Scientists to study walking-dead deer in Wyo’s most CWD-infected herd
NATURAL RESOURCES
Scientists to study walking-dead deer in Wyo’s most CWD-infected herd
The vast majority of mule deer in a herd north of Riverton are testing positive for the deadly disease. Causes remain mysterious, though signs suggest environmental transmission.
Mike Koshmrl by Mike Koshmrl January 4, 2022
It’s become a foregone conclusion for Riverton outfitter Ken Metzler that when one of his mule deer hunters shoots a buck, the animal is afflicted with chronic wasting disease, he said.
“We had 98% last year and this year,” Metzler said of the positivity rate. “And we had every one of them tested but a couple.”
Generally, the lethal disease’s sky-high prevalence isn’t a deterrent for the out-of-state hunters eager to target a muley on the Fremont County ranchland where Wyoming Trophy Hunts leads its clients, he said. Applications to hunt with Metzler’s guides are still pouring in, especially since the pandemic began, even though the likelihood of taking home a trophy-class deer has declined. As the population has fallen, hunting licenses have also been cut.
“I’ve dropped from 100 hunters to probably, oh, 20,” said Metzler. Of the clients who do get out to hunt, Metzler said, “we’re not killing big bucks.” Meat from younger, fatter bucks typically goes in the freezer, even though public health experts caution against consuming CWD-positive animals. But when the hunters walk up to a downed animal and find a sickly looking, “flat ass skinny” deer, Metzler calls up the warden and gets the OK to pitch the remains, he said.
Given the condition deer are in, Metzler would support a larger reduction in licenses if it would help the herd bounce back.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and U.S. Geological Survey researchers share concern and curiosity over what to make of the mule deer herd that Metzler’s business depends on. The Project Herd — as Game and Fish knows it — is easily Wyoming’s big game herd most ravaged by the degenerative prion disease. In fact, the data show the herd is also among the most CWD-infected wild cervid populations known to exist in North America.
“We have a proposal for a study for this herd because of the extraordinarily high rates of CWD,” Game and Fish Dubois Wildlife Biologist Zach Gregory said.
Plans are still in the rough, initial phases, Gregory told WyoFile, but researchers intend to find funding for 40 GPS collars that will be fitted to a random sample of deer in the Project Herd as soon as next winter. Some — likely a good portion — will be CWD-positive animals and therefore destined for death, but they’ll be tested while alive using rectal biopsies and then let loose.
The hope is to glean some clarity about the factors contributing to the alarming disease prevalence.
“Are these positive deer in different places than these negative deer?” Gregory asked. “That’s going to potentially help us identify the hotspots.”
Just how much CWD?
Only time will tell whether those collared, sickened deer point Gregory and his USGS counterparts toward locations like the ranches where Wyoming Trophy Hunts guides — where, according to Metzler, virtually all buck mule deer are CWD-positive.
What’s already understood is that the Project Herd is an anomaly in the region and is itself a hotspot. The herd roams Wyoming’s deer hunt units 171 and 157, in west-central Wyoming, which are both within the borders of the Wind River Indian Reservation, although non-native hunting is confined to non-tribal lands within.
The herd is considered a priority for CWD surveillance, and between 2016 and 2020 Game and Fish staff gathered tissue samples from 139 of its bucks. Of those, 85 came up positive, for a prevalence rate of 61%.
Preliminary test results for 2021’s tissue samples showed a higher rate of CWD: 78%, according to Game and Fish Regional Wildlife Coordinator Daryl Lutz.
“It’s the highest that’s been recorded, maybe anywhere in the world in wildlife,” Lutz told attendees at a public meeting last month.
The Wildlife Health Laboratory supervisor for the state of Wyoming, Hank Edwards, wouldn’t go that far, instead emphasizing the multi-year positivity rate. There are agricultural parts in southwest Saskatchewan, he noted, where prevalence has been documented in the 60-70% range. Annual reports from the provincial government confirm it, and say that in over a dozen Saskatchewan wildlife management zones, more than 50% of mule deer bucks are testing positive for the degenerative disease.
Edwards did label CWD’s prevalence in the Project Herd “alarmingly high,” and he pointed out it’s Wyoming’s most CWD-infected deer herd by a nearly 20% margin. Statewide, 12.5% of the nearly 6,500 CWD samples processed during 2020 tested positive, statistics that span species, sex and cause of death, according to Game and Fish’s most recent CWD surveillance report.
“Every herd responds differently,” Edwards said, “for a number of reasons.”
In the Sublette Herd, which roams the Green and Snake river basins, CWD is just now arriving, and 0.8% of 375 samples tested to date have hit for the prion disease. There’s also significant variation in herds that for decades have suffered from CWD’s inexorable effects, like listlessness, physical wasting and inevitable death. In southeastern Wyoming’s Laramie Mountains, one of the first places where CWD was found in wild deer, 22% of hunter-killed bucks have been positive in the last five years. But in the Black Hills, the long-term prevalence in mule deer bucks is just 5.9%, though Edwards said that rate may have been dragged down by other diseases, like epizootic hemorrhagic disease (often called blue tongue).
Ahead of the study, wildlife managers hesitate to hazard a guess for why the Project Herd’s disease rates are a whole order of magnitude greater.
An enigma
One reason is that the Project Herd today is poorly understood. It’s a rare mule deer herd where the population isn’t monitored, although Gregory and others are trying to change that. There are several explanations for why the Project Herd is shrouded in so much unknown. It’s a smaller, low-density herd, Gregory said, that generally occupies riparian areas, private agricultural ground and the reservation, where it’s difficult, or impossible, for agency staff to regularly count deer.
Rather than counting deer, Game and Fish has used two metrics to monitor the herd: hunter satisfaction and landowner surveys to gauge perception of the population. Satisfaction has fallen off, and landowners are also noticing downward changes.
As recently as 2018 and ‘19, nobody surveyed thought the mule deer population was too low. But in the last two years, nearly half of respondents felt there were too few deer.
“This dramatic shift in landowner sentiment supports hunter and department personnel observations indicating a substantial population decline in the herd,” wildlife managers wrote in Game and Fish’s most recent “job completion report” for Lander-area big game herds.
To help the herd hold up, Game and Fish slashed doe-fawn hunting licenses by half ahead of the 2020 hunting season, though that’s still not enough in the eyes of an outfitter like Metzler.
Mike Miller, a longtime CWD researcher and wildlife veterinarian for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, was not surprised outfitters like Metzler are observing so few older bucks in an area where prevalence is so high. He’s seen it before, while studying Colorado’s Table Mesa Herd, where prevalence in bucks was approaching 50%.
“We didn’t catch older male deer,” Miller said. “You just didn’t.”
The captures he referred to outside of Boulder, Colorado, occurred 14 years ago. But he returned to capture mule deer more recently and it was the same outcome: “I don’t think we caught any bucks that were aged over 5 or 6 years,” Miller said. “They’re just not there.”
Chronic wasting disease is killing them before they can reach those middle ages, he said, and that’s even true in Boulder County, where hunting is prohibited.
Causes and solutions
Miller declined to theorize what’s going on with the Project Herd directly. But he said common themes tend to emerge among deer herds in the few cases where CWD prevalence rates have been so off the charts. The herds are usually non-migratory, and consistently gather at concentrated food sources. Clay-type soils that effectively bond with the transmissible prions and even enhance infectivity can also be contributing factors, he said.
“I’m not implying that these deer are captive, but where you do see these really, really high infection rates commonly, is in deer and elk that are in captivity,” Miller said. “They’re living in a very small area and feeding and watering in the same places, day in and day out.”
When those kinds of conditions exist without a fence, he said, there can be the same effect. There are management methods to encourage these types of deer herds to move around more to reduce transmission, but easy solutions are unlikely, he said.
“It’s hard when infection rates get this high,” Miller said. “You’ve probably got a lot of contamination in the environment, and in the wild that’s just really hard to do anything about.”
Still, Edwards hopes that the coming GPS data on the Project Herd mule deer points his agency toward next steps that could create a healthier population. Once the sources of CWD’s spread are identified, be it a silage pile or some other hypothetical factor, he said, then more concrete steps could follow.
“It all depends on what’s going on,” Edwards said. “You have to know the sources to try to change the transmission factors. Maybe at the end of this research, it’s not such a gray picture.”
''The herd is considered a priority for CWD surveillance, and between 2016 and 2020 Game and Fish staff gathered tissue samples from 139 of its bucks. Of those, 85 came up positive, for a prevalence rate of 61%.''
''Preliminary test results for 2021’s tissue samples showed a higher rate of CWD: 78%, according to Game and Fish Regional Wildlife Coordinator Daryl Lutz.''
“It’s the highest that’s been recorded, maybe anywhere in the world in wildlife,” Lutz told attendees at a public meeting last month.''
''The Wildlife Health Laboratory supervisor for the state of Wyoming, Hank Edwards, wouldn’t go that far, instead emphasizing the multi-year positivity rate. There are agricultural parts in southwest Saskatchewan, he noted, where prevalence has been documented in the 60-70% range. Annual reports from the provincial government confirm it, and say that in over a dozen Saskatchewan wildlife management zones, more than 50% of mule deer bucks are testing positive for the degenerative disease.''
''Edwards did label CWD’s prevalence in the Project Herd “alarmingly high,” and he pointed out it’s Wyoming’s most CWD-infected deer herd by a nearly 20% margin. Statewide, 12.5% of the nearly 6,500 CWD samples processed during 2020 tested positive, statistics that span species, sex and cause of death, according to Game and Fish’s most recent CWD surveillance report.''
wow...incredibly alarming...terry
How many deer die from cwd?
that dog don't hunt no more...
15 minute mark video shows sick deer with cwd, and this deer DIED FROM CWD, IT'S DOCUMENTED, commentator says ''so if anyone every tells you, that a deer has never died from CWD, think of this picture, because the Wisconsin Veterinary Lab told us, what when they looked at her sample under a microscope, she was the hottest animal they had ever seen, and that's in terms of the fluorescents that comes off the slide when the look at it, so, a lot of Prion in her system.''
see much more about 2 hours long...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3CAI-EwlgM
If CWD is always fatal, where are all of the dead cervids?
Infected cervids appear healthy for a vast majority of their infection, only showing clinical symptoms for a brief period of time before death occurs. Cervids with clinically evident CWD eventually become emaciated and can die from starvation if they avoid other causes of death. Ongoing studies have found that CWD infected cervids have died from starvation despite an abundance of available row crops available for consumption (WI DNR, 2019). Additionally, some infected cervids that die directly from CWD show evidence of aspiration pneumonia, which may be caused by preceding symptoms like difficulty swallowing and excessive salivation (CWD Alliance).
However, CWD is a neurodegenerative disease and infected cervids seem to be more prone to other causes of mortality, including vehicular collisions and predation, compared to healthy cervids (Haley & Hoover, 2015). Additionally, cervids infected with CWD appear to be more susceptible to hunter harvest due to potential behavioral changes (Edmunds et al., 2016). The role of predators, scavengers, and natural decomposition make observations of intact dead cervids a relatively rare occurrence regardless of disease status. In combination with the limited number of infected cervids that die directly from CWD, these factors contribute to the infrequent observation of cervids that suffer acute deaths from CWD in the wild.
There are documented observations of cervids infected with CWD courtesy of the CWD Alliance, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and the University of Wyoming. Additionally, there is the story of a hunter witnessing a CWD-infected cervid’s death directly from the disease, courtesy of the Quality Deer Management Association.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cwd/faqs
http://cwd-info.org/photo-examples-of-cwd/
The second year of results span January 2018 to January 2019.
The higher mortality of CWD-positive deer was attributed directly and indirectly to the disease, according to DNR researchers. "The disease was determined to be the cause of death in several animals, but CWD-positive deer die from lots of causes, and the disease seems to make the animal more vulnerable to those," Storm said.
Sickened animals are less aware of their surroundings, less responsive to stimuli and less physically coordinated, according to researchers. Hunting was the leading cause (four times higher than any other) of death for all deer in the study.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/columnists/paul-smith/2019/02/27/annual-mortality-rate-cwd-positive-deer-double-uninfected-animals/2995526002/
https://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/collaborating-on-chronic-wasting-disease/
Studies in the western USA have found that CWD negatively impacts elk and mule deer survival and population size, but no field research has documented the impact of CWD on white-tailed deer survival or population growth in Wisconsin. Furthermore, there is not any ongoing work in the Midwest that specifically addresses the direct impact of CWD on deer survival.
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/research/projects/dpp/about
https://dnr.wi.gov/wideermetrics/DeerStats.aspx?R=Disease
We show that a chronic disease that becomes endemic in wildlife populations has the potential to be population-limiting and the strong population-level effects of CWD suggest affected populations are not sustainable at high disease prevalence under current harvest levels.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0161127
it's not rocket science...
CWD POPULATION DECLINE
In the endemic area of Wyoming, for example, the prevalence of CWD in mule deer has increased from approximately 11% in 1997 to 36% in 2007 (Almberg et al., 2011). In such areas, population declines of deer of up to 30 to 50% have been observed (Almberg et al., 2011).
In areas of Colorado, the prevalence can be as high as 30% (EFSA, 2011).
https://web.archive.org/web/20170404125557/http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130822084033/http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/files/qra_chronic-wasting-disease-121029.pdf
''As of September 2019, CWD has been identified in 31 of 37 (84%) Wyoming mule deer herds, nine of 36 (25%) elk herds, and generally wherever white-tailed deer occur. Increasing prevalence and distribution of CWD has the potential to cause widespread and long-term negative impacts to Wyoming’s cervid populations. Prevalence of this disease in chronically infected Wyoming deer herds has exceeded 40%, with one elk herd exhibiting nearly 15% prevalence.'' ''for the first time, there is clear evidence that CWD is adversely affecting the overall health and viability of some herds.''
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Get%20Involved/CWD/WGFD_DRAFTCWDManagementPlan_113019.pdf
Wyoming CWD Dr. Mary Wood
''first step is admitting you have a problem''
''Wyoming was behind the curve''
Wyoming has a problem...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1bsK4Igt1o&index=10&list=PL7ZG8MkruQh3wI96XQ8_EymytO828rGxj
Colorado Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan December 2018
I. Executive Summary Mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose are highly valued species in North America. Some of Colorado’s herds of these species are increasingly becoming infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD). As of July 2018, at least 31 of Colorado's 54 deer herds (57%), 16 of 43 elk herds (37%), and 2 of 9 moose herds (22%) are known to be infected with CWD. Four of Colorado's 5 largest deer herds and 2 of the state’s 5 largest elk herds are infected. Deer herds tend to be more heavily infected than elk and moose herds living in the same geographic area. Not only are the number of infected herds increasing, the past 15 years of disease trends generally show an increase in the proportion of infected animals within herds as well. Of most concern, greater than a 10-fold increase in CWD prevalence has been estimated in some mule deer herds since the early 2000s; CWD is now adversely affecting the performance of these herds.
https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Brochure/BigGame/biggame.pdf
folks, you just can't stick you head in the sand, and hope cwd tse prion goes away, it just does not work that way. don't get caught up in the fake news the captive industry wants to give to you...
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION END OF YEAR REPORT
Idaho Two white-tailed deer test positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in same area as previous CWD cases
Two white-tailed deer test positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in same area as previous CWD cases
By Roger Phillips, Public Information Supervisor Thursday, December 30, 2021 - 4:16 PM MST Recent cases bring total to four deer testing positive for CWD with 72 samples awaiting lab results Idaho Fish and Game officials received notice on Dec. 29 that two white-tailed deer bucks from the Slate Creek area north of Riggins have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. These are the third and fourth deer that have tested positive for CWD in the area. Idaho had its first CWD detections from two hunter-harvested mule deer bucks from the Slate Creek area in November.
“While unfortunate, these latest CWD detections show our surveillance efforts are working, and we greatly appreciate the assistance we’ve received from hunters and landowners to help us learn how widespread CWD may be, and what percentage of the deer population may be affected,” Fish and Game State Wildlife Manager Rick Ward said.
After the initial CWD detections in November, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission established a CWD management zone that includes all of hunting Units 14 and 15 and a surveillance area that encompasses Units 14 and 15 and portions of four other adjacent hunting units.
Fish and Game has been intensively monitoring harvested deer within those areas for the disease, and created 35 special CWD surveillance hunts in December to collect additional samples from hunter-harvested deer.
As of Dec. 29, Fish and Game has taken 448 samples in the CWD surveillance zone that tested negative. Four have tested positive – all of which were within the Slate Creek drainage. Samples collected from 72 deer are still pending lab results at the Colorado State University laboratory. Statewide, Fish and Game tested more than 2,500 animals for CWD in 2021.
Fish and Game biologists remain in the information-gathering stage, and are waiting for the results of all pending CWD tests.
“We still have test results pending from deer harvested within the surveillance zone,” Ward said. “When we get the results of all tests, we will then assess our management options. Hunters and the general public will be involved in this process as the Fish and Game Commission deliberates future CWD management actions.”
With deer and elk now on lower-elevation winter range in Unit 14 and 15, Fish and Game officials are reminding people that it is unlawful to feed deer and elk within the CWD management zone (Units 14 & 15). People salvaging road-killed deer, elk, or moose must not remove the head or spinal column from the area, unless bringing a head to a Fish and Game Regional office for CWD testing.
CWD is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, moose and caribou. There is no practical live test for the disease, so the only way to determine how many animals may have it is to take samples from dead animals. Fish and Game has been testing for CWD since 1997 and sampled more than 20,000 animals since then.
Although new to Idaho, CWD is found in 27 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. CWD was detected in Wyoming in the mid-1980s and first detected in Montana in 2017. Learn more about CWD in Idaho at idfg.idaho.gov/cwd.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been no reports of CWD infection in people. However, in the interest of safety, public health officials encourage people to not eat meat from animals that test positive for CWD, and hunters should follow these precautions and recommendations.
