Nationwide, the overall occurrence of CWD in free-ranging deer and elk is relatively low. However, in several locations where the disease is established, infection rates may exceed 10 percent (1 in 10), and localized infection rates of more than 25 percent (1 in 4) have been reported. The infection rates among some captive deer can be much higher, with a rate of 79% (nearly 4 in 5) reported from at least one captive herd. As of January 2018, there were 186 counties in 22 states with reported CWD in free-ranging cervids. 

Chronic Wasting Disease Among Free-Ranging Cervids by County, United States, January 2018 

snip.... 



*** 2017-2018 CWD TSE Prion UPDATE

Prion 2017 Conference Abstracts CWD

 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 



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


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 


*** 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. 


Transmission Studies

Mule deer transmissions of CWD were by intracerebral inoculation and compared with natural cases {the following was written but with a single line marked through it ''first passage (by this route)}...TSS

resulted in a more rapidly progressive clinical disease with repeated episodes of synocopy ending in coma. One control animal became affected, it is believed through contamination of inoculum (?saline). Further CWD transmissions were carried out by Dick Marsh into ferret, mink and squirrel monkey. Transmission occurred in ALL of these species with the shortest incubation period in the ferret.

snip...



Prion Infectivity in Fat of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease▿ 

Brent Race#, Kimberly Meade-White#, Richard Race and Bruce Chesebro* + Author Affiliations

In mice, prion infectivity was recently detected in fat. Since ruminant fat is consumed by humans and fed to animals, we determined infectivity titers in fat from two CWD-infected deer. Deer fat devoid of muscle contained low levels of CWD infectivity and might be a risk factor for prion infection of other species.


Prions in Skeletal Muscles of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease 

Here bioassays in transgenic mice expressing cervid prion protein revealed the presence of infectious prions in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected deer, demonstrating that humans consuming or handling meat from CWD-infected deer are at risk to prion exposure.


 *** 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


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 ;


> However, to date, no CWD infections have been reported in people. 

key word here is 'reported'. science has shown that CWD in humans will look like sporadic CJD. SO, how can one assume that CWD has not already transmitted to humans? they can't, and it's as simple as that. from all recorded science to date, CWD has already transmitted to humans, and it's being misdiagnosed as sporadic CJD. ...terry 

*** 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).*** 




SEE; Travel History, Hunting, and Venison Consumption Related to Prion Disease Exposure, 2006-2007 FoodNet Population Survey

Monday, May 23, 2011

CDC Assesses Potential Human Exposure to Prion Diseases Travel Warning

Public release date: 23-May-2011

Contact: Francesca Costanzo adajmedia@elsevier.com 215-239-3249 Elsevier Health Sciences

CDC assesses potential human exposure to prion diseases Study results reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association Philadelphia, PA, May 23, 2011 – Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have examined the potential for human exposure to prion diseases, looking at hunting, venison consumption, and travel to areas in which prion diseases have been reported in animals. Three prion diseases in particular – bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or “Mad Cow Disease”), variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), and chronic wasting disease (CWD) – were specified in the investigation. The results of this investigation are published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

“While prion diseases are rare, they are generally fatal for anyone who becomes infected. More than anything else, the results of this study support the need for continued surveillance of prion diseases,” commented lead investigator Joseph Y. Abrams, MPH, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta.”But it’s also important that people know the facts about these diseases, especially since this study shows that a good number of people have participated in activities that may expose them to infection-causing agents.”

Although rare, human prion diseases such as CJD may be related to BSE. Prion (proteinaceous infectious particles) diseases are a group of rare brain diseases that affect humans and animals. When a person gets a prion disease, brain function is impaired. This causes memory and personality changes, dementia, and problems with movement. All of these worsen over time. These diseases are invariably fatal. Since these diseases may take years to manifest, knowing the extent of human exposure to possible prion diseases could become important in the event of an outbreak.

CDC investigators evaluated the results of the 2006-2007 population survey conducted by the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). This survey collects information on food consumption practices, health outcomes, and demographic characteristics of residents of the participating Emerging Infections Program sites. The survey was conducted in Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Tennessee, as well as five counties in the San Francisco Bay area, seven counties in the Greater Denver area, and 34 counties in western and northeastern New York.

Survey participants were asked about behaviors that could be associated with exposure to the agents causing BSE and CWD, including travel to the nine countries considered to be BSE-endemic (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain) and the cumulative length of stay in each of those countries. Respondents were asked if they ever had hunted for deer or elk, and if that hunting had taken place in areas considered to be CWD-endemic (northeastern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming or southwestern Nebraska). They were also asked if they had ever consumed venison, the frequency of consumption, and whether the meat came from the wild.

The proportion of survey respondents who reported travel to at least one of the nine BSE endemic countries since 1980 was 29.5%. Travel to the United Kingdom was reported by 19.4% of respondents, higher than to any other BSE-endemic country. Among those who traveled, the median duration of travel to the United Kingdom (14 days) was longer than that of any other BSE-endemic country. Travelers to the UK were more likely to have spent at least 30 days in the country (24.9%) compared to travelers to any other BSE endemic country. The prevalence and extent of travel to the UK indicate that health concerns in the UK may also become issues for US residents.

The proportion of survey respondents reporting having hunted for deer or elk was 18.5% and 1.2% reported having hunted for deer or elk in CWD-endemic areas. Venison consumption was reported by 67.4% of FoodNet respondents, and 88.6% of those reporting venison consumption had obtained all of their meat from the wild. These findings reinforce the importance of CWD surveillance and control programs for wild deer and elk to reduce human exposure to the CWD agent. Hunters in CWD-endemic areas are advised to take simple precautions such as: avoiding consuming meat from sickly deer or elk, avoiding consuming brain or spinal cord tissues, minimizing the handling of brain and spinal cord tissues, and wearing gloves when field-dressing carcasses.

According to Abrams, “The 2006-2007 FoodNet population survey provides useful information should foodborne prion infection become an increasing public health concern in the future. The data presented describe the prevalence of important behaviors and their associations with demographic characteristics. Surveillance of BSE, CWD, and human prion diseases are critical aspects of addressing the burden of these diseases in animal populations and how that may relate to human health.”

###

The article is “Travel history, hunting, and venison consumption related to prion disease exposure, 2006-2007 FoodNet population survey” by Joseph Y. Abrams, MPH; Ryan A. Maddox, MPH; Alexis R Harvey, MPH; Lawrence B. Schonberger, MD; and Ermias D. Belay, MD. It appears in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 111, Issue 6 (June 2011) published by Elsevier.

In an accompanying podcast CDC’s Joseph Y. Abrams discusses travel, hunting, and eating venison in relation to prion diseases. It is available at http://adajournal.org/content/podcast.


Thursday, May 26, 2011

Travel History, Hunting, and Venison Consumption Related to Prion Disease Exposure, 2006-2007 FoodNet Population Survey

Journal of the American Dietetic Association Volume 111, Issue 6 , Pages 858-863, June 2011.

