Wednesday, October 20, 2010

WYOMING ELK NEAR GLENDO TESTS POSITIVE FOR CWD 10/18/2010

ELK NEAR GLENDO TESTS POSITIVE FOR CWD

10/18/2010

SHERIDAN - A cow elk sampled Sept. 12 east of Glendo in hunt area 3 has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a brain disease known to affect some deer, elk and moose. The elk was located 13 miles east of Glendo and four miles northeast of Camp Guernsey.

"This animal had all the classic symptoms of CWD," said WGFD wildlife disease specialist Hank Edwards. "CWD samples were taken by Wheatland game warden Craig Smith and sent to the lab for testing."

According to Edwards, a positive for elk in this area is no surprise as elk area 3 overlaps deer hunt areas 15, 16 and 55 which have been endemic for 10 years.

Personnel at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Laboratory analyzed samples taken as part of the department's annual CWD survey and discovered positive results on Oct. 15.

After a review of available scientific data, the World Health Organization in December 1999 stated, "There is currently no evidence that CWD in cervidae (deer and elk) is transmitted to humans." In 2004, Dr. Ermias Belay of the Center for Disease Control said, "The lack of evidence of a link between CWD transmission and unusual cases of CJD, [Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a human prion disease] despite several epidemiological investigations, suggest that the risk, if any, of transmission of CWD to humans is low." Nonetheless to avoid risk, both organizations say parts or products from any animal that looks sick and/or tests positive for CWD should not be eaten.

For more information on chronic wasting disease visit the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance website at www.cwd-info.org . (Contact: Al Langston (307) 777-4540) -WGFD-


http://gf.state.wy.us/services/news/pressreleases/10/10/18/101018_2.asp



http://gf.state.wy.us/services/education/cwd/index.asp




Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Chronic Wasting Disease Activities for 2009

Preliminary Data as of 12/18/09

Methods:

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) conducted statewide surveillance for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in 2009. The WGFD divides the state into eight administrative regions. Considering each region as a "population," the surveillance goal was to test 500-600 deer from each region utilizing hunter harvest, road-killed, and targeted animals. This number provided a 99% probability of detecting CWD if it existed at = 1% prevalence. The overall goal was 3,000-4,000 samples statewide.

Hunter harvested deer and elk samples were collected at points of concentration, i.e., meat processors and check stations. Samples were taken by WGFD personnel from all divisions (wildlife, fish, services, administration). Only retropharyngeal lymph nodes were sampled because these nodes are rapidly obtained. Statewide training of WGFD personnel on sample and data collection was conducted prior to the start of the hunting season. The WGFD used the IDEXX enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to analyze lymph node samples. However, all IDEXX-positive samples were confirmed with the BioRad ELISA. All samples positive on both ELISAs were confirmed by immunohistochemistry.

Results were reported to hunters in less than three weeks of sample submission. Hunters could obtain results by accessing the Department’s web site. Hunters submitting a sample were given a unique bar coded number. The hunter could then access the web site, enter the unique number and obtain test results. Hunters having deer or elk testing positive for CWD were also individually notified by letter. The WGFD also notified interested state wildlife agencies by mail if a hunter from their state harvested a CWD test-positive animal.

Results:

A total of 4,635 deer, elk, and moose samples were analyzed. Of these samples, 130 tested positive for CWD representing 95 mule deer, 17 white-tailed deer, and 18 elk. New cases of CWD were diagnosed deer hunt areas (HA) 42, 46, and elk HA 35. The new deer and elk hunt areas are most likely natural extensions of the Wyoming endemic area.

Other Issues:

As of 2005, the Department incorporated moose into the CWD surveillance program. In 2009, we surveyed 185 hunter-killed, 22 targeted and 11 road-killed moose; all were negative for CWD.




For complete information on CWD in Wyoming please go to:

http://gf.state.wy.us/services/education/cwd/index.asp



Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer


http://gf.state.wy.us/downloads/pdf/CWD2009Summary.pdf



TSS

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Friday, May 29, 2009

Seven Deer Test Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease During 2009 Spring Collections in Hampshire County, West Virginia

Joe Manchin III, Governor Frank Jezioro, Director News Release : May 29, 2009

Hoy Murphy, Public Information Officer (304) 558-2003 ext. 365 mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066%7Dmid://00000058/!x-usc:mailto:hoy.r.murphy@wv.gov Contact: Paul Johansen, Wildlife Resources Section (304) 558-2771 mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066%7Dmid://00000058/!x-usc:mailto:wildlife@wvdnr.gov

Seven Deer Test Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease During 2009 Spring Collections in Hampshire County, West Virginia


Test results have detected the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) agent in a total of seven white-tailed deer sampled during the 2009 spring collections in Hampshire County, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR).

These most recent deer testing positive for CWD were collected by Wildlife Resources Section personnel working in cooperation with local landowners, and they were all located within the Hampshire County CWD Containment Area (i.e., that portion of Hampshire County located North of U.S. Route 50). The CWD agent previously has been detected outside the containment area in the adjacent portion of Hampshire County, and the area of known infected deer does continue to slowly expand.

These collections have been designed to investigate and determine the prevalence and distribution of the disease in Hampshire County. In addition, wildlife biologists are carefully monitoring changes in the structure of the deer herd within the CWD containment area.

The first case of CWD in West Virginia was confirmed on September 2, 2005. Since then, DNR has been fully engaged in activities guided by its CWD Incident Response Plan, which is designed to accomplish the following objectives.