Idaho Chronic Wasting Disease detected in two mule deer first time ever detected there
Chronic Wasting Disease detected in two Idaho mule deer
By Roger Phillips, Public Information Supervisor
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 - 3:47 PM MST
These are the first confirmed positive tests for Chronic Wasting Disease in Idaho
Two mule deer bucks harvested during October in the Slate Creek drainage near Lucile in Idaho County tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease, according to Idaho Fish and Game. Under Fish and Game’s CWD strategic plan, both hunters have been notified that their bucks tested positive.
Although CWD has been known to exist in the Western United States for over 40 years, this is the first time animals in Idaho have tested positive for the disease, which is fatal to deer, elk, moose and caribou. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has been notified, as well as the Idaho Department of Agriculture, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Samples from the diseased mule deer were tested at the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and are being verified by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
Anyone hunting in Unit 14 is encouraged to have any harvested deer or elk tested. To sample for CWD, lymph node tissue from fresh or frozen harvested heads are extracted. Meat or muscle tissue cannot be used to test for CWD.
Fish and Game will continue to supply more information as it becomes available. Visit idfg.idaho.gov/cwd for more information.
Facts about CWD
What is CWD?
It is a contagious and always-fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk, moose and reindeer. Fish and Game has been testing animals for CWD since 1997.
How can hunters have harvested animals tested?
Fish and Game staff will extract the lymph nodes from any harvested deer, elk or moose at any regional office. There is no cost to the hunter. To sample for CWD, hunters need to bring the fresh or frozen head to any Fish and Game regional office to have a lymph node extracted. Meat or muscle tissue cannot be used to test for CWD.
Turnaround time for Fish and Game’s CWD samples is about 4-6 weeks, and hunters can check Fish and Game’s website for results.
What are symptoms of CWD?
Symptoms in deer, elk, moose and caribou include excessive salivation, drooping head/ears, tremors, extremely low body weight, and unusual behavior, such as showing no fear of humans and lack of coordination. But CWD cannot be diagnosed strictly by symptoms because other diseases, or conditions, can also cause similar symptoms in an animal. Also, animals can be infected for months or years before showing symptoms.
What if someone sees an animal that appears to have CWD?
Fish and Game welcomes reports by hunters and citizens. A person should accurately document the location of the animal (GPS coordinates if possible) and report the species and gender, if known. Take pictures, if possible, and immediately contact the nearest Fish and Game regional office. Do not attempt to touch, disturb, kill or remove the animal.
CWD MAP
Idaho CWD
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
2021 STRATEGY FOR CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE PREVENTION, DETECTION, AND MANAGEMENT FOR IDAHO’S WILD CERVIDS (DEER, ELK, AND MOOSE)
Idaho White-tailed Deer Management Plan 2020-2025
There are currently 2 captive white-tailed deer facilities in Idaho. These facilities and continued importation of white-tailed deer represent potential sites for disease introductions and genetic contamination.
Although 1,932 white-tailed deer from Idaho were tested for CWD from 1998 to 2016, prior to 2019, only a small number of white-tailed deer were tested for other diseases.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021
Idaho Chronic Wasting Disease detected in two mule deer first time ever detected there
SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2018
Idaho Fish and Game Commission Quarterly Meeting July 25 26, 2018 Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion
Trucking CWD TSE Prion
MONDAY, MARCH 05, 2018
TRUCKING AROUND AND SPREADING CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION VIA MOVEMENT OF CERVID AND TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES
SATURDAY, JULY 09, 2016
Texas Intrastate – within state movement of all Cervid or Trucking Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Moratorium
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION
***> cattle, pigs, sheep, cwd, tse, prion, oh my!
***> 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).
Sheep and cattle may be exposed to CWD via common grazing areas with affected deer but so far, appear to be poorly susceptible to mule deer CWD (Sigurdson, 2008). In contrast, cattle are highly susceptible to white-tailed deer CWD and mule deer CWD in experimental conditions but no natural CWD infections in cattle have been reported (Sigurdson, 2008; Hamir et al., 2006). It is not known how susceptible humans are to CWD but given that the prion can be present in muscle, it is likely that humans have been exposed to the agent via consumption of venison (Sigurdson, 2008). Initial experimental research suggests that human susceptibility to CWD is low and there may be a robust species barrier for CWD transmission to humans (Sigurdson, 2008), however the risk appetite for a public health threat may still find this level unacceptable.
Published: 06 September 2021
Chronic wasting disease: a cervid prion infection looming to spillover
Alicia Otero, Camilo Duque Velásquez, Judd Aiken & Debbie McKenzie
Veterinary Research volume 52, Article number: 115 (2021)
Voluntary Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Annual Update, FY2020
Last Modified: Feb 9, 2021
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services
Annual Update from the Cervid Health Team
Voluntary Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (HCP)
The APHIS National CWD Herd Certification Program (HCP) was implemented in 2014. It is a voluntary Federal-State-industry cooperative program administered by APHIS and implemented by participating States. The program provides uniform national herd certification standards that minimize the risk of spreading CWD in farmed cervid populations. Participating States and herd owners must comply with requirements for animal identification, fencing, recordkeeping, inspections/inventories, as well as animal mortality testing and response to any CWD-exposed, suspect, and positive herds. APHIS monitors the Approved State HCPs to ensure consistency with Federal standards through annual reporting by the States.
With each year of successful surveillance, herds participating in the HCP will advance in status until reaching five years with no evidence of CWD, at which time herds are certified as being low risk for CWD. Only farmed cervids from enrolled herds certified as low risk for CWD may move interstate. FY 2020 marks the eighth year that Approved States have submitted their CWD HCP annual reports to APHIS.
The current Cervid Health Program staff officers are as follows: Dr. Mark Lyons, Dr. Jennifer Siembieda, and Dr. Tracy Nichols
Voluntary Herd Certification Participation Summary
Currently, 28 States participate in the voluntary CWD Herd Certification Program encompassing 2,145 enrolled herds, of which, 1,723 had the certified status in the program.
1,616 enrolled deer herds, of which, 1,297 were certified
371 enrolled elk herds, of which, 328 were certified
147 enrolled mixed species herds, of which, 98 were certified
CWD in Farmed Cervids Summary of CW Detections
There were 22 newly identified CWD positive herds in FY20
13 of these herds were not participants in the Federal HCP
2 herds were considered enrolled in the HCP
7 herds were certified in the HCP
Half of the herds were located within 20 miles of identified CWD in the wild, half were not CWD Herds by State
Pennsylvania: Eight new CWD positive herds
Breeding herd of 33 WTD, HCP certified, depopulated with Federal indemnity
Breeding herd of 6 WTD, not in HCP, depopulated with Federal indemnity
Breeding herd of 15 WTD, not in HCP, depopulated by owner\
Hunt preserve of 58 WTD, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
Breeding herd of 75 WTD, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
Breeding herd of WTD, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
Breeding herd of 90 WTD, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
Breeding herd of 4 WTD, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
Iowa: Two new CWD positive herds
Breeding herd of 23 WTD, HCP certified, depopulated with Federal indemnity
Breeding herd of 13 WTD, HCP certified, depopulated with Federal indemnity
Minnesota: Two new CWD positive herds
Breeding herd of 3 WTD, enrolled in HCP, not certified, depopulated by owner
Breeding herd of 6 WTD, enrolled in HCP, not certified, depopulated with Federal indemnity
Colorado: Two new CWD positive herds
Breeding herd/hunt preserve of 9 elk, HCP certified, depopulated by owner
Breeding herd of 8 elk, HCP certified, populated and under quarantine
Utah: Two new CWD positive herds
Breeding herd of 465 elk, not in HCP, partial depopulation with Federal indemnity- removed purchased animals, populated-quarantine
Breeding herd of 103 elk, not in HCP, partial depopulation with Federal indemnity- removed purchased animals, populated-quarantine
Michigan: One new CWD positive herd
Hunt preserve of >600 WTD, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
Montana: One new CWD positive herd
Breeding herd of 3 elk, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
Texas: one new CWD positive herd
Breeding herd of 59 WTD, not in HCP, depopulated with Federal indemnity
Kansas: One new CWD positive herd
Breeding herd of 20 elk, HCP certified, depopulated with Federal indemnity
Ohio: Eight new CWD positive herd
Breeding herd of 138 WTD, HCP certified, depopulated with Federal indemnity
Research
Whole genome study investigating the association of genetics with CWD susceptibility has been published.
Blinded validation of the genetic predicative model is almost complete
A standardized protocol has been developed, in partnership with ARS, USGS, University of WI, and NIH for tissue sample testing using RT-QuIC
A study is starting shortly to determine the sensitivity and specify of RT-QuIC utilizing the standardized protocol
snip...
Voluntary Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Annual Update, FY2020
Cervids: CWD Voluntary Herd Certification Program
Last Modified: Jun 29, 2021
CWD status of captive herds
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]
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
MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021
Evaluation of the application for new alternative biodiesel production process for rendered fat including Category 1 animal by-products (BDI-RepCat® process, AT) ???
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
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019
BSE infectivity survives burial for five years with only limited spread
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2013
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD and Land Value concerns?
5 or 6 years quarantine is NOT LONG ENOUGH FOR CWD TSE PRION !!!
QUARANTINE NEEDS TO BE 21 YEARS FOR CWD TSE PRION !
FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
Should Property Evaluations Contain Scrapie, CWD, TSE PRION Environmental Contamination of the land?
***> Confidential!!!!
***> As early as 1992-3 there had been long studies conducted on small pastures containing scrapie infected sheep at the sheep research station associated with the Neuropathogenesis Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland. Whether these are documented...I don't know. But personal recounts both heard and recorded in a daily journal indicate that leaving the pastures free and replacing the topsoil completely at least 2 feet of thickness each year for SEVEN years....and then when very clean (proven scrapie free) sheep were placed on these small pastures.... the new sheep also broke out with scrapie and passed it to offspring. I am not sure that TSE contaminated ground could ever be free of the agent!! A very frightening revelation!!!
---end personal email---end...tss
and so it seems...
Scrapie Agent (Strain 263K) Can Transmit Disease via the Oral Route after Persistence in Soil over Years
Published: May 9, 2007
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Our results showed that 263K scrapie agent can persist in soil at least over 29 months. Strikingly, not only the contaminated soil itself retained high levels of infectivity, as evidenced by oral administration to Syrian hamsters, but also feeding of aqueous soil extracts was able to induce disease in the reporter animals. We could also demonstrate that PrPSc in soil, extracted after 21 months, provides a catalytically active seed in the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) reaction. PMCA opens therefore a perspective for considerably improving the detectability of prions in soil samples from the field.
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***> This is very likely to have parallels with control efforts for CWD in cervids. <***
Paper
Rapid recontamination of a farm building occurs after attempted prion removal
Kevin Christopher Gough BSc (Hons), PhD Claire Alison Baker BSc (Hons) Steve Hawkins MIBiol Hugh Simmons BVSc, MRCVS, MBA, MA Timm Konold DrMedVet, PhD, MRCVS … See all authors
First published: 19 January 2019 https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105054
Abstract
The transmissible spongiform encephalopathy scrapie of sheep/goats and chronic wasting disease of cervids are associated with environmental reservoirs of infectivity. Preventing environmental prions acting as a source of infectivity to healthy animals is of major concern to farms that have had outbreaks of scrapie and also to the health management of wild and farmed cervids. Here, an efficient scrapie decontamination protocol was applied to a farm with high levels of environmental contamination with the scrapie agent. Post‐decontamination, no prion material was detected within samples taken from the farm buildings as determined using a sensitive in vitro replication assay (sPMCA). A bioassay consisting of 25 newborn lambs of highly susceptible prion protein genotype VRQ/VRQ introduced into this decontaminated barn was carried out in addition to sampling and analysis of dust samples that were collected during the bioassay. Twenty‐four of the animals examined by immunohistochemical analysis of lymphatic tissues were scrapie‐positive during the bioassay, samples of dust collected within the barn were positive by month 3. The data illustrates the difficulty in decontaminating farm buildings from scrapie, and demonstrates the likely contribution of farm dust to the recontamination of these environments to levels that are capable of causing disease.
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This study clearly demonstrates the difficulty in removing scrapie infectivity from the farm environment. Practical and effective prion decontamination methods are still urgently required for decontamination of scrapie infectivity from farms that have had cases of scrapie and this is particularly relevant for scrapiepositive goatherds, which currently have limited genetic resistance to scrapie within commercial breeds.24 This is very likely to have parallels with control efforts for CWD in cervids.
***>This is very likely to have parallels with control efforts for CWD in cervids.
***> Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years
***> Nine of these recurrences occurred 14–21 years after culling, apparently as the result of environmental contamination, but outside entry could not always be absolutely excluded.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGY Volume 87, Issue 12
Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years Free
Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2, Paul Brown3
Front. Vet. Sci., 14 September 2015 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2015.00032
Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission
imageTimm Konold1*, imageStephen A. C. Hawkins2, imageLisa C. Thurston3, imageBen C. Maddison4, imageKevin C. Gough5, imageAnthony Duarte1 and imageHugh A. Simmons1
1Animal Sciences Unit, Animal and Plant Health Agency Weybridge, Addlestone, UK
2Pathology Department, Animal and Plant Health Agency Weybridge, Addlestone, UK
3Surveillance and Laboratory Services, Animal and Plant Health Agency Penrith, Penrith, UK
4ADAS UK, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
5School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
Classical scrapie is an environmentally transmissible prion disease of sheep and goats. Prions can persist and remain potentially infectious in the environment for many years and thus pose a risk of infecting animals after re-stocking. In vitro studies using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) have suggested that objects on a scrapie-affected sheep farm could contribute to disease transmission. This in vivo study aimed to determine the role of field furniture (water troughs, feeding troughs, fencing, and other objects that sheep may rub against) used by a scrapie-infected sheep flock as a vector for disease transmission to scrapie-free lambs with the prion protein genotype VRQ/VRQ, which is associated with high susceptibility to classical scrapie. When the field furniture was placed in clean accommodation, sheep became infected when exposed to either a water trough (four out of five) or to objects used for rubbing (four out of seven). This field furniture had been used by the scrapie-infected flock 8 weeks earlier and had previously been shown to harbor scrapie prions by sPMCA. Sheep also became infected (20 out of 23) through exposure to contaminated field furniture placed within pasture not used by scrapie-infected sheep for 40 months, even though swabs from this furniture tested negative by PMCA. This infection rate decreased (1 out of 12) on the same paddock after replacement with clean field furniture. Twelve grazing sheep exposed to field furniture not in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for 18 months remained scrapie free. The findings of this study highlight the role of field furniture used by scrapie-infected sheep to act as a reservoir for disease re-introduction although infectivity declines considerably if the field furniture has not been in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for several months. PMCA may not be as sensitive as VRQ/VRQ sheep to test for environmental contamination.
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Discussion
Classical scrapie is an environmentally transmissible disease because it has been reported in naïve, supposedly previously unexposed sheep placed in pastures formerly occupied by scrapie-infected sheep (4, 19, 20).
Although the vector for disease transmission is not known, soil is likely to be an important reservoir for prions (2) where – based on studies in rodents – prions can adhere to minerals as a biologically active form (21) and remain infectious for more than 2 years (22).
Similarly, chronic wasting disease (CWD) has re-occurred in mule deer housed in paddocks used by infected deer 2 years earlier, which was assumed to be through foraging and soil consumption (23).
Our study suggested that the risk of acquiring scrapie infection was greater through exposure to contaminated wooden, plastic, and metal surfaces via water or food troughs, fencing, and hurdles than through grazing.
Drinking from a water trough used by the scrapie flock was sufficient to cause infection in sheep in a clean building.
Exposure to fences and other objects used for rubbing also led to infection, which supported the hypothesis that skin may be a vector for disease transmission (9).
The risk of these objects to cause infection was further demonstrated when 87% of 23 sheep presented with PrPSc in lymphoid tissue after grazing on one of the paddocks, which contained metal hurdles, a metal lamb creep and a water trough in contact with the scrapie flock up to 8 weeks earlier, whereas no infection had been demonstrated previously in sheep grazing on this paddock, when equipped with new fencing and field furniture.
When the contaminated furniture and fencing were removed, the infection rate dropped significantly to 8% of 12 sheep, with soil of the paddock as the most likely source of infection caused by shedding of prions from the scrapie-infected sheep in this paddock up to a week earlier.
This study also indicated that the level of contamination of field furniture sufficient to cause infection was dependent on two factors: stage of incubation period and time of last use by scrapie-infected sheep.
Drinking from a water trough that had been used by scrapie sheep in the predominantly pre-clinical phase did not appear to cause infection, whereas infection was shown in sheep drinking from the water trough used by scrapie sheep in the later stage of the disease.
It is possible that contamination occurred through shedding of prions in saliva, which may have contaminated the surface of the water trough and subsequently the water when it was refilled.
Contamination appeared to be sufficient to cause infection only if the trough was in contact with sheep that included clinical cases.
Indeed, there is an increased risk of bodily fluid infectivity with disease progression in scrapie (24) and CWD (25) based on PrPSc detection by sPMCA.
Although ultraviolet light and heat under natural conditions do not inactivate prions (26), furniture in contact with the scrapie flock, which was assumed to be sufficiently contaminated to cause infection, did not act as vector for disease if not used for 18 months, which suggest that the weathering process alone was sufficient to inactivate prions.
PrPSc detection by sPMCA is increasingly used as a surrogate for infectivity measurements by bioassay in sheep or mice.
In this reported study, however, the levels of PrPSc present in the environment were below the limit of detection of the sPMCA method, yet were still sufficient to cause infection of in-contact animals.
In the present study, the outdoor objects were removed from the infected flock 8 weeks prior to sampling and were positive by sPMCA at very low levels (2 out of 37 reactions).
As this sPMCA assay also yielded 2 positive reactions out of 139 in samples from the scrapie-free farm, the sPMCA assay could not detect PrPSc on any of the objects above the background of the assay.
False positive reactions with sPMCA at a low frequency associated with de novo formation of infectious prions have been reported (27, 28).