Travel History, Hunting, and Venison Consumption Related to Prion Disease Exposure, 2006-2007 FoodNet Population Survey

Joseph Y. Abrams, MPH, Ryan A. Maddox, MPH , Alexis R. Harvey, MPH , Lawrence B. Schonberger, MD , Ermias D. Belay, MD

Accepted 15 November 2010. Abstract Full Text PDF References .

Abstract

The transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to human beings and the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among cervids have prompted concerns about zoonotic transmission of prion diseases. Travel to the United Kingdom and other European countries, hunting for deer or elk, and venison consumption could result in the exposure of US residents to the agents that cause BSE and CWD. The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network 2006-2007 population survey was used to assess the prevalence of these behaviors among residents of 10 catchment areas across the United States. Of 17,372 survey respondents, 19.4% reported travel to the United Kingdom since 1980, and 29.5% reported travel to any of the nine European countries considered to be BSE-endemic since 1980. The proportion of respondents who had ever hunted deer or elk was 18.5%, and 1.2% had hunted deer or elk in a CWD–endemic area. More than two thirds (67.4%) reported having ever eaten deer or elk meat. Respondents who traveled spent more time in the United Kingdom (median 14 days) than in any other BSE-endemic country. Of the 11,635 respondents who had consumed venison, 59.8% ate venison at most one to two times during their year of highest consumption, and 88.6% had obtained all of their meat from the wild. The survey results were useful in determining the prevalence and frequency of behaviors that could be important factors for foodborne prion transmission.


PLUS, THE CDC DID NOT PUT THIS WARNING OUT FOR THE WELL BEING OF THE DEER AND ELK ; 

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Travel History, Hunting, and Venison Consumption Related to Prion Disease Exposure, 2006-2007 FoodNet Population Survey

Journal of the American Dietetic Association Volume 111, Issue 6 , Pages 858-863, June 2011.


NOR IS THE FDA recalling this CWD positive elk meat for the well being of the dead elk ;

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Noah's Ark Holding, LLC, Dawson, MN RECALL Elk products contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have CWD NV, CA, TX, CO, NY, UT, FL, OK RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: FOODS CLASS II


Thursday, May 26, 2011

Travel History, Hunting, and Venison Consumption Related to Prion Disease Exposure, 2006-2007 

FoodNet Population Survey Journal of the American Dietetic Association Volume 111, Issue 6 , Pages 858-863, June 2011. 

Travel History, Hunting, and Venison Consumption Related to Prion Disease Exposure, 2006-2007 FoodNet Population Survey

Joseph Y. Abrams, MPH, Ryan A. Maddox, MPH , Alexis R. Harvey, MPH , Lawrence B. Schonberger, MD , Ermias D. Belay, MD

Accepted 15 November 2010. Abstract Full Text PDF References .

Abstract

The transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to human beings and the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among cervids have prompted concerns about zoonotic transmission of prion diseases. Travel to the United Kingdom and other European countries, hunting for deer or elk, and venison consumption could result in the exposure of US residents to the agents that cause BSE and CWD. The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network 2006-2007 population survey was used to assess the prevalence of these behaviors among residents of 10 catchment areas across the United States. Of 17,372 survey respondents, 19.4% reported travel to the United Kingdom since 1980, and 29.5% reported travel to any of the nine European countries considered to be BSE-endemic since 1980. The proportion of respondents who had ever hunted deer or elk was 18.5%, and 1.2% had hunted deer or elk in a CWD–endemic area. More than two thirds (67.4%) reported having ever eaten deer or elk meat. Respondents who traveled spent more time in the United Kingdom (median 14 days) than in any other BSE-endemic country. Of the 11,635 respondents who had consumed venison, 59.8% ate venison at most one to two times during their year of highest consumption, and 88.6% had obtained all of their meat from the wild. The survey results were useful in determining the prevalence and frequency of behaviors that could be important factors for foodborne prion transmission.


"These findings indicate that a high percentage of the United States population engages in hunting and/or venison consumption. If CWD continues to spread to more areas across the country, a substantial number of people could potentially be exposed to the infectious agent."

Potential Venison Exposure Among FoodNet Population Survey Respondents, 2006-2007

Ryan A. Maddox1*, Joseph Y. Abrams1, Robert C. Holman1, Lawrence B. Schonberger1, Ermias D. Belay1 Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA *Corresponding author e-mail: rmaddox@cdc.gov

The foodborne transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans, resulting in variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, indicates that humans can be susceptible to animal prion diseases. However, it is not known whether foodborne exposure to the agent causing chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids can cause human disease. The United States Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) conducts surveillance for foodborne diseases through an extensive survey administered to respondents in selected states. To describe the frequency of deer and elk hunting and venison consumption, five questions were included in the 2006-2007 FoodNet survey. This survey included 17,372 respondents in ten states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee. Of these respondents, 3,220 (18.5%) reported ever hunting deer or elk, with 217 (1.3%) reporting hunting in a CWD-endemic area (northeastern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming, and southwestern Nebraska). Of the 217 CWD-endemic area hunters, 74 (34.1%) were residents of Colorado. Respondents reporting hunting were significantly more likely to be male than female (prevalence ratio: 3.3, 95% confidence interval: 3.1-3.6) and, in general, older respondents were significantly more likely to report hunting than younger respondents. Venison consumption was reported by more than half (67.4%) of the study population, and most venison consumers (94.1%) reported that at least half of their venison came from the wild. However, more than half (59.1%) of the consumers reported eating venison only one to five times in their life or only once or twice a year. These findings indicate that a high percentage of the United States population engages in hunting and/or venison consumption. If CWD continues to spread to more areas across the country, a substantial number of people could potentially be exposed to the infectious agent.


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. 

============== 


***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. 


PRION 2016 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 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. 


why do we not want to do TSE transmission studies on chimpanzees $

5. A positive result from a chimpanzee challenged severly would likely create alarm in some circles even if the result could not be interpreted for man. I have a view that all these agents could be transmitted provided a large enough dose by appropriate routes was given and the animals kept long enough. Until the mechanisms of the species barrier are more clearly understood it might be best to retain that hypothesis.

snip...

R. BRADLEY


Title: Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent incubation period) 

*** In complement to the recent demonstration that humanized mice are susceptible to scrapie, we report here the first observation of direct transmission of a natural classical scrapie isolate to a macaque after a 10-year incubation period. Neuropathologic examination revealed all of the features of a prion disease: spongiform change, neuronal loss, and accumulation of PrPres throughout the CNS. 

*** This observation strengthens the questioning of the harmlessness of scrapie to humans, at a time when protective measures for human and animal health are being dismantled and reduced as c-BSE is considered controlled and being eradicated. 

*** Our results underscore the importance of precautionary and protective measures and the necessity for long-term experimental transmission studies to assess the zoonotic potential of other animal prion strains. 


***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, OCTOBER 4, 2017 

*** EFSA Scientific Report on the Assessment of the Geographical BSE-Risk (GBR) of the United States of America (USA) a review 2017 ***


TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2017 

Concurrence With OIE Risk Designations for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy [Docket No. APHIS-2016-0092]


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 ***


P.97: Scrapie transmits to white-tailed deer by the oral route and has a molecular profile similar to chronic wasting disease and distinct from the scrapie inoculum

Justin Greenlee1, S JO Moore1, Jodi Smith1, M Heather WestGreenlee2 and Robert Kunkle1

1National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA USA

2Iowa State University; Ames, IA USA

The purpose of this work was to determine susceptibility of white-tailed deer (WTD) to the agent of sheep scrapie and to compare the resultant PrPSc to that of the original inoculum and chronic wasting disease (CWD). We inoculated WTD by a natural route of exposure (concurrent oral and intranasal (IN); n = 5) with a US scrapie isolate. All scrapie-inoculated deer had evidence of PrPSc accumulation. PrPSc was detected in lymphoid tissues at preclinical time points, and deer necropsied after 28 months post-inoculation had clinical signs, spongiform encephalopathy, and widespread distribution of PrPSc in neural and lymphoid tissues. Western blotting (WB) revealed PrPSc with 2 distinct molecular profiles. WB on cerebral cortex had a profile similar to the original scrapie inoculum, whereas WB of brainstem, cerebellum, or lymph nodes revealed PrPSc with a higher profile resembling CWD. Homogenates with the 2 distinct profiles from WTD with clinical scrapie were further passaged to mice expressing cervid prion protein and intranasally to sheep and WTD. In cervidized mice, the 2 inocula have distinct incubation times. Sheep inoculated intranasally with WTD derived scrapie developed disease, but only after inoculation with the inoculum that had a scrapie-like profile. The WTD study is ongoing, but deer in both inoculation groups are positive for PrPSc by rectal mucosal biopsy. 

***In summary, this work demonstrates that WTD are susceptible to the agent of scrapie, 2 distinct molecular profiles of PrPSc are present in the tissues of affected deer, and inoculum of either profile readily passes to deer.


*** After a natural route of exposure, 100% of WTD were susceptible to scrapie.

PO-039: A comparison of scrapie and chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer Justin Greenlee, Jodi Smith, Eric Nicholson US Dept. Agriculture; Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA USA

 
White-tailed deer are susceptible to the agent of sheep scrapie by intracerebral inoculation

snip...

It is unlikely that CWD will be eradicated from free-ranging cervids, and the disease is likely to continue to spread geographically [10]. However, the potential that white-tailed deer may be susceptible to sheep scrapie by a natural route presents an additional confounding factor to halting the spread of CWD. This leads to the additional speculations that

1) infected deer could serve as a reservoir to infect sheep with scrapie offering challenges to scrapie eradication efforts and

2) CWD spread need not remain geographically confined to current endemic areas, but could occur anywhere that sheep with scrapie and susceptible cervids cohabitate.

This work demonstrates for the first time that white-tailed deer are susceptible to sheep scrapie by intracerebral inoculation with a high attack rate and that the disease that results has similarities to CWD. These experiments will be repeated with a more natural route of inoculation to determine the likelihood of the potential transmission of sheep scrapie to white-tailed deer. If scrapie were to occur in white-tailed deer, results of this study indicate that it would be detected as a TSE, but may be difficult to differentiate from CWD without in-depth biochemical analysis.



2012

PO-039: A comparison of scrapie and chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer

Justin Greenlee, Jodi Smith, Eric Nicholson US Dept. Agriculture; Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA USA

snip...

The results of this study suggest that there are many similarities in the manifestation of CWD and scrapie in WTD after IC inoculation including early and widespread presence of PrPSc in lymphoid tissues, clinical signs of depression and weight loss progressing to wasting, and an incubation time of 21-23 months. Moreover, western blots (WB) done on brain material from the obex region have a molecular profile similar to CWD and distinct from tissues of the cerebrum or the scrapie inoculum. However, results of microscopic and IHC examination indicate that there are differences between the lesions expected in CWD and those that occur in deer with scrapie: amyloid plaques were not noted in any sections of brain examined from these deer and the pattern of immunoreactivity by IHC was diffuse rather than plaque-like.

*** After a natural route of exposure, 100% of WTD were susceptible to scrapie.

Deer developed clinical signs of wasting and mental depression and were necropsied from 28 to 33 months PI. Tissues from these deer were positive for PrPSc by IHC and WB. Similar to IC inoculated deer, samples from these deer exhibited two different molecular profiles: samples from obex resembled CWD whereas those from cerebrum were similar to the original scrapie inoculum. On further examination by WB using a panel of antibodies, the tissues from deer with scrapie exhibit properties differing from tissues either from sheep with scrapie or WTD with CWD. Samples from WTD with CWD or sheep with scrapie are strongly immunoreactive when probed with mAb P4, however, samples from WTD with scrapie are only weakly immunoreactive. In contrast, when probed with mAb’s 6H4 or SAF 84, samples from sheep with scrapie and WTD with CWD are weakly immunoreactive and samples from WTD with scrapie are strongly positive. This work demonstrates that WTD are highly susceptible to sheep scrapie, but on first passage, scrapie in WTD is differentiable from CWD.

 
2011

*** After a natural route of exposure, 100% of white-tailed deer were susceptible to scrapie.


***> CWD TO PIGS <***

Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES

Location: Virus and Prion Research

Title: Disease-associated prion protein detected in lymphoid tissues from pigs challenged with the agent of chronic wasting disease

Author item Moore, Sarah item Kunkle, Robert item Kondru, Naveen item Manne, Sireesha item Smith, Jodi item Kanthasamy, Anumantha item West Greenlee, M item Greenlee, Justin

Submitted to: Prion Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2017 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Aims: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a naturally-occurring, fatal neurodegenerative disease of cervids. We previously demonstrated that disease-associated prion protein (PrPSc) can be detected in the brain and retina from pigs challenged intracranially or orally with the CWD agent. In that study, neurological signs consistent with prion disease were observed only in one pig: an intracranially challenged pig that was euthanized at 64 months post-challenge. The purpose of this study was to use an antigen-capture immunoassay (EIA) and real-time quaking-induced conversion (QuIC) to determine whether PrPSc is present in lymphoid tissues from pigs challenged with the CWD agent.

Methods: At two months of age, crossbred pigs were challenged by the intracranial route (n=20), oral route (n=19), or were left unchallenged (n=9). At approximately 6 months of age, the time at which commercial pigs reach market weight, half of the pigs in each group were culled (<6 challenge="" groups="" month="" pigs="" remaining="" the="">6 month challenge groups) were allowed to incubate for up to 73 months post challenge (mpc). The retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) was screened for the presence of PrPSc by EIA and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The RPLN, palatine tonsil, and mesenteric lymph node (MLN) from 6-7 pigs per challenge group were also tested using EIA and QuIC.