This is in contrast to our previous study where we demonstrated that outdoor objects that had been in contact with the scrapie-infected flock up to 20 days prior to sampling harbored PrPSc that was detectable by sPMCA analysis [4 out of 15 reactions (12)] and was significantly more positive by the assay compared to analogous samples from the scrapie-free farm.
This discrepancy could be due to the use of a different sPMCA substrate between the studies that may alter the efficiency of amplification of the environmental PrPSc.
In addition, the present study had a longer timeframe between the objects being in contact with the infected flock and sampling, which may affect the levels of extractable PrPSc.
Alternatively, there may be potentially patchy contamination of this furniture with PrPSc, which may have been missed by swabbing.
The failure of sPMCA to detect CWD-associated PrP in saliva from clinically affected deer despite confirmation of infectivity in saliva-inoculated transgenic mice was associated with as yet unidentified inhibitors in saliva (29), and it is possible that the sensitivity of sPMCA is affected by other substances in the tested material.
In addition, sampling of amplifiable PrPSc and subsequent detection by sPMCA may be more difficult from furniture exposed to weather, which is supported by the observation that PrPSc was detected by sPMCA more frequently in indoor than outdoor furniture (12).
A recent experimental study has demonstrated that repeated cycles of drying and wetting of prion-contaminated soil, equivalent to what is expected under natural weathering conditions, could reduce PMCA amplification efficiency and extend the incubation period in hamsters inoculated with soil samples (30).
This seems to apply also to this study even though the reduction in infectivity was more dramatic in the sPMCA assays than in the sheep model.
Sheep were not kept until clinical end-point, which would have enabled us to compare incubation periods, but the lack of infection in sheep exposed to furniture that had not been in contact with scrapie sheep for a longer time period supports the hypothesis that prion degradation and subsequent loss of infectivity occurs even under natural conditions.
In conclusion, the results in the current study indicate that removal of furniture that had been in contact with scrapie-infected animals should be recommended, particularly since cleaning and decontamination may not effectively remove scrapie infectivity (31), even though infectivity declines considerably if the pasture and the field furniture have not been in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for several months. As sPMCA failed to detect PrPSc in furniture that was subjected to weathering, even though exposure led to infection in sheep, this method may not always be reliable in predicting the risk of scrapie infection through environmental contamination.
These results suggest that the VRQ/VRQ sheep model may be more sensitive than sPMCA for the detection of environmentally associated scrapie, and suggest that extremely low levels of scrapie contamination are able to cause infection in susceptible sheep genotypes.
Keywords: classical scrapie, prion, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, sheep, field furniture, reservoir, serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification
***> CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS PRION CONFERENCE 2018
P69 Experimental transmission of CWD from white-tailed deer to co-housed reindeer
Mitchell G (1), Walther I (1), Staskevicius A (1), Soutyrine A (1), Balachandran A (1)
(1) National & OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) continues to be detected in wild and farmed cervid populations of North America, affecting predominantly white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk. Extensive herds of wild caribou exist in northern regions of Canada, although surveillance has not detected the presence of CWD in this population. Oral experimental transmission has demonstrated that reindeer, a species closely related to caribou, are susceptible to CWD. Recently, CWD was detected for the first time in Europe, in wild Norwegian reindeer, advancing the possibility that caribou in North America could also become infected. Given the potential overlap in habitat between wild CWD-infected cervids and wild caribou herds in Canada, we sought to investigate the horizontal transmissibility of CWD from white-tailed deer to reindeer.
Two white-tailed deer were orally inoculated with a brain homogenate prepared from a farmed Canadian white-tailed deer previously diagnosed with CWD. Two reindeer, with no history of exposure to CWD, were housed in the same enclosure as the white-tailed deer, 3.5 months after the deer were orally inoculated. The white-tailed deer developed clinical signs consistent with CWD beginning at 15.2 and 21 months post-inoculation (mpi), and were euthanized at 18.7 and 23.1 mpi, respectively. Confirmatory testing by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot demonstrated widespread aggregates of pathological prion protein (PrPCWD) in the central nervous system and lymphoid tissues of both inoculated white-tailed deer. Both reindeer were subjected to recto-anal mucosal associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) biopsy at 20 months post-exposure (mpe) to the white-tailed deer. The biopsy from one reindeer contained PrPCWD confirmed by IHC. This reindeer displayed only subtle clinical evidence of disease prior to a rapid decline in condition requiring euthanasia at 22.5 mpe. Analysis of tissues from this reindeer by IHC revealed widespread PrPCWD deposition, predominantly in central nervous system and lymphoreticular tissues. Western blot molecular profiles were similar between both orally inoculated white-tailed deer and the CWD positive reindeer. Despite sharing the same enclosure, the other reindeer was RAMALT negative at 20 mpe, and PrPCWD was not detected in brainstem and lymphoid tissues following necropsy at 35 mpe. Sequencing of the prion protein gene from both reindeer revealed differences at several codons, which may have influenced susceptibility to infection.
Natural transmission of CWD occurs relatively efficiently amongst cervids, supporting the expanding geographic distribution of disease and the potential for transmission to previously naive populations. The efficient horizontal transmission of CWD from white-tailed deer to reindeer observed here highlights the potential for reindeer to become infected if exposed to other cervids or environments infected with CWD.
SOURCE REFERENCE 2018 PRION CONFERENCE ABSTRACT
Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES Location: Virus and Prion Research
Title: Horizontal transmission of chronic wasting disease in reindeer
Author
item MOORE, SARAH - ORISE FELLOW item KUNKLE, ROBERT item WEST GREENLEE, MARY - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY item Nicholson, Eric item RICHT, JUERGEN item HAMIR, AMIRALI item WATERS, WADE item Greenlee, Justin
Submitted to: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/29/2016
Publication Date: 12/1/2016
Citation: Moore, S., Kunkle, R., Greenlee, M., Nicholson, E., Richt, J., Hamir, A., Waters, W., Greenlee, J. 2016. Horizontal transmission of chronic wasting disease in reindeer. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 22(12):2142-2145. doi:10.3201/eid2212.160635.
Interpretive Summary: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that occurs in farmed and wild cervids (deer and elk) of North America and was recently diagnosed in a single free-ranging reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Norway. CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that is caused by infectious proteins called prions that are resistant to various methods of decontamination and environmental degradation. Little is known about the susceptibility of or potential for transmission amongst reindeer. In this experiment, we tested the susceptibility of reindeer to CWD from various sources (elk, mule deer, or white-tailed deer) after intracranial inoculation and tested the potential for infected reindeer to transmit to non-inoculated animals by co-housing or housing in adjacent pens. Reindeer were susceptible to CWD from elk, mule deer, or white-tailed deer sources after experimental inoculation. Most importantly, non-inoculated reindeer that were co-housed with infected reindeer or housed in pens adjacent to infected reindeer but without the potential for nose-to-nose contact also developed evidence of CWD infection. This is a major new finding that may have a great impact on the recently diagnosed case of CWD in the only remaining free-ranging reindeer population in Europe as our findings imply that horizontal transmission to other reindeer within that herd has already occurred. Further, this information will help regulatory and wildlife officials developing plans to reduce or eliminate CWD and cervid farmers that want to ensure that their herd remains CWD-free, but were previously unsure of the potential for reindeer to transmit CWD.
Technical Abstract: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a naturally-occurring, fatal prion disease of cervids. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) are susceptible to CWD following oral challenge, and CWD was recently reported in a free-ranging reindeer of Norway. Potential contact between CWD-affected cervids and Rangifer species that are free-ranging or co-housed on farms presents a potential risk of CWD transmission. The aims of this study were to 1) investigate the transmission of CWD from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; CWDwtd), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; CWDmd), or elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni; CWDelk) to reindeer via the intracranial route, and 2) to assess for direct and indirect horizontal transmission to non-inoculated sentinels. Three groups of 5 reindeer fawns were challenged intracranially with CWDwtd, CWDmd, or CWDelk. Two years after challenge of inoculated reindeer, non-inoculated negative control reindeer were introduced into the same pen as the CWDwtd inoculated reindeer (direct contact; n=4) or into a pen adjacent to the CWDmd inoculated reindeer (indirect contact; n=2). Experimentally inoculated reindeer were allowed to develop clinical disease. At death/euthanasia a complete necropsy examination was performed, including immunohistochemical testing of tissues for disease-associated CWD prion protein (PrPcwd). Intracranially challenged reindeer developed clinical disease from 21 months post-inoculation (months PI). PrPcwd was detected in 5 out of 6 sentinel reindeer although only 2 out of 6 developed clinical disease during the study period (< 57 months PI). We have shown that reindeer are susceptible to CWD from various cervid sources and can transmit CWD to naïve reindeer both directly and indirectly.
Infectivity surviving ashing to 600*C is (in my opinion) degradable but infective. based on Bown & Gajdusek, (1991), landfill and burial may be assumed to have a reduction factor of 98% (i.e. a factor of 50) over 3 years. CJD-infected brain-tissue remained infectious after storing at room-temperature for 22 months (Tateishi et al, 1988). Scrapie agent is known to remain viable after at least 30 months of desiccation (Wilson et al, 1950). and pastures that had been grazed by scrapie-infected sheep still appeared to be contaminated with scrapie agent three years after they were last occupied by sheep (Palsson, 1979).
Dr. Paul Brown Scrapie Soil Test BSE Inquiry Document
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.
source reference Prion Conference 2015 abstract book
Grass Plants Bind, Retain, Uptake, and Transport Infectious Prions
Sandra Pritzkow,1 Rodrigo Morales,1 Fabio Moda,1,3 Uffaf Khan,1 Glenn C. Telling,2 Edward Hoover,2 and Claudio Soto1, * 1Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA
2Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
3Present address: IRCCS Foundation Carlo Besta Neurological Institute, 20133 Milan, Italy *Correspondence: claudio.soto@uth.tmc.edu http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2015.04.036
SUMMARY
Prions are the protein-based infectious agents responsible for prion diseases. Environmental prion contamination has been implicated in disease transmission. Here, we analyzed the binding and retention of infectious prion protein (PrPSc) to plants. Small quantities of PrPSc contained in diluted brain homogenate or in excretory materials (urine and feces) can bind to wheat grass roots and leaves. Wild-type hamsters were efficiently infected by ingestion of prion-contaminated plants. The prion-plant interaction occurs with prions from diverse origins, including chronic wasting disease. Furthermore, leaves contaminated by spraying with a prion-containing preparation retained PrPSc for several weeks in the living plant. Finally, plants can uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to aerial parts of the plant (stem and leaves). These findings demonstrate that plants can efficiently bind infectious prions and act as carriers of infectivity, suggesting a possible role of environmental prion contamination in the horizontal transmission of the disease.
INTRODUCTION
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DISCUSSION
This study shows that plants can efficiently bind prions contained in brain extracts from diverse prion infected animals, including CWD-affected cervids. PrPSc attached to leaves and roots from wheat grass plants remains capable of seeding prion replication in vitro. Surprisingly, the small quantity of PrPSc naturally excreted in urine and feces from sick hamster or cervids was enough to efficiently contaminate plant tissue. Indeed, our results suggest that the majority of excreted PrPSc is efficiently captured by plants’ leaves and roots. Moreover, leaves can be contaminated by spraying them with a prion-containing extract, and PrPSc remains detectable in living plants for as long as the study was performed (several weeks). Remarkably, prion contaminated plants transmit prion disease to animals upon ingestion, producing a 100% attack rate and incubation periods not substantially longer than direct oral administration of sick brain homogenates.
Finally, an unexpected but exciting result was that plants were able to uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to aerial parts of the plant tissue. Although it may seem farfetched that plants can uptake proteins from the soil and transport it to the parts above the ground, there are already published reports of this phenomenon (McLaren et al., 1960; Jensen and McLaren, 1960;Paungfoo-Lonhienne et al., 2008). The high resistance of prions to degradation and their ability to efficiently cross biological barriers may play a role in this process. The mechanism by which plants bind, retain, uptake, and transport prions is unknown. We are currently studying the way in which prions interact with plants using purified, radioactively labeled PrPSc to determine specificity of the interaction, association constant, reversibility, saturation, movement, etc.
Epidemiological studies have shown numerous instances of scrapie or CWD recurrence upon reintroduction of animals on pastures previously exposed to prion-infected animals. Indeed, reappearance of scrapie has been documented following fallow periods of up to 16 years (Georgsson et al., 2006), and pastures were shown to retain infectious CWD prions for at least 2 years after exposure (Miller et al., 2004). It is likely that the environmentally mediated transmission of prion diseases depends upon the interaction of prions with diverse elements, including soil, water, environmental surfaces, various invertebrate animals, and plants.
However, since plants are such an important component of the environment and also a major source of food for many animal species, including humans, our results may have far-reaching implications for animal and human health. Currently, the perception of the riskfor animal-to-human prion transmission has beenmostly limited to consumption or exposure to contaminated meat; our results indicate that plants might also be an important vector of transmission that needs to be considered in risk assessment.
Published: 07 October 2021
Review on PRNP genetics and susceptibility to chronic wasting disease of Cervidae
Katayoun Moazami-Goudarzi, Olivier Andréoletti, Jean-Luc Vilotte & Vincent Béringue
Veterinary Research volume 52, Article number: 128 (2021) Cite this article
Abstract
To date, chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the most infectious form of prion disease affecting several captive, free ranging and wild cervid species. Responsible for marked population declines in North America, its geographical spread is now becoming a major concern in Europe. Polymorphisms in the prion protein gene (PRNP) are an important factor influencing the susceptibility to prions and their rate of propagation. All reported cervid PRNP genotypes are affected by CWD. However, in each species, some polymorphisms are associated with lower attack rates and slower progression of the disease. This has potential consequences in terms of genetic selection, CWD diffusion and strain evolution. CWD also presents a zoonotic risk due to prions capacity to cross species barriers. This review summarizes our current understanding of CWD control, focusing on PRNP genetic, strain diversity and capacity to infect other animal species, including humans.
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CWD positive animals with extended time before they succumb to disease likely represent a source of chronic prion shedding within populations and may contribute to environmental contamination.
***> CWD positive animals with extended time before they succumb to disease likely represent a source of chronic prion shedding within populations and may contribute to environmental contamination. <***
Genes (Basel) . 2021 Sep 10;12(9):1396. doi: 10.3390/genes12091396.
Selective Breeding for Disease-Resistant PRNP Variants to Manage Chronic Wasting Disease in Farmed Whitetail Deer
Nicholas Haley 1, Rozalyn Donner 1, Kahla Merrett 1, Matthew Miller 1, Kristen Senior 1
Affiliations expand
PMID: 34573378 DOI: 10.3390/genes12091396
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of cervids caused by a misfolded variant of the normal cellular prion protein, and it is closely related to sheep scrapie. Variations in a host's prion gene, PRNP, and its primary protein structure dramatically affect susceptibility to specific prion disorders, and breeding for PRNP variants that prevent scrapie infection has led to steep declines in the disease in North American and European sheep. While resistant alleles have been identified in cervids, a PRNP variant that completely prevents CWD has not yet been identified. Thus, control of the disease in farmed herds traditionally relies on quarantine and depopulation. In CWD-endemic areas, depopulation of private herds becomes challenging to justify, leading to opportunities to manage the disease in situ. We developed a selective breeding program for farmed white-tailed deer in a high-prevalence CWD-endemic area which focused on reducing frequencies of highly susceptible PRNP variants and introducing animals with less susceptible variants. With the use of newly developed primers, we found that breeding followed predictable Mendelian inheritance, and early data support our project's utility in reducing CWD prevalence. This project represents a novel approach to CWD management, with future efforts building on these findings.
Keywords: CWD; PRNP; deer; prion; resistance; selective breeding; susceptibility.
***> While resistant alleles have been identified in cervids, a PRNP variant that completely prevents CWD has not yet been identified.
In Moore et al., reindeer carrying allele E had longer survival-times following intracranial exposure [24]. In the same experiment, a reindeer with a genotype carrier of E, found dead without showing clinical signs ~13 months post-intracranial inoculation, had no histopathological lesions or PrPSc deposition at post-mortem examination.
snip...
Our data support the notion that PRNP genetic variation modulates CWD susceptibility rather than conferring complete resistance. This is in agreement with experimental observations of reindeer-developing CWD after intracranial inoculation regardless of PRNP genotype [24].
***> Our data support the notion that PRNP genetic variation modulates CWD susceptibility rather than conferring complete resistance.
Published: 27 May 2021
White-tailed deer S96 prion protein does not support stable in vitro propagation of most common CWD strains
Alicia Otero, Camilo Duque Velásquez, Judd Aiken & Debbie McKenzie
Scientific Reports volume 11, Article number: 11193 (2021) Cite this article
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Abstract
PrPC variation at residue 96 (G/S) plays an important role in the epidemiology of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in exposed white-tailed deer populations. In vivo studies have demonstrated the protective effect of serine at codon 96, which hinders the propagation of common CWD strains when expressed in homozygosis and increases the survival period of S96/wt heterozygous deer after challenge with CWD. Previous in vitro studies of the transmission barrier suggested that following a single amplification step, wt and S96 PrPC were equally susceptible to misfolding when seeded with various CWD prions. When we performed serial prion amplification in vitro using S96-PrPC, we observed a reduction in the efficiency of propagation with the Wisc-1 or CWD2 strains, suggesting these strains cannot stably template their conformations on this PrPC once the primary sequence has changed after the first round of replication. Our data shows the S96-PrPC polymorphism is detrimental to prion conversion of some CWD strains. These data suggests that deer homozygous for S96-PrPC may not sustain prion transmission as compared to a deer expressing G96-PrPC.
snip...
The protective effect of S96 and H95 alleles was further demonstrated by experimental oral infection in white-tailed deer expressing these amino acid substitutions19. Among the alleles of the PRNP gene associated with a lower CWD incidence and extended preclinical phase, S96 has the highest allelic frequency (~ 25%) after the wt allele in several white-tailed deer populations from the United States and Canada26,27,31. Subsequent independent transmission and epidemiological studies have demonstrated that deer homozygous and heterozygous for S96-PrPC are, compared to wt/wt deer, less susceptible to CWD infection, present prolonged survival times, show delayed prion accumulation and are generally at a significantly earlier stage of disease when deer herds are depopulated23,31,32,33.