Results: PrPSc was not detected by EIA and IHC in any RPLNs. All tonsils and MLNs were negative by IHC, though the MLN from one pig in the oral <6 5="" 6="" at="" by="" detected="" eia.="" examined="" group="" in="" intracranial="" least="" lymphoid="" month="" months="" of="" one="" pigs="" positive="" prpsc="" quic="" the="" tissues="" was="">6 months group, 5/6 pigs in the oral <6 4="" and="" group="" months="" oral="">6 months group. Overall, the MLN was positive in 14/19 (74%) of samples examined, the RPLN in 8/18 (44%), and the tonsil in 10/25 (40%). Conclusions:

This study demonstrates that PrPSc accumulates in lymphoid tissues from pigs challenged intracranially or orally with the CWD agent, and can be detected as early as 4 months after challenge.

CWD-infected pigs rarely develop clinical disease and if they do, they do so after a long incubation period. This raises the possibility that CWD-infected pigs could shed prions into their environment long before they develop clinical disease.

Furthermore, lymphoid tissues from CWD-infected pigs could present a potential source of CWD infectivity in the animal and human food chains.


CONFIDENTIAL

EXPERIMENTAL PORCINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY

While this clearly is a cause for concern we should not jump to the conclusion that this means that pigs will necessarily be infected by bone and meat meal fed by the oral route as is the case with cattle. ...


we cannot rule out the possibility that unrecognised subclinical spongiform encephalopathy could be present in British pigs though there is no evidence for this: only with parenteral/implantable pharmaceuticals/devices is the theoretical risk to humans of sufficient concern to consider any action.

 
Our records show that while some use is made of porcine materials in medicinal products, the only products which would appear to be in a hypothetically ''higher risk'' area are the adrenocorticotrophic hormone for which the source material comes from outside the United Kingdom, namely America China Sweden France and Germany. The products are manufactured by Ferring and Armour. A further product, ''Zenoderm Corium implant'' manufactured by Ethicon, makes use of porcine skin - which is not considered to be a ''high risk'' tissue, but one of its uses is described in the data sheet as ''in dural replacement''. This product is sourced from the United Kingdom.....


snip...see much more here ;

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 05, 2017

Disease-associated prion protein detected in lymphoid tissues from pigs challenged with the agent of chronic wasting disease


WEDNESDAY, APRIL 05, 2017

*** Disease-associated prion protein detected in lymphoid tissues from pigs challenged with the agent of chronic wasting disease ***


cattle are highly susceptible to white-tailed deer CWD and mule deer CWD

***In contrast, cattle are highly susceptible to white-tailed deer CWD and mule deer CWD in experimental conditions but no natural CWD infections in cattle have been reported (Sigurdson, 2008; Hamir et al., 2006). It is not known how susceptible humans are to CWD but given that the prion can be present in muscle, it is likely that humans have been exposed to the agent via consumption of venison (Sigurdson, 2008). Initial experimental research, however, suggests that human susceptibility to CWD is low and there may be a robust species barrier for CWD transmission to humans (Sigurdson, 2008). It is apparent, though, that CWD is affecting wild and farmed cervid populations in endemic areas with some deer populations decreasing as a result.

SNIP...


price of prion poker goes up for cwd to cattle;

Monday, April 04, 2016

*** Limited amplification of chronic wasting disease prions in the peripheral tissues of intracerebrally inoculated cattle ***


THURSDAY, MARCH 08, 2018 

Cervid, Wild Hogs, Coyotes, Wolves, Cats, Rodents, Gut Piles and Scavengers, A Potential Risk as Regards Disease Transmission CWD TSE Prion


the tse prion aka mad cow type disease is not your normal pathogen. 

The TSE prion disease survives ashing to 600 degrees celsius, that’s around 1112 degrees farenheit. 

you cannot cook the TSE prion disease out of meat. 

you can take the ash and mix it with saline and inject that ash into a mouse, and the mouse will go down with TSE. 

Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production as well. 

the TSE prion agent also survives Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes. 

IN fact, you should also know that the TSE Prion agent will survive in the environment for years, if not decades. 

you can bury it and it will not go away. 

The TSE agent is capable of infected your water table i.e. Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area. 

it’s not your ordinary pathogen you can just cook it out and be done with. 

that’s what’s so worrisome about Iatrogenic mode of transmission, a simple autoclave will not kill this TSE prion agent.

1: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1994 Jun;57(6):757-8 

Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to a chimpanzee by electrodes contaminated during neurosurgery. 

Gibbs CJ Jr, Asher DM, Kobrine A, Amyx HL, Sulima MP, Gajdusek DC. 

Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of 

Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 

Bethesda, MD 20892. 

Stereotactic multicontact electrodes used to probe the cerebral cortex of a middle aged woman with progressive dementia were previously implicated in the accidental transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) to two younger patients. The diagnoses of CJD have been confirmed for all three cases. More than two years after their last use in humans, after three cleanings and repeated sterilisation in ethanol and formaldehyde vapour, the electrodes were implanted in the cortex of a chimpanzee. Eighteen months later the animal became ill with CJD. This finding serves to re-emphasise the potential danger posed by reuse of instruments contaminated with the agents of spongiform encephalopathies, even after scrupulous attempts to clean them. 

PMID: 8006664 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 


TITLE: PATHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE IN REINDEER AND DEMONSTRATION OF HORIZONTAL TRANSMISSION 


 *** DECEMBER 2016 CDC EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL CWD HORIZONTAL TRANSMISSION 


*** Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years *** 

Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3 


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. 


New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication 


Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production 


Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area 


A Quantitative Assessment of the Amount of Prion Diverted to Category 1 Materials and Wastewater During Processing 


Rapid assessment of bovine spongiform encephalopathy prion inactivation by heat treatment in yellow grease produced in the industrial manufacturing process of meat and bone meals 


PPo4-4: 

Survival and Limited Spread of TSE Infectivity after Burial 



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 *** 


161: Prion soil binding may explain efficient horizontal CWD transmission 

Nathaniel Denkers1, Davin Henderson1, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt2, Jason Bartz3 and Edward Hoover1

1Colorado State University; Fort Collins, Colorado USA

2University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Omaha, Nebraska USA

3Creighton University; Omaha, Nebraska USA

Background Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is unique due to the facile spread in nature. The interaction of excreted CWD prions and soil is a hypothesized contributor in environmental transmission. The present study examines whether and to what degree CWD prions bind to silty clay loam (SCL) using an adapted version of real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) methodology.

Materials and Methods Varying amounts (50–3.12 mg) of SCL were incubated with 1 mL-serial dilutions of CWD (+), CWD (−), or no brain homogenate (BH). Samples were centrifuged, washed, diluted 1:10 in 0.1% SDS, and 2.5 uL seeded in RT-QuIC assays employing recombinant Syrian hamster prion PrP substrate. Multiple well replicates of sample and supernatant fractions were assayed for positive seeding activity (recorded as thioflavin T fluorescence emission; 480 nm). Samples were considered positive if they crossed a threshold of 25,000. Reaction rates (RR) were calculated, averaged, and expressed as 1/RR.