***> Subsequent independent transmission and epidemiological studies have demonstrated that deer homozygous and heterozygous for S96-PrPC are, compared to wt/wt deer, less susceptible to CWD infection, present prolonged survival times,
Prion protein polymorphisms associated with reduced CWD susceptibility limit peripheral PrPCWD deposition in orally infected white-tailed deer
Alicia Otero1 , Camilo Duque Velásquez4,5, Chad Johnson3 , Allen Herbst2,5, Rosa Bolea1 , Juan José Badiola1 , Judd Aiken2,5 and Debbie McKenzie4,5*
Abstract
Background: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting members of the Cervidae family. PrPC primary structures play a key role in CWD susceptibility resulting in extended incubation periods and regulating the propagation of CWD strains. We analyzed the distribution of abnormal prion protein (PrPCWD) aggregates in brain and peripheral organs from orally inoculated white-tailed deer expressing four different PRNP genotypes: Q95G96/ Q95G96 (wt/wt), S96/wt, H95/wt and H95/S96 to determine if there are substantial differences in the deposition pattern of PrPCWD between different PRNP genotypes.
Results: Although we detected differences in certain brain areas, globally, the different genotypes showed similar PrPCWD deposition patterns in the brain. However, we found that clinically affected deer expressing H95 PrPC , despite having the longest survival periods, presented less PrPCWD immunoreactivity in particular peripheral organs. In addition, no PrPCWD was detected in skeletal muscle of any of the deer.
Conclusions: Our data suggest that expression of H95-PrPC limits peripheral accumulation of PrPCWD as detected by immunohistochemistry. Conversely, infected S96/wt and wt/wt deer presented with similar PrPCWD peripheral distribution at terminal stage of disease, suggesting that the S96-PrPC allele, although delaying CWD progression, does not completely limit the peripheral accumulation of the infectious agent.
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The significantly longer incubation periods observed in deer with H95-PRNP alleles may not impact secretion of CWD (i.e., less CWD secreted over longer time periods). The emergence of new CWD strains could implicate a zoonotic potential [20].
Keywords: Prions, Prion diseases, Chronic wasting disease, CWD, PrPCWD, Peripheral tissues, Polymorphisms, Deer
***> Selective Breeding
***> less susceptible to CWD infection, present prolonged survival times...
this is very disturbing. with all the hype about selective breeding with different alleles, and presenting longer survival times with cwd, this would only allow the spreading of the cwd tse prion to last longer in the given environment imo., and as such has been stated in scientific literature...terry
With cervids, however, resistance based on the PRNP allele alone is not absolute, and is better characterized as a delayed progression [18,25]
Volume 23, Number 9—September 2017 Research Letter
Chronic Wasting Disease Prion Strain Emergence and Host Range Expansion
Allen Herbst1, Camilo Duque Velásquez1, Elizabeth Triscott, Judd M. Aiken, and Debbie McKenzieComments to Author Author affiliations: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Abstract
Human and mouse prion proteins share a structural motif that regulates resistance to common chronic wasting disease (CWD) prion strains. Successful transmission of an emergent strain of CWD prion, H95+, into mice resulted in infection. Thus, emergent CWD prion strains may have higher zoonotic potential than common strains.
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
''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.
''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.
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.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021
Detection of CWD prions in naturally infected white‑tailed deer fetuses and gestational tissues by PMCA
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021
RT‑QuIC detection of CWD prion seeding activity in white‑tailed deer muscle tissues
ARS RESEARCH Generation of human chronic wasting disease in transgenic mice
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/8/2021
Research Project: Pathobiology, Genetics, and Detection of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Location: Virus and Prion Research
Title: Generation of human chronic wasting disease in transgenic mice
Author item WANG, ZERUI - Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) item QIN, KEFENG - University Of Chicago item CAMACHO, MANUEL - Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) item SHEN, PINGPING - Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) item YUAN, JUE - Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) item Greenlee, Justin item CUI, LI - Jilin University item KONG, QINGZHONG - Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) item MASTRIANNI, JAMES - University Of Chicago item ZOU, WEN-QUAN - Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)
Submitted to: Acta Neuropathologica Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 9/8/2021 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A
Interpretive Summary: Prion diseases are invariably fatal neurologic diseases for which there is no known prevention or cure. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the prion disease of deer and elk and is present in farmed and free ranging herds throughout North America. To date there is no clear evidence that the CWD agent could be transmitted to humans. This manuscript describes the use of an in vitro technique, cell-free serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA), to generate a CWD prion that is infectious to transgenic mice expressing the human prion protein. This study provides the first evidence that CWD prions may be able to cause misfolding in the human prion protein. This information will impact medical experts and those involved in making policy for farmed cervids and wildlife.
Technical Abstract: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a cervid spongiform encephalopathy or prion disease caused by the infectious prion or PrPSc, a misfolded conformer of cellular prion protein (PrPC). It has rapidly spread in North America and also has been found in Asia and Europe. In contrast to the zoonotic mad cow disease that is the first animal prion disease found transmissible to humans, the transmissibility of CWD to humans remains uncertain although most previous studies have suggested that humans may not be susceptible to CWD. Here we report the generation of an infectious human PrPSc by seeding CWD PrPSc in normal human brain PrPC through the in vitro cell-free serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA). Western blotting confirms that the sPMCA-induced proteinase K-resistant PrPSc is a human form, evidenced by a PrP-specific antibody that recognizes human but not cervid PrP. Remarkably, two lines of humanized transgenic (Tg) mice expressing human PrP-129Val/Val (VV) or -129Met/Met (MM) polymorphism develop prion disease at 233 ± 6 (mean ± SE) days post-inoculation (dpi) and 552 ± 27 dpi, respectively, upon intracerebral inoculation with the sPMCA-generated PrPSc. The brain of diseased Tg mice reveals the electrophoretic profile of PrPSc similar to sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) MM1 or VV2 subtype but different neuropathological patterns. We believe that our study provides the first evidence that CWD PrPSc is able to convert human PrPC into PrPSc in vitro and the CWD-derived human PrPSc mimics atypical sCJD subtypes in humanized Tg mice.
''The brain of diseased Tg mice reveals the electrophoretic profile of PrPSc similar to sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) MM1 or VV2 subtype but different neuropathological patterns.''
''We believe that our study provides the first evidence that CWD PrPSc is able to convert human PrPC into PrPSc in vitro and the CWD-derived human PrPSc mimics atypical sCJD subtypes in humanized Tg mice.''
Published: 26 September 2021
Generation of human chronic wasting disease in transgenic mice
Zerui Wang, Kefeng Qin, Manuel V. Camacho, Ignazio Cali, Jue Yuan, Pingping Shen, Justin Greenlee, Qingzhong Kong, James A. Mastrianni & Wen-Quan Zou
Acta Neuropathologica Communications volume 9, Article number: 158 (2021)
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a cervid prion disease caused by the accumulation of an infectious misfolded conformer (PrPSc) of cellular prion protein (PrPC). It has been spreading rapidly in North America and also found in Asia and Europe. Although bovine spongiform encephalopathy (i.e. mad cow disease) is the only animal prion disease known to be zoonotic, the transmissibility of CWD to humans remains uncertain. Here we report the generation of the first CWD-derived infectious human PrPSc by elk CWD PrPSc-seeded conversion of PrPC in normal human brain homogenates using in vitro protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). Western blotting with human PrP selective antibody confirmed that the PMCA-generated protease-resistant PrPSc was derived from the human PrPC substrate. Two lines of humanized transgenic mice expressing human PrP with either Val or Met at the polymorphic codon 129 developed clinical prion disease following intracerebral inoculation with the PMCA-generated CWD-derived human PrPSc. Diseased mice exhibited distinct PrPSc patterns and neuropathological changes in the brain. Our study, using PMCA and animal bioassays, provides the first evidence that CWD PrPSc can cross the species barrier to convert human PrPC into infectious PrPSc that can produce bona fide prion disease when inoculated into humanized transgenic mice.
Snip...
It is worth noting that the annual number of sporadic CJD (sCJD) cases in the USA has increased, with the total number of suspected and confirmed sCJD cases rising from 284 in 2003 to 511 in 2017 (https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cjd/occurrence-transmission.html). The greatly enhanced CJD surveillance and an aging population in the USA certainly contributed to the observed increase in annual sCJD case numbers in recent years, but the possibility cannot be excluded that some of the increased sCJD prevalence is linked to CWD exposure.
In the present study, using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) assay we generate PrPSc by seeding CWD prions in normal human brain homogenates. Importantly, we reveal that two lines of humanized Tg mice expressing human PrP-129VV and 129MM develop prion diseases upon intracerebral inoculation of the abnormal PrP generated by sPMCA. We believe that our study provides the first opportunity to dissect the clinical, pathological and biochemical features of the CWD-derived human prion disease in two lines of humanized Tg mice expressing two major human PrP genotypes, respectively.
i thought i might share some news about cwd zoonosis that i got, that i cannot share or post to the public yet, i promised for various reasons, one that it will cause a shit storm for sure, but it was something i really already knew from previous studies, but, i was told that ;
==================
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep11573
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
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.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19336896.2016.1163048?journalCode=kprn20
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.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=313160
31 TAC §§65.80 - 65.83, 65.88
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE - COMPREHENSIVE RULES
31 TAC §§65.90 - 65.100
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE - MOVEMENT OF DEER
31 TAC §65.99
''As you can imagine, 2 and 5 (especially 5) may raise alarms. The evidence we have for 4 are not as strong or tight as I would like to have. At this point, please do not post any of the points publicly yet, but you can refer to points 1-3 in private discussions and all 5 points when discussing with relevant public officials to highlight the long-term risks of CWD zoonosis.''
====================
so, i figure your as about as official as it gets, and i think this science is extremely important for you to know and to converse about with your officials. it's about to burn a whole in my pocket. this is about as close as it will ever get for cwd zoonosis to be proven in my time, this and what Canada Czub et al found with the Macaques, plus an old study from cjd surveillance unit back that showed cjd and a 9% increase in risk from folks that eat venison, i will post all this below for your files Sir. i remember back in the BSE nvCJD days, from when the first BSE case in bovine was confirmed around 1984 maybe 83, i forget the good vets named that screwed it up first, Carol something, but from 83ish to 95 96 when nvCJD was linked to humans from BSE in cattle, so that took 10 to 15 years. hell, at that rate, especially with Texas and cwd zoonsis, hell, i'll be dead before it's official, if ever, so here ya go Sir. there was a grant study on cwd zoonosis that had been going on for some time, i followed it over the years, then the grant date for said study had expired, so, i thought i would write the good Professor about said study i.e. Professor Kong, CWRU et al. i will post the grant study abstract first, and then after that, what reply i got back, about said study that i was told not to post/publish...
CWD ZOONOSIS GRANT FIRST;
===============
Cervid to human prion transmission
Kong, Qingzhong
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
Abstract Prion disease is transmissible and invariably fatal. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the prion disease affecting deer, elk and moose, and it is a widespread and expanding epidemic affecting 22 US States and 2 Canadian provinces so far. CWD poses the most serious zoonotic prion transmission risks in North America because of huge venison consumption (>6 million deer/elk hunted and consumed annually in the USA alone), significant prion infectivity in muscles and other tissues/fluids from CWD-affected cervids, and usually high levels of individual exposure to CWD resulting from consumption of the affected animal among often just family and friends. However, we still do not know whether CWD prions can infect humans in the brain or peripheral tissues or whether clinical/asymptomatic CWD zoonosis has already occurred, and we have no essays to reliably detect CWD infection in humans. We hypothesize that: (1) The classic CWD prion strain can infect humans at low levels in the brain and peripheral lymphoid tissues; (2) The cervid-to-human transmission barrier is dependent on the cervid prion strain and influenced by the host (human) prion protein (PrP) primary sequence; (3) Reliable essays can be established to detect CWD infection in humans; and (4) CWD transmission to humans has already occurred. We will test these hypotheses in 4 Aims using transgenic (Tg) mouse models and complementary in vitro approaches.
Aim 1 will prove that the classical CWD strain may infect humans in brain or peripheral lymphoid tissues at low levels by conducting systemic bioassays in a set of humanized Tg mouse lines expressing common human PrP variants using a number of CWD isolates at varying doses and routes. Experimental human CWD samples will also be generated for Aim 3.
Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that the cervid-to-human prion transmission barrier is dependent on prion strain and influenced by the host (human) PrP sequence by examining and comparing the transmission efficiency and phenotypes of several atypical/unusual CWD isolates/strains as well as a few prion strains from other species that have adapted to cervid PrP sequence, utilizing the same panel of humanized Tg mouse lines as in Aim 1.
Aim 3 will establish reliable essays for detection and surveillance of CWD infection in humans by examining in details the clinical, pathological, biochemical and in vitro seeding properties of existing and future experimental human CWD samples generated from Aims 1-2 and compare them with those of common sporadic human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) prions.
Aim 4 will attempt to detect clinical CWD-affected human cases by examining a significant number of brain samples from prion-affected human subjects in the USA and Canada who have consumed venison from CWD-endemic areas utilizing the criteria and essays established in Aim 3. The findings from this proposal will greatly advance our understandings on the potential and characteristics of cervid prion transmission in humans, establish reliable essays for CWD zoonosis and potentially discover the first case(s) of CWD infection in humans.
Public Health Relevance There are significant and increasing human exposure to cervid prions because chronic wasting disease (CWD, a widespread and highly infectious prion disease among deer and elk in North America) continues spreading and consumption of venison remains popular, but our understanding on cervid-to-human prion transmission is still very limited, raising public health concerns. This proposal aims to define the zoonotic risks of cervid prions and set up and apply essays to detect CWD zoonosis using mouse models and in vitro methods. The findings will greatly expand our knowledge on the potentials and characteristics of cervid prion transmission in humans, establish reliable essays for such infections and may discover the first case(s) of CWD infection in humans.
Funding Agency Agency National Institute of Health (NIH) Institute National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Type Research Project (R01) Project # 1R01NS088604-01A1 Application # 9037884 Study Section Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neurodegeneration Study Section (CMND) Program Officer Wong, May Project Start 2015-09-30 Project End 2019-07-31 Budget Start 2015-09-30 Budget End 2016-07-31 Support Year 1 Fiscal Year 2015 Total Cost $337,507 Indirect Cost $118,756
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Professor Kongs reply to me just this month about above grant study that has NOT been published in peer reveiw yet...
=================================
Here is a brief summary of our findings:
snip...can't post, made a promise...tss
On Sat, Apr 3, 2021 at 12:19 PM Terry Singeltary <flounder9@verizon.net> wrote:
snip...
end...tss
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CWD ZOONOSIS THE FULL MONTY TO DATE
International Conference on Emerging Diseases, Outbreaks & Case Studies & 16th Annual Meeting on Influenza March 28-29, 2018 | Orlando, USA
Qingzhong Kong
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, USA
Zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease prions from cervids
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the prion disease in cervids (mule deer, white-tailed deer, American elk, moose, and reindeer). It has become an epidemic in North America, and it has been detected in the Europe (Norway) since 2016. The widespread CWD and popular hunting and consumption of cervid meat and other products raise serious public health concerns, but questions remain on human susceptibility to CWD prions, especially on the potential difference in zoonotic potential among the various CWD prion strains. We have been working to address this critical question for well over a decade. We used CWD samples from various cervid species to inoculate transgenic mice expressing human or elk prion protein (PrP). We found infectious prions in the spleen or brain in a small fraction of CWD-inoculated transgenic mice expressing human PrP, indicating that humans are not completely resistant to CWD prions; this finding has significant ramifications on the public health impact of CWD prions. The influence of cervid PrP polymorphisms, the prion strain dependence of CWD-to-human transmission barrier, and the characterization of experimental human CWD prions will be discussed.
Speaker Biography Qingzhong Kong has completed his PhD from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Post-doctoral studies at Yale University. He is currently an Associate Professor of Pathology, Neurology and Regenerative Medicine. He has published over 50 original research papers in reputable journals (including Science Translational Medicine, JCI, PNAS and Cell Reports) and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member on seven scientific journals. He has multiple research interests, including public health risks of animal prions (CWD of cervids and atypical BSE of cattle), animal modeling of human prion diseases, mechanisms of prion replication and pathogenesis, etiology of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) in humans, normal cellular PrP in the biology and pathology of multiple brain and peripheral diseases, proteins responsible for the α-cleavage of cellular PrP, as well as gene therapy and DNA vaccination.
SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2021
North American and Norwegian Chronic Wasting Disease prions exhibit different potential for interspecies transmission and zoonotic risk
''Our data suggest that reindeer and red deer from Norway could be the most transmissible CWD prions to other mammals, whereas North American CWD prions were more prone to generate human prions in vitro.''
MONDAY, JULY 19, 2021
***> U Calgary researchers at work on a vaccine against a fatal infectious disease affecting deer and potentially people
Prion Conference 2018 Abstracts
BSE aka MAD COW DISEASE, was first discovered in 1984, and it took until 1995 to finally admit that BSE was causing nvCJD, the rest there is history, but that science is still evolving i.e. science now shows that indeed atypical L-type BSE, atypical Nor-98 Scrapie, and typical Scrapie are all zoonosis, zoonotic for humans, there from.
HOW long are we going to wait for Chronic Wasting Disease, CWD TSE Prion of Cervid, and zoonosis, zoonotic tranmission to humans there from?
Studies have shown since 1994 that humans are susceptible to CWD TSE Prion, so, what's the hold up with making CWD a zoonotic zoonosis disease, the iatrogenic transmissions there from is not waiting for someone to make a decision.
Prion Conference 2018 Abstracts
P190 Human prion disease mortality rates by occurrence of chronic wasting disease in freeranging cervids, United States
Abrams JY (1), Maddox RA (1), Schonberger LB (1), Person MK (1), Appleby BS (2), Belay ED (1)
(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, GA, USA (2) Case Western Reserve University, National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), Cleveland, OH, USA.