Results Positive seeding activity was detected for most SCL samples incubated with CWD (+) BH dilutions. Higher SCL concentrations (50 mg) produced low fluorescent readings due to optical interference. Lower SCL concentrations (6.25 mg) produced minimal optical interference and removed the vast majority of seeding activity from CWD+ BH in a concentration-dependent manner; determined by seeding activity in residual BH supernatants. Control SCL and supernatants produced minimal false-positive reactions (8 of 240 replicates; 3.3%). We estimated the prion binding capacity of SCL to be 0.16 ng/mg.

Conclusion Silty clay loam exhibits highly efficient prion binding, inferring a durable environmental reservoir, and an efficient mechanism for indirect horizontal CWD transmission.


TSE Scrapie, CWD, BSE, Prion, Soil

Clay content and pH: soil characteristic associations with the persistent presence of chronic wasting disease in northern Illinois

Sheena J. Dorak, Michelle L. Green, Michelle M. Wander, Marilyn O. Ruiz, Michael G. Buhnerkempe, Ting Tian, Jan E. Novakofski & Nohra E. Mateus-Pinilla

Scientific Reportsvolume 7, Article number: 18062(2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-18321-x

Download Citation

Ecological epidemiology Ecological modelling Infectious diseases Prions

Received: 21 August 2017

Accepted: 08 December 2017

Published online: 22 December 2017

Abstract

Environmental reservoirs are important to infectious disease transmission and persistence, but empirical analyses are relatively few. The natural environment is a reservoir for prions that cause chronic wasting disease (CWD) and influences the risk of transmission to susceptible cervids. Soil is one environmental component demonstrated to affect prion infectivity and persistence. Here we provide the first landscape predictive model for CWD based solely on soil characteristics. We built a boosted regression tree model to predict the probability of the persistent presence of CWD in a region of northern Illinois using CWD surveillance in deer and soils data. We evaluated the outcome for possible pathways by which soil characteristics may increase the probability of CWD transmission via environmental contamination. Soil clay content and pH were the most important predictive soil characteristics of the persistent presence of CWD. The results suggest that exposure to prions in the environment is greater where percent clay is less than 18% and soil pH is greater than 6.6. These characteristics could alter availability of prions immobilized in soil and contribute to the environmental risk factors involved in the epidemiological complexity of CWD infection in natural populations of white-tailed deer.


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





cwd tse prion and soil, see more ;



Terry S. Singeltary Sr.trucking and spreading cwd around...tss

Between 1996 and 2002, chronic wasting disease was diagnosed in 39 herds of farmed elk in Saskatchewan in a single epidemic. All of these herds were depopulated as part of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) disease eradication program. Animals, primarily over 12 mo of age, were tested for the presence CWD prions following euthanasia. Twenty-one of the herds were linked through movements of live animals with latent CWD from a single infected source herd in Saskatchewan, 17 through movements of animals from 7 of the secondarily infected herds.

***The source herd is believed to have become infected via importation of animals from a game farm in South Dakota where CWD was subsequently diagnosed (7,4). A wide range in herd prevalence of CWD at the time of herd depopulation of these herds was observed. Within-herd transmission was observed on some farms, while the disease remained confined to the introduced animals on other farms.


spreading cwd around...tss

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) outbreaks and surveillance program in the Republic of Korea Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) outbreaks and surveillance program in the Republic of Korea

Hyun-Joo Sohn, Yoon-Hee Lee, Min-jeong Kim, Eun-Im Yun, Hyo-Jin Kim, Won-Yong Lee, Dong-Seob Tark, In- Soo Cho, Foreign Animal Disease Research Division, National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, Republic of Korea

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been recognized as an important prion disease in native North America deer and Rocky mountain elks. The disease is a unique member of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which naturally affects only a few species. CWD had been limited to USA and Canada until 2000.

On 28 December 2000, information from the Canadian government showed that a total of 95 elk had been exported from farms with CWD to Korea.

These consisted of 23 elk in 1994 originating from the so-called "source farm" in Canada, and 72 elk in 1997, which had been held in pre export quarantine at the "source farm".

Based on export information of CWD suspected elk from Canada to Korea, CWD surveillance program was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in 2001.

All elks imported in 1997 were traced back, however elks imported in 1994 were impossible to identify.

CWD control measures included stamping out of all animals in the affected farm, and thorough cleaning and disinfection of the premises.

In addition, nationwide clinical surveillance of Korean native cervids, and improved measures to ensure reporting of CWD suspect cases were implemented.

*Total of 9 elks were found to be affected. CWD was designated as a notifiable disease under the Act for Prevention of Livestock Epidemics in 2002.

*Additional CWD cases - 12 elks and 2 elks - were diagnosed in 2004 and 2005.

*Since February of 2005, when slaughtered elks were found to be positive, all slaughtered cervid for human consumption at abattoirs were designated as target of the CWD surveillance program.

Currently, CWD laboratory testing is only conducted by National Reference Laboratory on CWD, which is the Foreign Animal Disease Division (FADD) of National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS).

*In July 2010, one out of 3 elks from Farm 1 which were slaughtered for the human consumption was confirmed as positive.

*Consequently, all cervid - 54 elks, 41 Sika deer and 5 Albino deer - were culled and one elk was found to be positive.

Epidemiological investigations were conducted by Veterinary Epidemiology Division (VED) of NVRQS in collaboration with provincial veterinary services.

*Epidemiologically related farms were found as 3 farms and all cervid at these farms were culled and subjected to CWD diagnosis.

*Three elks and 5 crossbreeds (Red deer and Sika deer) were confirmed as positive at farm 2.

All cervids at Farm 3 and Farm 4 - 15 elks and 47 elks - were culled and confirmed as negative.

Further epidemiological investigations showed that these CWD outbreaks were linked to the importation of elks from Canada in 1994 based on circumstantial evidences.

*In December 2010, one elk was confirmed as positive at Farm 5.

*Consequently, all cervid - 3 elks, 11 Manchurian Sika deer and 20 Sika deer - were culled and one Manchurian Sika deer and seven Sika deer were found to be positive.

This is the first report of CWD in these sub-species of deer.

*Epidemiological investigations found that the owner of the Farm 2 in CWD outbreaks in July 2010 had co-owned the Farm 5.

*In addition, it was newly revealed that one positive elk was introduced from Farm 6 of Jinju-si Gyeongsang Namdo.

All cervid - 19 elks, 15 crossbreed (species unknown) and 64 Sika deer - of Farm 6 were culled, but all confirmed as negative.