Background
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of deer and elk that has been identified in freeranging cervids in 23 US states. While there is currently no epidemiological evidence for zoonotic transmission through the consumption of contaminated venison, studies suggest the CWD agent can cross the species barrier in experimental models designed to closely mimic humans. We compared rates of human prion disease in states with and without CWD to examine the possibility of undetermined zoonotic transmission.
Methods
Death records from the National Center for Health Statistics, case records from the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, and additional state case reports were combined to create a database of human prion disease cases from 2003-2015. Identification of CWD in each state was determined through reports of positive CWD tests by state wildlife agencies. Age- and race-adjusted mortality rates for human prion disease, excluding cases with known etiology, were determined for four categories of states based on CWD occurrence: highly endemic (>16 counties with CWD identified in free-ranging cervids); moderately endemic (3-10 counties with CWD); low endemic (1-2 counties with CWD); and no CWD states. States were counted as having no CWD until the year CWD was first identified. Analyses stratified by age, sex, and time period were also conducted to focus on subgroups for which zoonotic transmission would be more likely to be detected: cases <55 years old, male sex, and the latter half of the study (2010-2015).
Results
Highly endemic states had a higher rate of prion disease mortality compared to non-CWD states (rate ratio [RR]: 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01 - 1.23), as did low endemic states (RR: 1.15, 95% CI = 1.04 - 1.27). Moderately endemic states did not have an elevated mortality rate (RR: 1.05, 95% CI = 0.93 - 1.17). In age-stratified analyses, prion disease mortality rates among the <55 year old population were elevated for moderately endemic states (RR: 1.57, 95% CI = 1.10 – 2.24) while mortality rates were elevated among those ≥55 for highly endemic states (RR: 1.13, 95% CI = 1.02 - 1.26) and low endemic states (RR: 1.16, 95% CI = 1.04 - 1.29). In other stratified analyses, prion disease mortality rates for males were only elevated for low endemic states (RR: 1.27, 95% CI = 1.10 - 1.48), and none of the categories of CWD-endemic states had elevated mortality rates for the latter time period (2010-2015).
Conclusions
While higher prion disease mortality rates in certain categories of states with CWD in free-ranging cervids were noted, additional stratified analyses did not reveal markedly elevated rates for potentially sensitive subgroups that would be suggestive of zoonotic transmission. Unknown confounding factors or other biases may explain state-by-state differences in prion disease mortality.
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P172 Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients with Prion Disease
Wang H(1), Cohen M(1), Appleby BS(1,2)
(1) University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio (2) National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Prion disease is a fatal progressive neurodegenerative disease due to deposition of an abnormal protease-resistant isoform of prion protein. Typical symptoms include rapidly progressive dementia, myoclonus, visual disturbance and hallucinations. Interestingly, in patients with prion disease, the abnormal protein canould also be found in the peripheral nervous system. Case reports of prion deposition in peripheral nerves have been reported. Peripheral nerve involvement is thought to be uncommon; however, little is known about the exact prevalence and features of peripheral neuropathy in patients with prion disease.
We reviewed autopsy-proven prion cases from the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center that were diagnosed between September 2016 to March 2017. We collected information regarding prion protein diagnosis, demographics, comorbidities, clinical symptoms, physical exam, neuropathology, molecular subtype, genetics lab, brain MRI, image and EMG reports. Our study included 104 patients. Thirteen (12.5%) patients had either subjective symptoms or objective signs of peripheral neuropathy. Among these 13 patients, 3 had other known potential etiologies of peripheral neuropathy such as vitamin B12 deficiency or prior chemotherapy. Among 10 patients that had no other clear etiology, 3 (30%) had familial CJD. The most common sCJD subtype was MV1-2 (30%), followed by MM1-2 (20%). The Majority of cases wasere male (60%). Half of them had exposure to wild game. The most common subjective symptoms were tingling and/or numbness of distal extremities. The most common objective finding was diminished vibratory sensation in the feet. Half of them had an EMG with the findings ranging from fasciculations to axonal polyneuropathy or demyelinating polyneuropathy.
Our study provides an overview of the pattern of peripheral neuropathy in patients with prion disease. Among patients with peripheral neuropathy symptoms or signs, majority has polyneuropathy. It is important to document the baseline frequency of peripheral neuropathy in prion diseases as these symptoms may become important when conducting surveillance for potential novel zoonotic prion diseases.
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P177 PrP plaques in methionine homozygous Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients as a potential marker of iatrogenic transmission
Abrams JY (1), Schonberger LB (1), Cali I (2), Cohen Y (2), Blevins JE (2), Maddox RA (1), Belay ED (1), Appleby BS (2), Cohen ML (2)
(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, GA, USA (2) Case Western Reserve University, National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), Cleveland, OH, USA.
Background
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is widely believed to originate from de novo spontaneous conversion of normal prion protein (PrP) to its pathogenic form, but concern remains that some reported sporadic CJD cases may actually be caused by disease transmission via iatrogenic processes. For cases with methionine homozygosity (CJD-MM) at codon 129 of the PRNP gene, recent research has pointed to plaque-like PrP deposition as a potential marker of iatrogenic transmission for a subset of cases. This phenotype is theorized to originate from specific iatrogenic source CJD types that comprise roughly a quarter of known CJD cases.
Methods
We reviewed scientific literature for studies which described PrP plaques among CJD patients with known epidemiological links to iatrogenic transmission (receipt of cadaveric human grown hormone or dura mater), as well as in cases of reported sporadic CJD. The presence and description of plaques, along with CJD classification type and other contextual factors, were used to summarize the current evidence regarding plaques as a potential marker of iatrogenic transmission. In addition, 523 cases of reported sporadic CJD cases in the US from January 2013 through September 2017 were assessed for presence of PrP plaques.
Results
We identified four studies describing 52 total cases of CJD-MM among either dura mater recipients or growth hormone recipients, of which 30 were identified as having PrP plaques. While sporadic cases were not generally described as having plaques, we did identify case reports which described plaques among sporadic MM2 cases as well as case reports of plaques exclusively in white matter among sporadic MM1 cases. Among the 523 reported sporadic CJD cases, 0 of 366 MM1 cases had plaques, 2 of 48 MM2 cases had kuru plaques, and 4 of 109 MM1+2 cases had either kuru plaques or both kuru and florid plaques. Medical chart review of the six reported sporadic CJD cases with plaques did not reveal clinical histories suggestive of potential iatrogenic transmission.
Conclusions
PrP plaques occur much more frequently for iatrogenic CJD-MM cases compared to sporadic CJDMM cases. Plaques may indicate iatrogenic transmission for CJD-MM cases without a type 2 Western blot fragment. The study results suggest the absence of significant misclassifications of iatrogenic CJD as sporadic. To our knowledge, this study is the first to describe grey matter kuru plaques in apparently sporadic CJD-MM patients with a type 2 Western blot fragment.
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P180 Clinico-pathological analysis of human prion diseases in a brain bank series
Ximelis T (1), Aldecoa I (1,2), Molina-Porcel L (1,3), Grau-Rivera O (4), Ferrer I (5), Nos C (6), Gelpi E (1,7), Sánchez-Valle R (1,4)
(1) Neurological Tissue Bank of the Biobanc-Hospital ClÃnic-IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain (2) Pathological Service of Hospital ClÃnic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (3) EAIA Trastorns Cognitius, Centre Emili Mira, Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain (4) Department of Neurology of Hospital ClÃnic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (5) Institute of Neuropathology, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona (6) General subdirectorate of Surveillance and Response to Emergencies in Public Health, Department of Public Health in Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain (7) Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Background and objective:
The Neurological Tissue Bank (NTB) of the Hospital Clínic-Institut d‘Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain is the reference center in Catalonia for the neuropathological study of prion diseases in the region since 2001. The aim of this study is to analyse the characteristics of the confirmed prion diseases registered at the NTB during the last 15 years.
Methods:
We reviewed retrospectively all neuropathologically confirmed cases registered during the period January 2001 to December 2016.
Results:
176 cases (54,3% female, mean age: 67,5 years and age range: 25-86 years) of neuropathological confirmed prion diseases have been studied at the NTB. 152 cases corresponded to sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), 10 to genetic CJD, 10 to Fatal Familial Insomnia, 2 to GerstmannSträussler-Scheinker disease, and 2 cases to variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr). Within sCJD subtypes the MM1 subtype was the most frequent, followed by the VV2 histotype.
Clinical and neuropathological diagnoses agreed in 166 cases (94%). The clinical diagnosis was not accurate in 10 patients with definite prion disease: 1 had a clinical diagnosis of Fronto-temporal dementia (FTD), 1 Niemann-Pick‘s disease, 1 Lewy Body‘s Disease, 2 Alzheimer‘s disease, 1 Cortico-basal syndrome and 2 undetermined dementia. Among patients with VPSPr, 1 had a clinical diagnosis of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the other one with FTD.
Concomitant pathologies are frequent in older age groups, mainly AD neuropathological changes were observed in these subjects.
Discussion:
A wide spectrum of human prion diseases have been identified in the NTB being the relative frequencies and main characteristics like other published series. There is a high rate of agreement between clinical and neuropathological diagnoses with prion diseases. These findings show the importance that public health has given to prion diseases during the past 15 years. Continuous surveillance of human prion disease allows identification of new emerging phenotypes. Brain tissue samples from these donors are available to the scientific community. For more information please visit:
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P192 Prion amplification techniques for the rapid evaluation of surface decontamination procedures
Bruyere-Ostells L (1), Mayran C (1), Belondrade M (1), Boublik Y (2), Haïk S (3), Fournier-Wirth C (1), Nicot S (1), Bougard D (1)
(1) Pathogenesis and control of chronic infections, Etablissement Français du Sang, Inserm, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France. (2) Centre de Recherche en Biologie cellulaire de Montpellier, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France. (3) Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, Paris, France.
Aims:
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases are a group of incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disorders including Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases (CJD) in humans. These pathologies include sporadic (sCJD), genetic and acquired (variant CJD) forms. By the past, sCJD and vCJD were transmitted by different prion contaminated biological materials to patients resulting in more than 400 iatrogenic cases (iCJD). The atypical nature and the biochemical properties of the infectious agent, formed by abnormal prion protein or PrPTSE, make it particularly resistant to conventional decontamination procedures. In addition, PrPTSE is widely distributed throughout the organism before clinical onset in vCJD and can also be detected in some peripheral tissues in sporadic CJD. Risk of iatrogenic transmission of CJD by contaminated medical device remains thus a concern for healthcare facilities. Bioassay is the gold standard method to evaluate the efficacy of prion decontamination procedures but is time-consuming and expensive. Here, we propose to compare in vitro prion amplification techniques: Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (PMCA) and Real-Time Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) for the detection of residual prions on surface after decontamination.
Methods:
Stainless steel wires, by mimicking the surface of surgical instruments, were proposed as a carrier model of prions for inactivation studies. To determine the sensitivity of the two amplification techniques on wires (Surf-PMCA and Surf-QuIC), steel wires were therefore contaminated with serial dilutions of brain homogenates (BH) from a 263k infected hamster and from a patient with sCJD (MM1 subtype). We then compared the different standard decontamination procedures including partially and fully efficient treatments by detecting the residual seeding activity on 263K and sCJD contaminated wires. We completed our study by the evaluation of marketed reagents endorsed for prion decontamination.
Results:
The two amplification techniques can detect minute quantities of PrPTSE adsorbed onto a single wire. 8/8 wires contaminated with a 10-6 dilution of 263k BH and 1/6 with the 10-8 dilution are positive with Surf-PMCA. Similar performances were obtained with Surf-QuIC on 263K: 10/16 wires contaminated with 10-6 dilution and 1/8 wires contaminated with 10-8 dilution are positive. Regarding the human sCJD-MM1 prion, Surf-QuIC allows us to detect 16/16 wires contaminated with 10-6 dilutions and 14/16 with 10-7 . Results obtained after decontamination treatments are very similar between 263K and sCJD prions. Efficiency of marketed treatments to remove prions is lower than expected.
Conclusions:
Surf-PMCA and Surf-QuIC are very sensitive methods for the detection of prions on wires and could be applied to prion decontamination studies for rapid evaluation of new treatments. Sodium hypochlorite is the only product to efficiently remove seeding activity of both 263K and sCJD prions.
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WA2 Oral transmission of CWD into Cynomolgus macaques: signs of atypical disease, prion conversion and infectivity in macaques and bio-assayed transgenic mice
Schatzl HM (1, 2), Hannaoui S (1, 2), Cheng Y-C (1, 2), Gilch S (1, 2), Beekes M (3), SchulzSchaeffer W (4), Stahl-Hennig C (5) and Czub S (2, 6)
(1) University of Calgary, Calgary Prion Research Unit, Calgary, Canada (2) University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Calgary, Canada, (3) Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany, (4) University of Homburg/Saar, Homburg, Germany, (5) German Primate Center, Goettingen, Germany, (6) Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Lethbridge, Canada.
To date, BSE is the only example of interspecies transmission of an animal prion disease into humans. The potential zoonotic transmission of CWD is an alarming issue and was addressed by many groups using a variety of in vitro and in vivo experimental systems. Evidence from these studies indicated a substantial, if not absolute, species barrier, aligning with the absence of epidemiological evidence suggesting transmission into humans. Studies in non-human primates were not conclusive so far, with oral transmission into new-world monkeys and no transmission into old-world monkeys. Our consortium has challenged 18 Cynomolgus macaques with characterized CWD material, focusing on oral transmission with muscle tissue. Some macaques have orally received a total of 5 kg of muscle material over a period of 2 years. After 5-7 years of incubation time some animals showed clinical symptoms indicative of prion disease, and prion neuropathology and PrPSc deposition were found in spinal cord and brain of euthanized animals. PrPSc in immunoblot was weakly detected in some spinal cord materials and various tissues tested positive in RT-QuIC, including lymph node and spleen homogenates. To prove prion infectivity in the macaque tissues, we have intracerebrally inoculated 2 lines of transgenic mice, expressing either elk or human PrP. At least 3 TgElk mice, receiving tissues from 2 different macaques, showed clinical signs of a progressive prion disease and brains were positive in immunoblot and RT-QuIC. Tissues (brain, spinal cord and spleen) from these and preclinical mice are currently tested using various read-outs and by second passage in mice. Transgenic mice expressing human PrP were so far negative for clear clinical prion disease (some mice >300 days p.i.). In parallel, the same macaque materials are inoculated into bank voles. Taken together, there is strong evidence of transmissibility of CWD orally into macaques and from macaque tissues into transgenic mouse models, although with an incomplete attack rate. The clinical and pathological presentation in macaques was mostly atypical, with a strong emphasis on spinal cord pathology. Our ongoing studies will show whether the transmission of CWD into macaques and passage in transgenic mice represents a form of non-adaptive prion amplification, and whether macaque-adapted prions have the potential to infect mice expressing human PrP. The notion that CWD can be transmitted orally into both new-world and old-world non-human primates asks for a careful reevaluation of the zoonotic risk of CWD.
See also poster P103
***> The notion that CWD can be transmitted orally into both new-world and old-world non-human primates asks for a careful reevaluation of the zoonotic risk of CWD.
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WA16 Monitoring Potential CWD Transmission to Humans
Belay ED
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, GA, USA.
The spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in animals has raised concerns about increasing human exposure to the CWD agent via hunting and venison consumption, potentially facilitating CWD transmission to humans. Several studies have explored this possibility, including limited epidemiologic studies, in vitro experiments, and laboratory studies using various types of animal models. Most human exposures to the CWD agent in the United States would be expected to occur in association with deer and elk hunting in CWD-endemic areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated with state health departments in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Wyoming to identify persons at risk of CWD exposure and to monitor their vital status over time. Databases were established of persons who hunted in Colorado and Wyoming and those who reported consumption of venison from deer that later tested positive in Wisconsin. Information from the databases is periodically cross-checked with mortality data to determine the vital status and causes of death for deceased persons. Long-term follow-up of these hunters is needed to assess their risk of development of a prion disease linked to CWD exposure.
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P166 Characterization of CJD strain profiles in venison consumers and non-consumers from Alberta and Saskatchewan
Stephanie Booth (1,2), Lise Lamoureux (1), Debra Sorensen (1), Jennifer L. Myskiw (1,2), Megan Klassen (1,2), Michael Coulthart (3), Valerie Sim (4)
(1) Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg (2) Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg (3) Canadian CJD Surveillance System, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa (4) Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is spreading rapidly through wild cervid populations in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. While this has implications for tourism and hunting, there is also concern over possible zoonotic transmission to humans who eat venison from infected deer. Whilst there is no evidence of any human cases of CWD to date, the Canadian CJD Surveillance System (CJDSS) in Canada is staying vigilant. When variant CJD occurred following exposure to BSE, the unique biochemical fingerprint of the pathologic PrP enabled a causal link to be confirmed. However, we cannot be sure what phenotype human CWD prions would present with, or indeed, whether this would be distinct from that see in sporadic CJD. Therefore we are undertaking a systematic analysis of the molecular diversity of CJD cases of individuals who resided in Alberta and Saskatchewan at their time of death comparing venison consumers and non-consumers, using a variety of clinical, imaging, pathological and biochemical markers. Our initial objective is to develop novel biochemical methodologies that will extend the baseline glycoform and genetic polymorphism typing that is already completed by the CJDSS. Firstly, we are reviewing MRI, EEG and pathology information from over 40 cases of CJD to select clinically affected areas for further investigation. Biochemical analysis will include assessment of the levels of protease sensitive and resistant prion protein, glycoform typing using 2D gel electrophoresis, testing seeding capabilities and kinetics of aggregation by quaking-induced conversion, and determining prion oligomer size distributions with asymmetric flow field fractionation with in-line light scattering. Progress and preliminary data will be presented. Ultimately, we intend to further define the relationship between PrP structure and disease phenotype and establish a baseline for the identification of future atypical CJD cases that may arise as a result of exposure to CWD.
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Source Prion Conference 2018 Abstracts
Volume 24, Number 8—August 2018 Research Susceptibility of Human Prion Protein to Conversion by Chronic Wasting Disease Prions
Marcelo A. BarriaComments to Author , Adriana Libori, Gordon Mitchell, and Mark W. Head Author affiliations: National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK (M.A. Barria, A. Libori, M.W. Head); National and OIE Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (G. Mitchell)
Abstract Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious and fatal neurodegenerative disease and a serious animal health issue for deer and elk in North America. The identification of the first cases of CWD among free-ranging reindeer and moose in Europe brings back into focus the unresolved issue of whether CWD can be zoonotic like bovine spongiform encephalopathy. We used a cell-free seeded protein misfolding assay to determine whether CWD prions from elk, white-tailed deer, and reindeer in North America can convert the human prion protein to the disease-associated form. We found that prions can convert, but the efficiency of conversion is affected by polymorphic variation in the cervid and human prion protein genes. In view of the similarity of reindeer, elk, and white-tailed deer in North America to reindeer, red deer, and roe deer, respectively, in Europe, a more comprehensive and thorough assessment of the zoonotic potential of CWD might be warranted.
snip...
Discussion Characterization of the transmission properties of CWD and evaluation of their zoonotic potential are important for public health purposes. Given that CWD affects several members of the family Cervidae, it seems reasonable to consider whether the zoonotic potential of CWD prions could be affected by factors such as CWD strain, cervid species, geographic location, and Prnp–PRNP polymorphic variation. We have previously used an in vitro conversion assay (PMCA) to investigate the susceptibility of the human PrP to conversion to its disease-associated form by several animal prion diseases, including CWD (15,16,22). The sensitivity of our molecular model for the detection of zoonotic conversion depends on the combination of 1) the action of proteinase K to degrade the abundant human PrPC that constitutes the substrate while only N terminally truncating any human PrPres produced and 2) the presence of the 3F4 epitope on human but not cervid PrP. In effect, this degree of sensitivity means that any human PrPres formed during the PMCA reaction can be detected down to the limit of Western blot sensitivity. In contrast, if other antibodies that detect both cervid and human PrP are used, such as 6H4, then newly formed human PrPres must be detected as a measurable increase in PrPres over the amount remaining in the reaction product from the cervid seed. Although best known for the efficient amplification of prions in research and diagnostic contexts, the variation of the PMCA method employed in our study is optimized for the definitive detection of zoonotic reaction products of inherently inefficient conversion reactions conducted across species barriers. By using this system, we previously made and reported the novel observation that elk CWD prions could convert human PrPC from human brain and could also convert recombinant human PrPC expressed in transgenic mice and eukaryotic cell cultures (15).
A previous publication suggested that mule deer PrPSc was unable to convert humanized transgenic substrate in PMCA assays (23) and required a further step of in vitro conditioning in deer substrate PMCA before it was able to cross the deer–human molecular barrier (24). However, prions from other species, such as elk (15) and reindeer affected by CWD, appear to be compatible with the human protein in a single round of amplification (as shown in our study). These observations suggest that different deer species affected by CWD could present differing degrees of the olecular compatibility with the normal form of human PrP.
The contribution of the polymorphism at codon 129 of the human PrP gene has been extensively studied and is recognized as a risk factor for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (4). In cervids, the equivalent codon corresponds to the position 132 encoding methionine or leucine. This polymorphism in the elk gene has been shown to play an important role in CWD susceptibility (25,26). We have investigated the effect of this cervid Prnp polymorphism on the conversion of the humanized transgenic substrate according to the variation in the equivalent PRNP codon 129 polymorphism. Interestingly, only the homologs methionine homozygous seed–substrate reactions could readily convert the human PrP, whereas the heterozygous elk PrPSc was unable to do so, even though comparable amounts of PrPres were used to seed the reaction. In addition, we observed only low levels of human PrPres formation in the reactions seeded with the homozygous methionine (132 MM) and the heterozygous (132 ML) seeds incubated with the other 2 human polymorphic substrates (129 MV and 129 VV). The presence of the amino acid leucine at position 132 of the elk Prnp gene has been attributed to a lower degree of prion conversion compared with methionine on the basis of experiments in mice made transgenic for these polymorphic variants (26). Considering the differences observed for the amplification of the homozygous human methionine substrate by the 2 polymorphic elk seeds (MM and ML), reappraisal of the susceptibility of human PrPC by the full range of cervid polymorphic variants affected by CWD would be warranted.
In light of the recent identification of the first cases of CWD in Europe in a free-ranging reindeer (R. tarandus) in Norway (2), we also decided to evaluate the in vitro conversion potential of CWD in 2 experimentally infected reindeer (18). Formation of human PrPres was readily detectable after a single round of PMCA, and in all 3 humanized polymorphic substrates (MM, MV, and VV). This finding suggests that CWD prions from reindeer could be more compatible with human PrPC generally and might therefore present a greater risk for zoonosis than, for example, CWD prions from white-tailed deer. A more comprehensive comparison of CWD in the affected species, coupled with the polymorphic variations in the human and deer PRNP–Prnp genes, in vivo and in vitro, will be required before firm conclusions can be drawn. Analysis of the Prnp sequence of the CWD reindeer in Norway was reported to be identical to the specimens used in our study (2). This finding raises the possibility of a direct comparison of zoonotic potential between CWD acquired in the wild and that produced in a controlled laboratory setting. (Table).
The prion hypothesis proposes that direct molecular interaction between PrPSc and PrPC is necessary for conversion and prion replication. Accordingly, polymorphic variants of the PrP of host and agent might play a role in determining compatibility and potential zoonotic risk. In this study, we have examined the capacity of the human PrPC to support in vitro conversion by elk, white-tailed deer, and reindeer CWD PrPSc. Our data confirm that elk CWD prions can convert the human PrPC, at least in vitro, and show that the homologous PRNP polymorphisms at codon 129 and 132 in humans and cervids affect conversion efficiency. Other species affected by CWD, particularly caribou or reindeer, also seem able to convert the human PrP. It will be important to determine whether other polymorphic variants found in other CWD-affected Cervidae or perhaps other factors (17) exert similar effects on the ability to convert human PrP and thus affect their zoonotic potential.
Dr. Barria is a research scientist working at the National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, University of Edinburgh. His research has focused on understanding the molecular basis of a group of fatal neurologic disorders called prion diseases.
Acknowledgments We thank Aru Balachandran for originally providing cervid brain tissues, Abigail Diack and Jean Manson for providing mouse brain tissue, and James Ironside for his critical reading of the manuscript at an early stage.
This report is independent research commissioned and funded by the United Kingdom’s Department of Health Policy Research Programme and the Government of Scotland. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Health or the Government of Scotland.
Author contributions: The study was conceived and designed by M.A.B. and M.W.H. The experiments were conducted by M.A.B. and A.L. Chronic wasting disease brain specimens were provided by G.M. The manuscript was written by M.A.B. and M.W.H. All authors contributed to the editing and revision of the manuscript.
Prion 2017 Conference Abstracts
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 ABSTRACTS REFERENCE
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.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2019
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion and THE FEAST 2003 CDC an updated review of the science 2019
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2014
Six-year follow-up of a point-source exposure to CWD contaminated venison in an Upstate New York community: risk behaviours and health outcomes 2005–2011
Authors, though, acknowledged the study was limited in geography and sample size and so it couldn't draw a conclusion about the risk to humans. They recommended more study. Dr. Ermias Belay was the report's principal author but he said New York and Oneida County officials are following the proper course by not launching a study. "There's really nothing to monitor presently. No one's sick," Belay said, noting the disease's incubation period in deer and elk is measured in years. "
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
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.
sporadic, spontaneous CJD, 85%+ of all human TSE, did not just happen. never in scientific literature has this been proven.
if one looks up the word sporadic or spontaneous at pubmed, you will get a laundry list of disease that are classified in such a way;
sporadic = 54,983 hits https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=sporadic
spontaneous = 325,650 hits https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=spontaneous
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 $$$ ***
> However, to date, no CWD infections have been reported in people.
key word here is ‘reported’. science has shown that CWD in humans will look like sporadic CJD. SO, how can one assume that CWD has not already transmitted to humans? they can’t, and it’s as simple as that. from all recorded science to date, CWD has already transmitted to humans, and it’s being misdiagnosed as sporadic CJD. …terry
*** LOOKING FOR CWD IN HUMANS AS nvCJD or as an ATYPICAL CJD, LOOKING IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES $$$ ***
*** 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).***
CWD TSE PRION AND ZOONOTIC, ZOONOSIS, POTENTIAL
Subject: Re: DEER SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY SURVEY & HOUND STUDY
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 23:12:22 +0100
From: Steve Dealler
Reply-To: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Organization: Netscape Online member
To: BSE-L@ References: <3daf5023 .4080804="" wt.net="">
Dear Terry,
An excellent piece of review as this literature is desparately difficult to get back from Government sites.
What happened with the deer was that an association between deer meat eating and sporadic CJD was found in about 1993. The evidence was not great but did not disappear after several years of asking CJD cases what they had eaten. I think that the work into deer disease largely stopped because it was not helpful to the UK industry...and no specific cases were reported. Well, if you dont look adequately like they are in USA currenly then you wont find any!
Steve Dealler ===============
''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).''
CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM THIRD ANNUAL REPORT AUGUST 1994
Consumption of venison and veal was much less widespread among both cases and controls. For both of these meats there was evidence of a trend with increasing frequency of consumption being associated with increasing risk of CJD. (not nvCJD, but sporadic CJD...tss) These associations were largely unchanged when attention was restricted to pairs with data obtained from relatives. ...
Table 9 presents the results of an analysis of these data.
There is STRONG evidence of an association between ‘’regular’’ veal eating and risk of CJD (p = .0.01).
Individuals reported to eat veal on average at least once a year appear to be at 13 TIMES THE RISK of individuals who have never eaten veal.
There is, however, a very wide confidence interval around this estimate. There is no strong evidence that eating veal less than once per year is associated with increased risk of CJD (p = 0.51).
The association between venison eating and risk of CJD shows similar pattern, with regular venison eating associated with a 9 FOLD INCREASE IN RISK OF CJD (p = 0.04).
There is some evidence that risk of CJD INCREASES WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY OF LAMB EATING (p = 0.02).
The evidence for such an association between beef eating and CJD is weaker (p = 0.14). When only controls for whom a relative was interviewed are included, this evidence becomes a little STRONGER (p = 0.08).
snip...
It was found that when veal was included in the model with another exposure, the association between veal and CJD remained statistically significant (p = < 0.05 for all exposures), while the other exposures ceased to be statistically significant (p = > 0.05).
snip...
In conclusion, an analysis of dietary histories revealed statistical associations between various meats/animal products and INCREASED RISK OF CJD. When some account was taken of possible confounding, the association between VEAL EATING AND RISK OF CJD EMERGED AS THE STRONGEST OF THESE ASSOCIATIONS STATISTICALLY. ...
snip...
In the study in the USA, a range of foodstuffs were associated with an increased risk of CJD, including liver consumption which was associated with an apparent SIX-FOLD INCREASE IN THE RISK OF CJD. By comparing the data from 3 studies in relation to this particular dietary factor, the risk of liver consumption became non-significant with an odds ratio of 1.2 (PERSONAL COMMUNICATION, PROFESSOR A. HOFMAN. ERASMUS UNIVERSITY, ROTTERDAM). (???...TSS)
snip...see full report ;
http://web.archive.org/web/20090506050043/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1994/08/00004001.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20090506050244/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1994/07/00001001.pdf
BSE Inquiry Steve Dealler
Management In Confidence
BSE: Private Submission of Bovine Brain Dealler
snip...see full text;
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019
***> MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN BSE, SCRAPIE, CWD, CJD, TSE PRION A REVIEW 2019
***> ''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).''
***> In conclusion, sensory symptoms and loss of reflexes in Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome can be explained by neuropathological changes in the spinal cord. We conclude that the sensory symptoms and loss of lower limb reflexes in Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome is due to pathology in the caudal spinal cord. <***
***> The clinical and pathological presentation in macaques was mostly atypical, with a strong emphasis on spinal cord pathology.<***
***> The notion that CWD can be transmitted orally into both new-world and old-world non-human primates asks for a careful reevaluation of the zoonotic risk of CWD. <***
***> 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.<***
***> 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) <***
***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.***
Even if the prevailing view is that sporadic CJD is due to the spontaneous formation of CJD prions, it remains possible that its apparent sporadic nature may, at least in part, result from our limited capacity to identify an environmental origin.
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep11573
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.
==============
https://prion2015.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/prion2015abstracts.pdf
***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.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19336896.2016.1163048?journalCode=kprn20
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.
==============
https://prion2015.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/prion2015abstracts.pdf
***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.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19336896.2016.1163048?journalCode=kprn20
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
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.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19336896.2016.1163048?journalCode=kprn20
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.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=313160
GAME FARM INDUSTRY WANTS TO COVER UP FINDINGS OF INCREASE RISK TO CJD FROM CERVID
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 regarding the consumption of venison was put into perspective in the body of the report and was not mentioned at all in the press release. Media attention regarding this report was low key but gave a realistic presentation of the statistical findings of the Unit. This approach to publication was successful in that consumption of venison was highlighted only once by the media ie. in the News at one television proqramme.
I believe that a further statement about the report, or indeed statistical links between CJD and consumption of venison, would increase, and quite possibly give damaging credence, to the whole issue. From the low key media reports of which I am aware it seems unlikely that venison consumption will suffer adversely, if at all.
http://web.archive.org/web/20030511010117/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1994/10/00003001.pdf
Recently the question has again been brought up as to whether scrapie is transmissible to man. This has followed reports that the disease has been transmitted to primates. One particularly lurid speculation (Gajdusek 1977) conjectures that the agents of scrapie, kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and transmissible encephalopathy of mink are varieties of a single "virus". The U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded that it could "no longer justify or permit scrapie-blood line and scrapie-exposed sheep and goats to be processed for human or animal food at slaughter or rendering plants" (ARC 84/77)" The problem is emphasized by the finding that some strains of scrapie produce lesions identical to the once which characterize the human dementias"
Whether true or not. the hypothesis that these agents might be transmissible to man raises two considerations. First, the safety of laboratory personnel requires prompt attention. Second, action such as the "scorched meat" policy of USDA makes the solution of the scrapie problem urgent if the sheep industry is not to suffer grievously.
snip...
76/10.12/4.6
IN CONFIDENCE
SCRAPIE TRANSMISSION TO CHIMPANZEES
IN CONFIDENCE
reference...
RB3.20
TRANSMISSION TO CHIMPANZEES
1. Kuru and CJD have been successfully transmitted to chimpanzees but scrapie and TME have not.
2. We cannot say that scrapie will not transmit to chimpanzees. There are several scrapie strains and I am not aware that all have been tried (that would have to be from mouse passaged material). Nor has a wide enough range of field isolates subsequently strain typed in mice been inoculated by the appropriate routes (i/c, ilp and i/v) :
3. I believe the proposed experiment to determine transmissibility, if conducted, would only show the susceptibility or resistance of the chimpanzee to infection/disease by the routes used and the result could not be interpreted for the predictability of the susceptibility for man. Proposals for prolonged oral exposure of chimpanzees to milk from cattle were suggested a long while ago and rejected.
4. In view of Dr Gibbs' probable use of chimpazees Mr Wells' comments (enclosed) are pertinent. I have yet to receive a direct communication from Dr Schellekers but before any collaboration or provision of material we should identify the Gibbs' proposals and objectives.
5. A positive result from a chimpanzee challenged severely 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.
6. A negative result would take a lifetime to determine but that would be a shorter period than might be available for human exposure and it would still not answer the question regarding mans' susceptibility. In the meantime no doubt the negativity would be used defensively. It would however be counterproductive if the experiment finally became positive. We may learn more about public reactions following next Monday' s meeting.
R. Bradley
23 September 1990
CVO (+Mr Wells' comments)
Dr T W A Little
Dr B J Shreeve
90/9.23/1.1.
http://web.archive.org/web/20090506041740/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/09/23001001.pdf
IN CONFIDENCE CHIMPANZEES
CODE 18-77 Reference RB3.46
Some further information that may assist in decision making has been gained by discussion with Dr Rosalind Ridley.
She says that careful study of Gajdusek's work shows no increased susceptibility of chimpanzees over New World Monkeys such as Squirrel Monkeys. She does not think it would tell you anything about the susceptibility to man. Also Gajdusek did not, she believes, challenge chimpanzees with scrapie as severely as we did pigs and we know little of that source of scrapie. Comparisons would be difficult. She also would not expect the Home Office to sanction such experiments here unless there was a very clear and important objective that would be important for human health protection. She doubted such a case could be made. If this is the case she thought it would be unethical to do an experiment abroad because we could not do it in our own country.
Retrospectively she feels they should have put up more marmosets than they did. They all remain healthy. They would normally regard the transmission as negative if no disease resulted in five years.
We are not being asked for a decision but I think that before we made one we should gain as much knowledge as we can. If we decided to proceed we would have to bear any criticisms for many years if there was an adverse view by scientists or media. This should not be undertaken lightly. There is already some adverse comment here, I gather, on the pig experiment though that will subside.
The Gibbs' (as' distinct from Schellekers') study is somewhat different. We are merely supplying material for comparative studies in a laboratory with the greatest experience of human SEs in the world and it has been sanctioned by USDA (though we do not know for certain yet if chimpanzees specifically will be used). This would keep it at a lower profile than if we conducted such an experiment in the UK or Europe.
I consider we must have very powerful and defendable objectives to go beyond Gibbs' proposed experiments and should not initiate others just because an offer has been made.
Scientists have a responsibility to seek other methods of investigative research other than animal experimentation. At present no objective has convinced me we need to do research using Chimpanzees - a species in need of protection. Resisting such proposals would enable us to communicate that information to the scientist and the public should the need arise. A line would have been drawn.