: Corresponding author: Dr. Hyun-Joo Sohn (+82-31-467-1867, E-mail: shonhj@korea.kr) 2011 Pre-congress Workshop: TSEs in animals and their environment 5





Friday, May 13, 2011

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) outbreaks and surveillance program in the Republic of Korea


MONDAY, MARCH 05, 2018 

TRUCKING AROUND AND SPREADING CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION VIA MOVEMENT OF CERVID AND TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES


to date, there is no cervid that has been documented to be totally resistant to cwd tse prion. 

***at present, no cervid PrP allele conferring absolute resistance to prion infection has been identified. 

P-145 Estimating chronic wasting disease resistance in cervids using real time quaking- induced conversion 

Nicholas J Haley1, Rachel Rielinqer2, Kristen A Davenport3, W. David Walter4, Katherine I O'Rourke5, Gordon Mitchell6, Juergen A Richt2 1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Midwestern University, United States; 2Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University; 3Prion Research Center; Colorado State University; 4U.S. Geological Survey, Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; 5Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture; 6Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National and OlE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD 

In mammalian species, the susceptibility to prion diseases is affected, in part, by the sequence of the host's prion protein (PrP). In sheep, a gradation from scrapie susceptible to resistant has been established both in vivo and in vitro based on the amino acids present at PrP positions 136, 154, and 171, which has led to global breeding programs to reduce the prevalence of scrapie in domestic sheep. In cervids, resistance is commonly characterized as a delayed progression of chronic wasting disease (CWD); at present, no cervid PrP allele conferring absolute resistance to prion infection has been identified. To model the susceptibility of various naturally-occurring and hypothetical cervid PrP alleles in vitro, we compared the amplification rates and efficiency of various CWD isolates in recombinant PrPC using real time quaking-induced conversion. We hypothesized that amplification metrics of these isolates in cervid PrP substrates would correlate to in vivo susceptibility - allowing susceptibility prediction for alleles found at 10 frequency in nature, and that there would be an additive effect of multiple resistant codons in hypothetical alleles. Our studies demonstrate that in vitro amplification metrics predict in vivo susceptibility, and that alleles with multiple codons, each influencing resistance independently, do not necessarily contribute additively to resistance. Importantly, we found that the white-tailed deer 226K substrate exhibited the slowest amplification rate among those evaluated, suggesting that further investigation of this allele and its resistance in vivo are warranted to determine if absolute resistance to CWD is possible. 

***at present, no cervid PrP allele conferring absolute resistance to prion infection has been identified. 

PRION 2016 CONFERENCE TOKYO 

http://prion2016.org/dl/newsletter_03.pdf 

''There are no known familial or genetic TSEs of animals, although polymorphisms in the PRNP gene of some species (sheep for example) may influence the length of the incubation period and occurrence of disease.'' 

c) The commonest form of CJD occurs as a sporadic disease, the cause of which is unknown, although genetic factors (particularly the codon 129 polymorphism in the prion protein gene (PRNP)) influence disease susceptibility. The familial forms of human TSEs (see Box 1) appear to have a solely genetic origin and are closely associated with mutations or insertions in the PRNP gene. Most, but not all, of the familial forms of human TSEs have been transmitted experimentally to animals. There are no known familial or genetic TSEs of animals, although polymorphisms in the PRNP gene of some species (sheep for example) may influence the length of the incubation period and occurrence of disease. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...nt_data/file/209755/Part_1_-_Introduction.pdf

''There are no known familial or genetic TSEs of animals, although polymorphisms in the PRNP gene of some species (sheep for example) may influence the length of the incubation period and occurrence of disease.'' 

c) The commonest form of CJD occurs as a sporadic disease, the cause of which is unknown, although genetic factors (particularly the codon 129 polymorphism in the prion protein gene (PRNP)) influence disease susceptibility. The familial forms of human TSEs (see Box 1) appear to have a solely genetic origin and are closely associated with mutations or insertions in the PRNP gene. Most, but not all, of the familial forms of human TSEs have been transmitted experimentally to animals. There are no known familial or genetic TSEs of animals, although polymorphisms in the PRNP gene of some species (sheep for example) may influence the length of the incubation period and occurrence of disease. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...nt_data/file/209755/Part_1_-_Introduction.pdf

Subject: cwd genetic susceptibility 

Genetic susceptibility to chronic wasting disease in free-ranging white-tailed deer: Complement component C1q and Prnp polymorphisms§ 

Julie A. Blanchong a, *, Dennis M. Heisey b , Kim T. Scribner c , Scot V. Libants d , Chad Johnson e , Judd M. Aiken e , Julia A. Langenberg f , Michael D. Samuel g

snip...

Identifying the genetic basis for heterogeneity in disease susceptibility or progression can improve our understanding of individual variation in disease susceptibility in both free-ranging and captive populations. What this individual variation in disease susceptibility means for the trajectory of disease in a population, however, is not straightforward. For example, the greater, but not complete, resistance to CWD in deer with at least one Serine (S) at amino acid 96 of the Prnp gene appears to be associated with slower progression of disease (e.g., Johnson et al., 2006; Keane et al., 2008a). If slower disease progression results in longer-lived, infected deer with longer periods of infectiousness, resistance may lead to increased disease transmission rates, higher prion concentrations in the environment, and increased prevalence, as has been observed in some captive deer herds (Miller et al., 2006; Keane et al., 2008a). Alternatively, if the slower progression of disease in resistant deer is not associated with longer periods of infectiousness, but might instead indicate a higher dose of PrPCWD is required for infection, transmission rates in the population could decline especially if, as in Wisconsin, deer suffer high rates of mortality from other sources (e.g., hunting). Clearly, determining the relationship between genetic susceptibility to infection, dose requirements, disease progression, and the period of PrPCWD infectiousness are key components for understanding the consequences of CWD to free-ranging populations.

http:// http://forest.wisc.edu/files/pdfs/samuel/2009%20blanchong%20et%20al%20genetic%20susceptibility%20chronic%20wasting.pdf

http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1083&context=nrem_pubs

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4667/epdf

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2015.1115179

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4964855/pdf/kprn-09-06-1115179.pdf

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1567134809001956?via=ihub 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4964855/

December 2014, Volume 36, Issue 6, pp 1049–1061 | Cite as

Mineral licks: motivational factors for visitation and accompanying disease risk at communal use sites of elk and deer 

Authors Authors and affiliations Michael J. LavelleEmail authorGregory E. PhillipsJustin W. FischerPatrick W. BurkeNathan W. SewardRandal S. StahlTracy A. NicholsBruce A. WunderKurt C. VerCauteren 1. 2. 3. 4. 
Article First Online: 08 April 2014 258 Downloads 1 Citations 