CVO cc Dr T Dr B W A Little Dr B J Shreeve
R Bradley
26 September 1990
90/9.26/3.2
http://web.archive.org/web/20090506041605/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/09/26003001.pdf
this is tse prion political theater here, i.e. what i call TSE PRION POKER...tss
3. Prof. A. Robertson gave a brief account of BSE. The US approach was to accord it a very low profile indeed. Dr. A Thiermann showed the picture in the ''Independent'' with cattle being incinerated and thought this was a fanatical incident to be avoided in the US at all costs.
snip...
PAGE 26
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.
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 its subsequent recognition as a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific research funding was forthcoming. The USDA viewed it as a wildlife problem and consequently not their province! ...page 26.
snip...see;
IN CONFIDENCE
PERCEPTIONS OF UNCONVENTIONAL SLOW VIRUS DISEASE OF ANIMALS IN THE USA
GAH WELLS
REPORT OF A VISIT TO THE USA
APRIL-MAY 1989
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...
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019
***> MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN BSE, SCRAPIE, CWD, CJD, TSE PRION A REVIEW 2019
*** 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.
***> Scrapie vs Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion ???
172. Establishment of PrPCWD extraction and detection methods in the farm soil
Kyung Je Park, Hoo Chang Park, In Soon Roh, Hyo Jin Kim, Hae-Eun Kang and Hyun Joo Sohn
Foreign Animal Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea
Conclusions: Our studies showed that PrPCWD persist in 0.001% CWD contaminated soil for at least 4 year and natural CWD-affected farm soil. When cervid reintroduced into CWD outbreak farm, the strict decontamination procedures of the infectious agent should be performed in the environment of CWD-affected cervid habitat.
Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES Location: Virus and Prion Research
Title: Scrapie transmits to white-tailed deer by the oral route and has a molecular profile similar to chronic wasting disease
Author
item Greenlee, Justin item Moore, S - Orise Fellow item Smith, Jodi - Iowa State University item Kunkle, Robert item West Greenlee, M - Iowa State University Submitted to: American College of Veterinary Pathologists Meeting Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 8/12/2015 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A
Interpretive Summary:
Technical Abstract: 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 two 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, two distinct molecular profiles of PrPSc are present in the tissues of affected deer, and inoculum of either profile readily passes to deer.
***> “In summary, this work demonstrates that WTD are susceptible to the agent of scrapie, two distinct molecular profiles of PrPSc are present in the tissues of affected deer, and inoculum of either profile readily passes to deer.”
223. Scrapie in white-tailed deer: a strain of the CWD agent that efficiently transmits to sheep?
Justin J. Greenleea, Robyn D. Kokemullera, S. Jo Moorea and Heather West Greenleeb
aVirus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA, USA; bDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, IA, USA
CONTACT Justin J. Greenlee Justin.Greenlee@ars.usda.gov
ABSTRACT
Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of sheep and goats that is associated with widespread accumulation of abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) in the central nervous and lymphoid tissues. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the natural prion disease of cervid species, and the tissue distribution of PrPSc in affected cervids is similar to scrapie in sheep. There are several lines of evidence that suggest that multiple strains of CWD exist, which may affect the agent’s potential to transmit to hosts of the same or different species. We inoculated white-tailed deer with the scrapie agent from ARQ/ARQ sheep, which resulted in 100% attack rates by either the intracranial or oronasal route of inoculation. When examining tissues from the brainstems or lymphoid tissues by traditional diagnostic methods such as immunohistochemistry or western blots, it is difficult to differentiate tissues from deer infected with scrapie from those infected with CWD. However, there are several important differences between tissues from scrapie-infected white-tailed deer (WTD scrapie) and those infected with CWD (WTD CWD). First, there are different patterns of PrPSc deposition in the brains of infected deer: brain tissues from deer with WTD scrapie had predominantly particulate and stellate immunoreactivity whereas those from deer with WTD-CWD had large aggregates and plaque-like deposits. Secondly, the incubation periods of WTD scrapie isolates are longer than CWD isolates in mice expressing cervid prion protein. Most notably, the transmission potential of these two isolates back to sheep is distinctly different. Attempts to transmit various CWD isolates to sheep by the oral or oronasal routes have been unsuccessful despite observation periods of up to 7 years. However, WTD scrapie efficiently transmitted back to sheep by the oronasal route. Upon transmission back to sheep, the WTD scrapie isolate exhibited different phenotypic properties when compared to the sheep receiving the original sheep scrapie inoculum including different genotype susceptibilities, distinct PrPSc deposition patterns, and much more rapid incubation periods in transgenic mice expressing the ovine prion protein. The scrapie agent readily transmits between sheep and deer after oronasal exposure. This could confound the identification of CWD strains in deer and the eradication of scrapie from sheep.
***> “The scrapie agent readily transmits between sheep and deer after oronasal exposure. This could confound the identification of CWD strains in deer and the eradication of scrapie from sheep.”
Title: Scrapie transmits to white-tailed deer by the oral route and has a molecular profile similar to chronic wasting disease
J Vet Diagn Invest . 2021 Jul;33(4):711-720. doi: 10.1177/10406387211017615. Epub 2021 May 28. D Cassmann 1, Rylie D Frese 1, Justin J Greenlee 1
Affiliations expand PMID: 34047228 PMCID: PMC8229824 (available on 2022-05-28)DOI: 10.1177/10406387211017615 Full text linksCite Abstract
The origin of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids is unclear. One hypothesis suggests that CWD originated from scrapie in sheep. We compared the disease phenotype of sheep-adapted CWD to classical scrapie in sheep. We inoculated sheep intracranially with brain homogenate from first-passage mule deer CWD in sheep (sCWDmd). The attack rate in second-passage sheep was 100% (12 of 12). Sheep had prominent lymphoid accumulations of PrPSc reminiscent of classical scrapie. The pattern and distribution of PrPSc in the brains of sheep with CWDmd was similar to scrapie strain 13-7 but different from scrapie strain x124. The western blot glycoprofiles of sCWDmd were indistinguishable from scrapie strain 13-7; however, independent of sheep genotype, glycoprofiles of sCWDmd were different than x124. When sheep genotypes were evaluated individually, there was considerable overlap in the glycoprofiles that precluded significant discrimination between sheep CWD and scrapie strains. Our data suggest that the phenotype of CWD in sheep is indistinguishable from some strains of scrapie in sheep. Given our results, current detection techniques would be unlikely to distinguish CWD in sheep from scrapie in sheep if cross-species transmission occurred naturally. It is unknown if sheep are naturally vulnerable to CWD; however, the susceptibility of sheep after intracranial inoculation and lymphoid accumulation indicates that the species barrier is not absolute.
Keywords: PrPSc proteins; chronic wasting disease; deer; prions; scrapie; sheep.
***> ”Our data suggest that the phenotype of CWD in sheep is indistinguishable from some strains of scrapie in sheep. Given our results, current detection techniques would be unlikely to distinguish CWD in sheep from scrapie in sheep if cross-species transmission occurred naturally.”
Title: Second passage of chronic wasting disease of mule deer in sheep compared to classical scrapie after intracranial inoculation
Taken together, these data suggest that the phenotype of CWD in sheep is indistinguishable from some strains of scrapie in sheep.
''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.''
Title: Passage of scrapie to deer results in a new phenotype upon return passage to sheep
Title: Transmission of the agent of sheep scrapie to deer results in PrPSc with two distinct molecular profiles
***> In summary, this work demonstrates that WTD are susceptible to the agent of scrapie, two distinct molecular profiles of PrPSc are present in the tissues of affected deer, and inoculum of either profile type readily passes to deer.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021
Experimental Oronasal Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Agent from White-Tailed Deer to Suffolk Sheep Volume 27, Number 12—December 2021 Dispatch
OIE ATYPICAL SCRAPIE AND ATYPICAL BSE
***> AS is considered more likely (subjective probability range 50–66%) that AS is a non-contagious, rather than a contagious, disease.
ATYPICAL SCRAPIE ROUGHLY HAS 50 50 CHANCE ATYPICAL SCRAPIE IS CONTAGIOUS, AS NON-CONTAGIOUS, TAKE YOUR PICK, BUT I SAID IT LONG AGO WHEN USDA OIE ET AL MADE ATYPICAL SCRAPIE A LEGAL TRADING COMODITY, I SAID YOUR PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY DID, and it's called in Texas, TEXAS TSE PRION HOLDEM POKER, WHO'S ALL IN $$$
THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021
EFSA Scientific report on the analysis of the 2‐year compulsory intensified monitoring of atypical scrapie
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021
Scrapie at Abattoir: Monitoring, Control, and Differential Diagnosis of Wasting Conditions during Meat Inspection
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 about that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had previously been occupied by sheep.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2021
Idaho Two white-tailed deer test positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in same area as previous CWD cases
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2021
Texas Register December 17, 2021 Volume 46 Number 51 Pages 8397-8844 Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) TSE PrP
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2021
TPWD CWD TSE PRION TRACKER UPDATE TEXAS 270 CONFIRMED TO DATE POSTIVE CAPTIVE AND WILD
WILDLIFECHRONIC WASTING DISEASE (CWD)
31 TAC §§65.80 - 65.83, 65.88
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE - COMPREHENSIVE RULES
31 TAC §§65.90 - 65.100
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE - MOVEMENT OF DEER
31 TAC §65.99
TEXAS TPWD CWD TSE PRION UPDATE 270 CONFIRMED TO DATE POSTIVE CAPTIVE AND WILD
Subject: SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE 410th COMMISSION MEETING Texas Animal Health Commission September 21, 2021 CWD TSE PrP
Subject: SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE 410th COMMISSION MEETING Texas Animal Health Commission September 21, 2021 CWD TSE PrP
SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE 410th COMMISSION MEETING Texas Animal Health Commission September 21, 2021 CWD TSE PrP
SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE 410th COMMISSION MEETING Texas Animal Health Commission September 21, 2021
snip...
• Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD): A CWD Special Work Session was held at this office yesterday, September 20, 2021. Epidemiological investigations on seven (7) confirmed CWD affected WTD breeder facilities are being conducted. Two facilities have been depopulated, two are partially depopulated, and three are pending herd plan finalization. Of a total of 318 Trace Facilities
Summary Minutes of the 410th Commission Meeting – 9/21/2021
3
(facilities that either contributed deer to positive facilities or received deer that had been in positive facilities in the past 60 months), evaluations of 202 (64%) have been completed, and evaluations of 116 (36%) are pending. The Joint TAHC/TPWD CWD Taskforce met five times this year to provide updates and take input from members.
snip...
b) The Texas Animal Health Commission (commission) ADOPTS amendments to Title 4, Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 40 titled “Chronic Wasting Disease.” Specifically, amendments are proposed to §40.1, concerning Definitions, §40.2, concerning General Requirements, §40.3,
Summary Minutes of the 410th Commission Meeting – 9/21/2021 13
concerning Herd Status Plans for Cervidae, §40.4, concerning Entry Requirements, §40.5, concerning Surveillance and Movement Requirements for Exotic CWD Susceptible Species, §40.6, concerning CWD Movement Restriction Zones and §40.7, concerning Executive Director Declaration of a CWD Movement Restriction Zone. The Texas Animal Health Commission proposes the addition of §40.8, concerning Enforcement and Penalties.
The purpose of this chapter is to prevent and control the incidence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Texas by seeking to reduce the risk of interstate and intrastate transmission of CWD in susceptible cervid species. The Texas Animal Health Commission (commission) proposes amendments to each section of Chapter 40 to clarify, correct, and update information regarding CWD management. Nonsubstantive grammatical and editorial changes are also proposed throughout the chapter for improved readability.
The motion to adopt the amendments to Chapter 40, Chronic Wasting Disease, passed.
c) The Texas Animal Health Commission (commission) ADOPTS amendments to Title 4, Texas Administrative Code, concerning the title of Chapter 45, “Reportable Diseases”, §45.1, concerning Definitions, §45.2, concerning Duty to Report, and the additions of §45.3, concerning Reportable and Actionable Disease List and §45.4, concerning Enforcement and Penalties.
snip...
2021-11-18 Free Range Medina N/A White-tailed Deer M 3.5
2021-11-04 Free Range El Paso N/A Mule Deer F 4.5
2021-10-18 Breeder Deer Medina Facility #4 White-tailed Deer M 4
2021-10-12 Breeder Deer Hunt Facility #9 White-tailed Deer F 8.189041096
2021-10-12 Breeder Deer Uvalde Facility #8 White-tailed Deer M 1.208219178
2021-10-12 Breeder Deer Uvalde Facility #8 White-tailed Deer M 1.21369863
2021-10-12 Breeder Deer Uvalde Facility #8 White-tailed Deer M 1.205479452
2021-10-12 Breeder Deer Uvalde Facility #8 White-tailed Deer M 2.208219178
2021-10-12 Breeder Deer Uvalde Facility #8 White-tailed Deer M 2.117808219
2021-10-08 Breeder Deer Duval Facility #13 White-tailed Deer F 3.238356164
2021-10-08 Breeder Deer Medina Facility #4 White-tailed Deer F 2.260273973
2021-09-14 Breeder Deer Medina Facility #4 White-tailed Deer F 6.205479452
SNIP...SEE ALL;
CWD was first discovered in Texas in 2012 in free-ranging mule deer along a remote area of the Hueco Mountains near the Texas-New Mexico border. Since then, it has been detected in 261 captive or free ranging cervids in 14 counties, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer and elk. To date, 168 of those of those positives are from captive breeding facilities or associated release sites and 68 are from free-ranging populations.
Landowners and hunters play a critical role in managing CWD. The most effective way for them to help slow the spread of CWD is to report sick deer to a TPWD biologist, properly dispose of inedible carcass parts, and to voluntarily test their harvests by taking them to a local check station or contacting a TPWD biologist in their area.
By adhering to CWD regulations and recommendations, hunters, landowners, and communities are helping to ensure that native deer populations remain healthy and plentiful for years to come, allowing for the conservation of the species and preservation of Texas’ hunting heritage and traditions.
“Regarding the current situation involving CWD in permitted deer breeding facilities, TPWD records indicate that within the last five years, the seven CWD-positive facilities transferred a total of 2,530 deer to 270 locations in 102 counties and eight locations in Mexico (the destinations included 139 deer breeding facilities, 118 release sites, five Deer Management Permit sites, and three nursing facilities).'' ...
It is apparent that prior to the recent emergency rules, the CWD detection rules were ineffective at detecting CWD earlier in the deer breeding facilities where it was eventually discovered and had been present for some time; this creates additional concern regarding adequate mitigation of the risk of transferring CWD-positive breeder deer to release sites where released breeder deer come into contact with free-ranging deer...
Commission Agenda Item No. 5 Exhibit B
DISEASE DETECTION AND RESPONSE RULES
PROPOSAL PREAMBLE
1. Introduction.
snip...
A third issue is the accuracy of mortality reporting. Department records indicate that for each of the last five years an average of 26 deer breeders have reported a shared total of 159 escapes. Department records for the same time period indicate an average of 31 breeding facilities reported a shared total of 825 missing deer (deer that department records indicate should be present in the facility, but cannot be located or verified).
Listen here;
Nov 3, 2021
Nov 4, 2021
Counties where CWD Exposed Deer were Released, September 2021
Number of CWD Exposed Deer Released by County, September 2021
Oh, Deer, CWD, Heading Off a Wildlife Epidemic Texas Real Estate Research Center TAMU
Texas A & M University
Texas Real Estate Research Center
Oh, Deer
Heading Off a Wildlife Epidemic
Charles E. Gilliland (Aug 18, 2021)
The Takeaway
Landowners in certain parts of the state need to be aware of chronic wasting disease, which can greatly reduce the number of deer. While there are no known cures or ways to eradicate the disease, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is taking measures to reduce its spread.
A multitude of risks threaten to undermine Texas landowners' efforts to manage their land. Some of those spring from past activities but can leave invisible living legacies behind. Anthrax, for example. An outbreak of anthrax in livestock leaves a scattering of spores across the countryside that can activate and infect replacement herds.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wildlife poses a similar potential problem for landowners in certain parts of Texas. CWD infects members of the Cervidae family, namely deer, elk, moose, etc. CWD does not pose dangers to livestock, and scientists have not found evidence of the disease infecting humans. However, it is always fatal to stricken wildlife, threatening a destructive wave of infections among deer herds where the disease has spread. Therefore, CWD poses a direct threat to one of the primary motives for owning rural land: wildlife herd management.
Profiling CWD
CWD belongs to a family of disorders known as prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). It includes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in cattle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes these maladies in detail:
The causative agents of TSEs are believed to be prions. The term “prions" refers to abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins called prion proteins that are found most abundantly in the brain. The functions of these normal prion proteins are still not completely understood. The abnormal folding of the prion proteins leads to brain damage and the characteristic signs and symptoms of the disease. Prion diseases are usually rapidly progressive and always fatal.
CWD symptoms include dramatic weight loss, stumbling, listlessness, decreased social interaction, loss of fear of humans, and excessive salivating. However, animals typically exhibit no symptoms until 18-24 months after contracting the disease. In addition, these symptoms could be caused by other conditions, so formal testing is needed to reliably diagnose CWD.
Obviously, an infected animal may spread the disease to other members of the herd during the nonsymptomatic phase of infection. Perhaps even worse, the body casts off prions, so an infected animal will cast off diseased prions. Therefore, an infected herd can leave infection in the soil and remain infectious to host animals, much like anthrax.
CWD Comes to Texas
Scientists first identified CWD in mule deer in Colorado in 1967. Since that time, CWD has spread to Wyoming, Montana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and other states.
CWD first appeared in Hudspeth County in 2012 in free-ranging mule deer. In 2015, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) found CWD in white-tailed deer in captive facilities in Medina County. By 2021, a total of 224 cases had been identified in 13 counties. Tests confirmed cases in two red deer, four elk, 49 mule deer, and 169 white-tailed deer.
See the TPWD site for details. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension provides a good overview of the disease in A Guide to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Texas Cervids.
Containing the Spread
Currently, there is no known cure for the disease nor any mechanism to eradicate it. Therefore, TPWD management of CWD seeks to contain the spread to areas of confirmed infections.
The plan has established five CWD zones with confirmed infections: Kimble County Zone, Trans-Pecos Zone, South Central Zone, Panhandle Zone, and Val Verde County Zone. The latest edition of the TPWD Outdoor Annual provides maps of each zone indicating official stations performing testing for CWD. All hunters harvesting animals in these zones must take them to one of these stations to have them tested for CWD within 48 hours of the harvest. In addition, hunters can transport carcasses out of the zones only after all brain and spinal cord tissue have been removed. TPWD will provide a receipt for the sample.
Because the spread of CWD is evolving, regulations can change quickly. Therefore, anyone involved in hunting activity should consult the most recent Outdoor Annual for the latest regulations. To reduce the chances of spreading the disease, TPWD regulations also restrict the movement of live deer from CWD zones.
Impact on Rural Landowners CWD poses a significant threat to the future of hunting in Texas. Deer population declines of 45 and 50 percent have been documented in Colorado and Wyoming. A broad infection of Texas deer populations resulting in similar population impacts would inflict severe economic damage to rural communities and could negatively impact land markets. Specifically, those landowners seeking to establish a thriving herd of deer could avoid buying in areas with confirmed CWD infections.
As they do with anthrax-susceptible properties, land brokers may find it advisable to inquire about the status of CWD infections on properties that they present for sale. Prospective buyers should also investigate the status of the wildlife on prospective properties. In addition, existing landowners should monitor developments as TPWD crafts management strategies to identify and contain this deadly disease.
____________________
Dr. Gilliland (c-gilliland@tamu.edu) is a research economist with the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2021
TPWD CWD TSE PRION TRACKER UPDATE TEXAS 270 CONFIRMED TO DATE POSTIVE CAPTIVE AND WILD
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2021
Texas adopts new management rules for chronic wasting disease in deer Nov 6, 2021
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2021
Oh, Deer, CWD, Heading Off a Wildlife Epidemic Texas Real Estate Research Center TAMU
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2021
Texas adopts new management rules for chronic wasting disease in deer Nov 6, 2021
TEXAS LEGISLATING CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION SPREAD?
listening in on November 4, after presentation, the QA session,
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2021
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission TPWD CWD TSE Prion November 3-4, 2021
i picked up on something that was said, there were several folks complaining that the breeders were getting picked on, and someone said something about trying to 'legislate' there way out of this. folks, this is terrible, i have seen this in other states, and it just spreads cwd even more. hell, it happened right here in Texas in the early days, that's why we are where were at now, you cannot let a bunch of Austin Legislative Socialites regulate CWD, just look what happened in Wisconsin. but i bet this attempted swaying of regulatory power shift from TPWD et al to the Texas Legislature in Austin is happening as we speak. we can't let this happen...
SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017
Texas 85th Legislative Session 2017 Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Cervid Captive Breeder Industry
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017
TEXAS, Politicians, TAHC, TPWD, and the spread of CWD TSE Prion in Texas
SUNDAY, MAY 14, 2017
85th Legislative Session 2017 AND THE TEXAS TWO STEP Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion, and paying to play $$$
Powerful Abbott appointee's lobbying sparks blowback in Legislature
In an ironic twist for Gov. Greg Abbott, who has made ethics reform an urgent political priority, the Texas House is taking aim at what critics call a "pay to play" culture among his appointees.
BY JAY ROOT MAY 12, 2017 12 AM
Houston billionaire Dan Friedkin is chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
When Gov. Greg Abbott tapped one of his top campaign donors to become chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, he didn’t get a part-time appointee who would merely draft rules and implement conservation laws passed by the Legislature.
In Dan Friedkin, the governor got a Houston billionaire — with a team of privately funded lobbyists — willing to use his influence to ensure his wildlife interests are taken into account by the Legislature before they pass those laws, interviews and records show.
On the receiving end of that influence, and not in a happy way, is state Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall. Paddie said a lobbyist working for Friedkin’s business empire, which includes a massive South Texas hunting ranch, has been working against his deer breeder management bill, which many large ranchers oppose. The state Parks and Wildlife Department oversees deer breeding regulations in Texas.
“Many times these appointees are well-heeled, very influential people,” Paddie said. “Overall, I feel that it’s inappropriate for an appointee of a board or commission to have personal lobbyists lobbying on issues related to that board or commission.”
Under Texas law, state agencies are barred from lobbying the Legislature. But the powerful people who oversee them aren’t.
If Paddie and dozens of his colleagues get their way, that practice soon will be a Class A misdemeanor.
Last weekend, Paddie attached a ban on appointee lobbying — which would apply to any issues intersecting with their state responsibilities — to an ethics bill that already had powerful friends of the governor in its crosshairs. The provision was adopted unanimously and the bill sailed out of the Texas House on a 91-48 vote Saturday.
The ethics bill, authored by Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, would bar big campaign donors from getting appointed by governors in the first place. Anyone who contributed over $2,500 would be barred from serving on state boards and commissions.
Larson pointed to news articles documenting the amount of campaign money appointees have collectively given governors. Last year the San Antonio Express-News calculated that Abbott had received nearly $9 million from people he’s picked for appointed office; before that, a widely cited report from Texans for Public Justice found former Gov. Rick Perry had received $17 million from his own appointees.
Larson said 20 years from now, Texans will be reading the same stories about a future governor unless the Legislature does something about it now.
“We’ve read that article for the last three decades,” Larson said during a brief floor speech. “This is your opportunity to say, 'We need to stop this.' The most egregious ethics violation we’ve got in the state is the pay to play in the governor’s office.”
A prodigious fundraiser, Abbott has put plenty of big donors on prestigious boards and commissions. On the Parks and Wildlife Commission alone, he has installed three mega-donors — pipeline mogul Kelcy Warren, who’s given Abbott more than $800,000 over his statewide political career; Houston businessman S. Reed Morian, who has given $600,000; and Friedkin, who personally donated more than $700,000 — while his Gulf States Toyota PAC gave Abbott another $100,000, according to Ethics Commission records.
Passage of Larson’s HB 3305 represents an ironic twist for Abbott, who for the second session in a row has made ethics reform an urgent political priority — resulting in a bill that's now taking aim at his gubernatorial appointments. Abbott, who has made a habit of ignoring tough questions, hasn't made any public statements about the bill, and his office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Friedkin — whose wealth is estimated at $3.4 billion by Forbes — is the owner and CEO of Gulf States Toyota, founded in 1969, which has had the exclusive rights to distribute new Toyotas in Texas and four nearby states. He’d also been a mega-donor to former Gov. Rick Perry, who first appointed Friedkin to the Parks and Wildlife Commission in 2005. Abbott made Friedkin chairman of the commission in 2015.
Requests for comment from Friedkin's office went unanswered.
In addition to his public role as parks and wildlife chairman, a perch that gives him significant influence over deer management issues, Friedkin has private wildlife interests. He owns the sprawling Comanche Ranch in South Texas, according to published news accounts.
The January 2014 edition of Texas Wildlife, published by the Texas Wildlife Association, described Friedkin’s Comanche Ranch as “privately owned and privately hunted” and said it’s “in the business to produce as many trophy bucks as possible, without damaging the native habitat.”
The association, which advocates for private landowners and hunting rights, has locked horns with deer breeding interests at Parks and Wildlife and the Capitol. They compete against each other in the lucrative trophy deer hunting market — and the battle between them perennially spills into the rule-making process at the Parks and Wildlife Commission.
One of their battles centers on how captive deer are tagged so that game wardens and others can distinguish them from native deer. Current law requires a combination of tags and tattoos, and the ranchers and large landowners want to keep it that way. The breeders, meanwhile, favor tagging deer with microchips, which they contend are more accurate and foolproof.
The Wildlife Association said in a Facebook post that removing visible tag or tattoo requirements and allowing microchip tracking “creates real biosecurity risks and blurs ethical lines in the hunting community, as captive deer breeders are allowed to transport and release these animals to be co-mingled with pasture-born deer.” Proponents of the current system say tough rules on breeders are needed to keep out imported deer that may carry Chronic Wasting Disease, which has been found in Texas.
On the other side of the issue is the Texas Deer Association, which represents breeder interests. Executive Director Patrick Tarlton said opposition to his $1.6 billion industry stems less from environmental and health concerns and more from wealthy ranch owners who want to boost profits from trophy-seeking hunters. He notes that Chronic Wasting Disease has been found in both free range and captive deer.
Paddie sided with the breeders by filing House Bill 2855, which would allow breeders to track their deer with microchips instead of relying on physical tags that they say can be torn off.
No one identifying themselves as a Friedkin corporate lobbyist opposed the deer breeding bills during public hearings, according to House and Senate committee records published online.
Behind the scenes, it was a different story.
Paddie said his chief of staff reached out to Laird Doran, one of several lobbyists for Friedkin’s Gulf States Toyota, after hearing that he was trying to convince other legislators to help defeat Paddie's deer microchip bill.
“My chief called him and said, 'Hey, if you’ve got a problem with our bill why aren’t you talking to us?’ ” Paddie said. “He said he represented the Friedkin Group when that happened.”
According to an email from an aide to Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, who is carrying the deer breeding bill in the Senate, Doran also identified himself as a representative of the “Friedkin Group.” That’s the name of the consortium that contains Friedkin's Gulf States Toyota, according to the company’s Linked-In page. He told Estes’ aide that the Friedkin group was opposed to any bill that would “remove requirements for (deer) ear tags,” the senator’s office confirmed.
It’s not clear exactly which Friedkin interests Doran was advancing. Doran is registered at the Texas Ethics Commission with a single entity — Gulf States Toyota — and the agency has no record of a lobbyist working for an entity or individual with the name Friedkin in it, the commission confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
However, Doran checked a variety of non-automotive subject areas in which he is lobbying during this legislative session on behalf of Friedkin’s lucrative distributorship, including “animals,” “parks & wildlife,” “state agencies, boards & commissions,” “environment” and more, his detailed lobby disclosures show.
Doran, director of government relations and senior counsel at the Friedkin Group, did not return phone and email messages left by The Texas Tribune.
Estes said he didn’t have a problem with a governor's appointee engaging in lobbying on issues that affected their private interests, as long as they keep that separate from their state roles.
“I don’t think they should be barred from expressing their views as long as they’re careful to say these are my views, not the views of the agency I’m representing,” Estes said.
But Tarlton, the deer association director, said Friedkin’s use of lobbyists to oppose deer breeders in the Legislature gives the breeders' opponents a huge advantage.
“I think that if the commissioner of Texas Parks and Wildlife is actively lobbying against an industry which his department directly oversees, it absolutely sets up an unfair and closed system of government,” Tarlton said. “The commission is supposed to be the unbiased and equitable oversight for everything wildlife.”
Paddie hopes his amendment to Larsen's ethics bill will even the playing field. He referred to the wealthy Parks and Wildlife chairman (see the 2:29:00 mark in this recorded exchange) when he tacked the appointee-lobbying provision onto Larson’s bill.
Paddie said he’s not singling out anyone. He said it would apply to other powerful gubernatorial appointees in a position to do the same.
“I could have named any number of examples as far as the agencies in particular,” Paddie said. “I want to stop it if anyone serving on any agency is doing this.”
Ryan Murphy contributed to this report.
Disclosure: The Texas Wildlife Association, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Gulf States Toyota have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors is available here.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 02, 2016
TEXAS TPWD Sets Public Hearings on Deer Movement Rule Proposals in Areas with CWD Rule Terry S. Singeltary Sr. comment submission
SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2016
TEXAS CWD DEER BREEDERS PLEA TO GOVERNOR ABBOTT TO CIRCUMVENT TPWD SOUND SCIENCE TO LET DISEASE SPREAD
Wednesday, May 04, 2016
TPWD proposes the repeal of §§65.90 -65.94 and new §§65.90 -65.99 Concerning Chronic Wasting Disease - Movement of Deer Singeltary Comment Submission
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Your opinions and comments have been submitted successfully. Thank you for participating in the TPWD regulatory process.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Interim Chronic Wasting Disease Response Rules Comment online through 07:00 a.m. November 5, 2015
Texas 84th Legislative Session Sunday, December 14, 2014
*** TEXAS 84th Legislature commencing this January, deer breeders are expected to advocate for bills that will seek to further deregulate their industry
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014
Texas 84th Legislature 2015 H.R. No. 2597 Kuempel Deer Breeding Industry TAHC TPWD CWD TSE PRION
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2020
***> Jerking for Dollars, Are Texas Politicians and Legislators Masturbating Deer For Money, and likely spreading CWD TSE Prion?
TEXAS CWD
''CWD has been detected in 261 captive or free ranging cervids in 14 counties, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer and elk. To date, 168 of those of those positives are from captive breeding facilities or associated release sites and 68 are from free-ranging populations.''
Hunters taking advantage of Texas Public Hunting Lands must also have the Annual Public Hunting Permit. It’s also important for public land hunters to consult the Public Hunting Lands Map Booklet to review regulations that may apply to specific areas. The My Texas Hunt Harvest app can be used to complete on-site registration electronically at a public hunting area.
The discovery of new cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has prompted TPWD to establish new containment and surveillance zones to mitigate the potential spread of CWD. TPWD recommends hunters review information about testing requirements and carcass movement restrictions in the CWD zones for the 2021-22 season before heading out to the field.
CWD is slow, progressive and fatal neurological disease found in certain cervids, including deer, elk, moose and other members of the deer family. Due to long incubation periods, affected cervids do not show visible signs of illness until years after they are infected.
CWD was first discovered in Texas in 2012 in free-ranging mule deer along a remote area of the Hueco Mountains near the Texas-New Mexico border. Since then, it has been detected in 261 captive or free ranging cervids in 14 counties, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer and elk. To date, 168 of those of those positives are from captive breeding facilities or associated release sites and 68 are from free-ranging populations.
Landowners and hunters play a critical role in managing CWD. The most effective way for them to help slow the spread of CWD is to report sick deer to a TPWD biologist, properly dispose of inedible carcass parts, and to voluntarily test their harvests by taking them to a local check station or contacting a TPWD biologist in their area.
By adhering to CWD regulations and recommendations, hunters, landowners, and communities are helping to ensure that native deer populations remain healthy and plentiful for years to come, allowing for the conservation of the species and preservation of Texas’ hunting heritage and traditions.
TERRY SINGELTARY CWD HISTORY TEXAS
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 19:45:14 –0500
From: Kenneth Waldrup
To: flounder@wt.net
snip...see ;
TERRIBLE NEWS for Texas for sure, and the good Doctor brings much needed attention to a topic no one wants to talk about, and i have been trying to bring awareness to this very topic for decades, 5 or 6 years quarantine is NOT LONG ENOUGH FOR CWD TSE PRION !!!
QUARANTINE NEEDS TO BE 21 YEARS FOR CWD TSE PRION !
3. INDEMNITY, NO MORE Federal indemnity program, or what i call, ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM for game farm industry. NO MORE BAIL OUTS FROM TAX PAYERS. if the captive industry can't buy insurance to protect not only themselves, but also their customers, and especially the STATE, from Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion or what some call mad deer disease and harm therefrom, IF they can't afford to buy that insurance that will cover all of it, then they DO NOT GET A PERMIT to have a game farm for anything. This CWD TSE Prion can/could/has caused property values to fall from some reports in some places. roll the dice, how much is a state willing to lose?
Published: 06 September 2021
Chronic wasting disease: a cervid prion infection looming to spillover
Alicia Otero, Camilo Duque Velásquez, Judd Aiken & Debbie McKenzie
Veterinary Research volume 52, Article number: 115 (2021)
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021
HOW MANY DEER DIE FROM CWD TSE PRION?
SATURDAY, JANUARY 01, 2022
Arkansas CWD found in Randolph County
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
South Dakota Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in New Area Buffalo County
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2021
Mississippi CWD Detected in Warren County
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
MISSISSIPPI CWD UPDATE 108 CASES CONFIRMED SINCE JULY 2018
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2021
Detection of two dissimilar chronic wasting disease isolates in two captive Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) herds Two distinctive chronic wasting disease isolates identified in captive elk
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2021
Michigan CWD Testing Results Deer Harvested in 2021 Statewide Total 22 Positive To Date For Year in Wild
WISCONSIN CWD FOUND IN CAPTIVE AND WILD DEER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2021
Wisconsin Portage County Deer Farm Tests Positive for CWD TSE PrP
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2021
WISCONSIN DNR CONFIRMS CWD IN WILD DEER HARVESTED IN VILAS COUNTY WITH A TOTAL OF 9,040 POSITIVE WILD CASES TO DATE
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2021
Missouri CWD TSE PrP 28 confirmed positive test results so far for the current sampling season (July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021
Tennessee Hardin and Dyer Counties High-Risk for CWD and Crockett County Now Positive
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021
MONTANA CWD DETECTED FOR FIRST TIME IN HUNTING DISTRICT 317 NEAR LIVINGSTON
MONDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2021
Minnesota CWD Positive test on 1 Brainerd Lakes area deer extends CWD management to 2024
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2021
Arkansas CWD TSE Prion PrP Positive found in South Union County
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021
Illinois Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD): 2020-2021 Surveillance and Management Report (Project Period: July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021) 1,165 cases confirmed to date
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2021
Tennessee CWD-Positive Deer Found in Gibson and McNairy Counties
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2021
PENNSYLVANIA NEWLY DETECTED CWD-POSITIVE LEADS TO DMA3 EXPANSION AND A NEW DMA
MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2021
Iowa Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion 111 Wild Deer Positive To Date
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021
Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development advises that a second deer infected with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been detected Manitoba
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021
Saskatchewan CWD Surveillance Program Results 2020-2021 466 positive cases, including 335 mule deer, 121 WTD, five elk and five moose
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021
RT‑QuIC detection of CWD prion seeding activity in white‑tailed deer muscle tissues
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021
Detection of CWD prions in naturally infected white‑tailed deer fetuses and gestational tissues by PMCA
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2021
ARS RESEARCH Generation of human chronic wasting disease in transgenic mice
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
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