Abstract 

Free-ranging cervids acquire most of their essential minerals through forage consumption, though occasionally seek other sources to account for seasonal mineral deficiencies. Mineral sources occur as natural geological deposits (i.e., licks) or as anthropogenic mineral supplements. In both scenarios, these sources commonly serve as focal sites for visitation. We monitored 11 licks in Rocky Mountain National Park, north-central Colorado, using trail cameras to quantify daily visitation indices (DVI) and soil consumption indices (SCI) for Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) during summer 2006 and documented elk, mule deer, and moose (Alces alces) visiting licks. Additionally, soil samples were collected, and mineral concentrations were compared to discern levels that explain rates of visitation. Relationships between response variables; DVI and SCI, and explanatory variables; elevation class, moisture class, period of study, and concentrations of minerals were examined. We found that DVI and SCI were greatest at two wet, low-elevation licks exhibiting relatively high concentrations of manganese and sodium. Because cervids are known to seek Na from soils, we suggest our observed association of Mn with DVI and SCI was a likely consequence of deer and elk seeking supplemental dietary Na. Additionally, highly utilized licks such as these provide an area of concentrated cervid occupation and interaction, thus increasing risk for environmental transmission of infectious pathogens such as chronic wasting disease, which has been shown to be shed in the saliva, urine, and feces of infected cervids.
Keywords Cervus elaphus Chronic wasting disease Elk Geophagy Mineral lick Mule deer Odocoileus hemionus 

https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10653-014-9600-0

Elk and Deer Use of Mineral Licks: Implications for Disease Transmission 

Kurt C. VerCauteren1*, Michael J. Lavelle1, Gregory E. Phillips1, Justin W. Fischer1, and Randal S. Stahl1 1United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154, USA *Cooresponding author e-mail: kurt.c.vercauteren@aphis.usda.gov 

North American cervids require and actively seek out minerals to satisfy physiological requirements. Minerals required by free-ranging cervids exist within natural and artificial mineral licks that commonly serve as focal sites for cervids. Ingestion of soils contaminated with the agent that causes chronic wasting disease (CWD) may result in risk of contracting CWD. Our objective was to evaluate the extent and nature of use of mineral licks by CWD-susceptible cervid species. We used animal-activated cameras to monitor use of 18 mineral licks between 1 June and 16 October 2006 in Rocky Mountain National Park, north-central Colorado. We also assessed mineral concentrations at mineral licks to evaluate correlations between visitation rates and site-specific characteristics. We collected > 400,000 images of which 991 included elk, 293 included deer, and 6 included moose. We documented elk and deer participating in a variety of potentially risky behaviors (e.g., ingesting soil, ingesting water, defecating, urinating) while at mineral licks. Results from the mineral analyses combined with camera data revealed that visitation was highest at sodium-rich mineral licks. Mineral licks may play a role in disease transmission by acting as sites of increased interaction as well as reservoirs for deposition, accumulation, and ingestion of disease agents. 

http://www.cwd-info.org/pdf/3rd_CWD_Symposium_utah.pdf 

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/08/third-international-cwd-symposium-july.html

what does sound science and the prion Gods say...
Sunday, January 06, 2013

USDA TO PGC ONCE CAPTIVES ESCAPE

*** "it‘s no longer its business.”

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2013/01/usda-to-pgc-once-captives-escape-its-no.html

”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.

https://web.archive.org/web/20060307063531/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf

SHOOTING PENS (HIGH/LOW FENCE), CAPTIVE CERVID FARMING, BREEDING, SPERM MILLS, ANTLER MILLS, URINE MILLS, a petri dish for cwd tse prion disease...

*** Spraker suggested an interesting explanation for the occurrence of CWD. The deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus were built some 30-40 years ago by a Dr. Bob Davis. At or abut that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had previously been occupied by sheep. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20170126060744/http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080102193705/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf

COLORADO THE ORIGIN OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION?

*** Spraker suggested an interesting explanation for the occurrence of CWD. The deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus were built some 30-40 years ago by a Dr. Bob Davis. At or abut that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had previously been occupied by sheep. 

IN CONFIDENCE, REPORT OF AN UNCONVENTIONAL SLOW VIRUS DISEASE IN ANIMALS IN THE USA 1989

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080102193705/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018 

Chronic wasting disease: Bambi vs. the prion 

Research Project: Immunodiagnostics to Detect Prions and Other Important Animal Pathogens 

Location: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research

Discussion: The C, L and H type BSE cases in Canada exhibit molecular characteristics similar to those described for classical and atypical BSE cases from Europe and Japan.
 
*** This supports the theory that the importation of BSE contaminated feedstuff is the source of C-type BSE in Canada.
 
*** It also suggests a similar cause or source for atypical BSE in these countries. ***
 
see page 176 of 201 pages...tss
 
 
*** Singeltary reply ; Molecular, Biochemical and Genetic Characteristics of BSE in Canada Singeltary reply;
 
 
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
 
Additional BSE TSE prion testing detects pathologic lesion in unusual brain location and PrPsc by PMCA only, how many cases have we missed?
 
 
***however in 1 C-type challenged animal, Prion 2015 Poster Abstracts S67 PrPsc was not detected using rapid tests for BSE.
 
***Subsequent testing resulted in the detection of pathologic lesion in unusual brain location and PrPsc detection by PMCA only.
 
*** IBNC Tauopathy or TSE Prion disease, it appears, no one is sure ***
 
Posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. on 03 Jul 2015 at 16:53 GMT
 

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2017 

Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease CJD National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined to December 14, 2017

http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2017/12/creutzfeldt-jakob-disease-cjd-national.html

Tuesday, December 12, 2017 

Neuropathology of iatrogenic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and immunoassay of French cadaver-sourced growth hormone batches suggest possible transmission of tauopathy and long incubation periods for the transmission of Abeta pathology

http://tauopathies.blogspot.com/2017/12/neuropathology-of-iatrogenic.html

MONDAY, OCTOBER 02, 2017 

Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease United States of America USA and United Kingdom UK Increasing and Zoonotic Pontential From Different Species

http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2017/10/creutzfeldt-jakob-disease-united-states.html

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017 

*** Monitoring the occurrence of emerging forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United States revisited 2017

Singeltary et al

http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2017/08/monitoring-occurrence-of-emerging-forms.html

Tuesday, March 20, 2018 

Variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr), sporadic creutzfeldt jakob disease sCJD, the same disease, what if?


Diagnosis and Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease 

Singeltary, Sr et al. JAMA.2001; 285: 733-734. Vol. 285 No. 6, February 14, 2001 JAMA Diagnosis and Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease 

To the Editor: 

In their Research Letter, Dr Gibbons and colleagues1 reported that the annual US death rate due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has been stable since 1985. These estimates, however, are based only on reported cases, and do not include misdiagnosed or preclinical cases. It seems to me that misdiagnosis alone would drastically change these figures. An unknown number of persons with a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease in fact may have CJD, although only a small number of these patients receive the postmortem examination necessary to make this diagnosis. Furthermore, only a few states have made CJD reportable. Human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies should be reportable nationwide and internationally. 

Terry S. Singeltary, Sr Bacliff, Tex 

1. Gibbons RV, Holman RC, Belay ED, Schonberger LB. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United States: 1979-1998. JAMA. 2000;284:2322-2323. 


Tracking spongiform encephalopathies in North America

Xavier Bosch

Published: August 2003


Summary;

“My name is Terry S Singeltary Sr, and I live in Bacliff, Texas. I lost my mom to hvCJD (Heidenhain variant CJD) and have been searching for answers ever since. What I have found is that we have not been told the truth. CWD in deer and elk is a small portion of a much bigger problem.”

49-year-old Singeltary is one of a number of people who have remained largely unsatisfied after being told that a close relative died from a rapidly progressive dementia compatible with spontaneous Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). So he decided to gather hundreds of documents on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) and realised that if Britons could get variant CJD from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), Americans might get a similar disorder from chronic wasting disease (CWD) the relative of mad cow disease seen among deer and elk in the USA. Although his feverish search did not lead him to the smoking gun linking CWD to a similar disease in North American people, it did uncover a largely disappointing situation.

Singeltary was greatly demoralised at the few attempts to monitor the occurrence of CJD and CWD in the USA. Only a few states have made CJD reportable. Human and animal TSEs should be reportable nationwide and internationally, he complained in a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 2003; 285: 733). "I hope that the CDC does not continue to expect us to still believe that the 85% plus of all CJD cases which are sporadic are all spontaneous, without route or source."

Until recently, CWD was thought to be confined to the wild in a small region in Colorado. But since early 2002, it has been reported in other areas, including Wisconsin, South Dakota, and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Indeed, the occurrence of CWD in states that were not endemic previously increased concern about a widespread outbreak and possible transmission to people and cattle.

To date, experimental studies have proven that the CWD agent can be transmitted to cattle by intracerebral inoculation and that it can cross the mucous membranes of the digestive tract to initiate infection in lymphoid tissue before invasion of the central nervous system. Yet the plausibility of CWD spreading to people has remained elusive.

Part of the problem seems to stem from the US surveillance system. CJD is only reported in those areas known to be endemic foci of CWD. Moreover, US authorities have been criticised for not having performed enough prionic tests in farm deer and elk.

Although in November last year the US Food and Drug Administration issued a directive to state public-health and agriculture officials prohibiting material from CWD-positive animals from being used as an ingredient in feed for any animal species, epidemiological control and research in the USA has been quite different from the situation in the UK and Europe regarding BSE.

"Getting data on TSEs in the USA from the government is like pulling teeth", Singeltary argues. "You get it when they want you to have it, and only what they want you to have."

Norman Foster, director of the Cognitive Disorders Clinic at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, USA), says that "current surveillance of prion disease in people in the USA is inadequate to detect whether CWD is occurring in human beings"; adding that, "the cases that we know about are reassuring, because they do not suggest the appearance of a new variant of CJD in the USA or atypical features in patients that might be exposed to CWD. However, until we establish a system that identifies and analyses a high proportion of suspected prion disease cases we will not know for sure". The USA should develop a system modelled on that established in the UK, he points out.

Ali Samii, a neurologist at Seattle VA Medical Center who recently reported the cases of three hunters "two of whom were friends" who died from pathologically confirmed CJD, says that "at present there are insufficient data to claim transmission of CWD into humans"; adding that "[only] by asking [the questions of venison consumption and deer/elk hunting] in every case can we collect suspect cases and look into the plausibility of transmission further". Samii argues that by making both doctors and hunters more aware of the possibility of prions spreading through eating venison, doctors treating hunters with dementia can consider a possible prion disease, and doctors treating CJD patients will know to ask whether they ate venison.

CDC spokesman Ermias Belay says that the CDC "will not be investigating the [Samii] cases because there is no evidence that the men ate CWD-infected meat". He notes that although "the likelihood of CWD jumping the species barrier to infect humans cannot be ruled out 100%" and that "[we] cannot be 100% sure that CWD does not exist in humans& the data seeking evidence of CWD transmission to humans have been very limited". 



26 March 2003 

Terry S. Singeltary, retired (medically) CJD WATCH 

I lost my mother to hvCJD (Heidenhain Variant CJD). I would like to comment on the CDC's attempts to monitor the occurrence of emerging forms of CJD. Asante, Collinge et al [1] have reported that BSE transmission to the 129-methionine genotype can lead to an alternate phenotype that is indistinguishable from type 2 PrPSc, the commonest sporadic CJD. However, CJD and all human TSEs are not reportable nationally. CJD and all human TSEs must be made reportable in every state and internationally. I hope that the CDC does not continue to expect us to still believe that the 85%+ of all CJD cases which are sporadic are all spontaneous, without route/source. We have many TSEs in the USA in both animal and man. CWD in deer/elk is spreading rapidly and CWD does transmit to mink, ferret, cattle, and squirrel monkey by intracerebral inoculation. With the known incubation periods in other TSEs, oral transmission studies of CWD may take much longer. Every victim/family of CJD/TSEs should be asked about route and source of this agent. To prolong this will only spread the agent and needlessly expose others. In light of the findings of Asante and Collinge et al, there should be drastic measures to safeguard the medical and surgical arena from sporadic CJDs and all human TSEs. I only ponder how many sporadic CJDs in the USA are type 2 PrPSc? 


***> 2001 FDA CJD TSE Prion Singeltary Submission 


***> U.S.A. 50 STATE BSE MAD COW CONFERENCE CALL Jan. 9, 2001 


2 January 2000 British Medical Journal U.S. 

Scientist should be concerned with a CJD epidemic in the U.S., as well 


15 November 1999 British Medical Journal hvCJD in the USA * BSE in U.S. 


Re-Evidence for human transmission of amyloid-β pathology and cerebral amyloid angiopathy 

>>> The only tenable public line will be that "more research is required’’ <<< 

>>> possibility on a transmissible prion remains open<<< 

O.K., so it’s about 23 years later, so somebody please tell me, when is "more research is required’’ enough time for evaluation ? 

Re-Evidence for human transmission of amyloid-β pathology and cerebral amyloid angiopathy 

Nature 525, 247?250 (10 September 2015) doi:10.1038/nature15369 Received 26 April 2015 Accepted 14 August 2015 Published online 09 September 2015 Updated online 11 September 2015 Erratum (October, 2015) 

snip...see full Singeltary Nature comment here; 

Alzheimer's disease

let's not forget the elephant in the room. curing Alzheimer's would be a great and wonderful thing, but for starters, why not start with the obvious, lets prove the cause or causes, and then start to stop that. think iatrogenic, friendly fire, or the pass it forward mode of transmission. think medical, surgical, dental, tissue, blood, related transmission. think transmissible spongiform encephalopathy aka tse prion disease aka mad cow type disease... 

Commentary: Evidence for human transmission of amyloid-β pathology and cerebral amyloid angiopathy





Self-Propagative Replication of Ab Oligomers Suggests Potential Transmissibility in Alzheimer Disease 

*** Singeltary comment PLoS *** 

Alzheimer’s disease and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy prion disease, Iatrogenic, what if ? 

Posted by flounder on 05 Nov 2014 at 21:27 GMT 



Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at 1:48 PM

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