Determine the distribution and prevalence of CWD through enhanced surveillance efforts. Communicate and coordinate with the public and other appropriate agencies on issues relating to CWD and the steps being taken to respond to this disease. Initiate appropriate management actions necessary to control the spread of this disease and prevent further introduction of the disease. To date, CWD surveillance efforts conducted by the DNR have resulted in a total of 45 deer being confirmed positive for CWD in Hampshire County. Ongoing and extensive surveillance efforts being conducted by Wildlife Resources Section personnel throughout West Virginia have not detected CWD outside of Hampshire County.

CWD is a neurological disease found in deer and elk, and it belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The disease is thought to be caused by abnormal, proteinaceous particles called prions that slowly attack the brain of infected deer and elk, causing the animals to progressively become emaciated, display abnormal behavior and invariably results in the death of the infected animal. There is no known treatment for CWD, and it is fatal for the infected deer or elk. It is important to note that currently there is no evidence to suggest CWD poses a risk for humans or domestic animals.

“Landowner and hunter cooperation throughout this entire CWD surveillance effort in Hampshire County continues to be excellent,” noted DNR Director Frank Jezioro. “As we strive to meet this wildlife disease challenge and implement appropriate management strategies, the support and involvement of landowners and hunters remains essential. DNR is committed to keeping the public informed and involved in these wildlife disease management actions.

“Our well trained and professional wildlife biologists, wildlife managers and conservation officers are working diligently to effectively address this wildlife disease threat, and we are collaborating with nationally recognized wildlife disease experts at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens, Georgia,” said Jezioro.

**DNR**



http://www.wvdnr.gov/2009news/09news101.shtm



Mark Marraccini, a spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, said a new law that takes effect this summer also bans the importation of cervid animals into the state, but allows certain exemptions.

For example, the law will allow the animals to be imported if they are from a herd that has been disease-free for five years and is from a disease-free state, Marraccini said.

MY COMMENTS AND FACTS AS FOLLOWS ;

One elk was euthanized 63 months post-inoculation without exhibiting clinical signs, but had PrP**d accumulation in CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues.



http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/Publications.htm?seq_no_115=217074



Friday, February 20, 2009

Both Sides of the Fence: A Strategic Review of Chronic Wasting Disease



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/02/both-sides-of-fence-strategic-review-of.html



Saturday, September 06, 2008

Chronic wasting disease in a Wisconsin white-tailed deer farm 79% INFECTION RATE

Contents: September 1 2008, Volume 20, Issue 5

snip...see full text ;



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/11/commentary-crimes-hurt-essence-of.html



Monday, January 05, 2009

CWD, GAME FARMS, BAITING, AND POLITICS



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-game-farms-baiting-and-politics.html



CWD Infection Studies in Two Species of Non-Human Primates

Bruce Chesebro Laboratory of Persistent Virus Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, Montana USA 59840.

CWD is a TSE/prion disease present in wild and domestic cervid populations of North America. CWD from cervids might possibly spread to humans who hunt and eat these species and to domestic animals such as cattle, sheep or horses sharing the same habitat. Therefore, it is important to understand the potential for spread of CWD to other species. Laboratory experiments have shown that CWD does not cause disease in transgenic mice expressing human PrP, suggesting that humans and other primates might be resistant to this infection. However, earlier data from the laboratory of Richard Marsh found that squirrel monkeys could be infected by intracerebral CWD inoculation. We recently followed up this work extending it to studies of two primate species, squirrel monkeys and Cynomolgus macaques. We also compared intracerebral and oral routes of infection. To search for possible CWD variant strains we analyzed 8 different CWD pools obtained from wild or domestic elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer. The results of these experiments will be presented.



http://www.istitutoveneto.it/prion_09/Abstracts_09.pdf



J Virol. 2005 November; 79(21): 13794-13796. doi: 10.1128/JVI.79.21.13794-13796.2005. PMCID: PMC1262585

Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology

Interspecies Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions to Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

Richard F. Marsh,1? Anthony E. Kincaid,2 Richard A. Bessen,3 and Jason C. Bartz4* Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706,1 Department of Physical Therapy,2 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68178,4 Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 597183 *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178. Phone: (402) 280-1811. Fax: (402) 280-1875. E-mail: mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066%7Dmid://00000058/!x-usc:mailto:jbartz@creighton.edu. ?Deceased. Received May 3, 2005; Accepted August 10, 2005. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Top AbstractChronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging prion disease of deer and elk. The risk of CWD transmission to humans following exposure to CWD-infected tissues is unknown. To assess the susceptibility of nonhuman primates to CWD, two squirrel monkeys were inoculated with brain tissue from a CWD-infected mule deer. The CWD-inoculated squirrel monkeys developed a progressive neurodegenerative disease and were euthanized at 31 and 34 months postinfection. Brain tissue from the CWD-infected squirrel monkeys contained the abnormal isoform of the prion protein, PrP-res, and displayed spongiform degeneration. This is the first reported transmission of CWD to primates.



http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1262585



P1

THE ENVIRONMENT AS A RESERVOIR OF PRION INFECTIVITY

Aiken, Judd1,2, Chris Johnson4, Debbie McKenzie1,3 and Joel Pedersen5 1 Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, 2 Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences, 3 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Canada, 4 National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI and 5 Department of Soil Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison

An environmental reservoir of prion infectivity has long been known to be a source of infection of sheep scrapie and likely plays an even more important role in the transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk, deer and moose. Prion infectivity is extremely resistant to degradation, resulting in an environmental persistence of infectious agent. CWD is a contagious disease of free-ranging cervids. Infected deer and elk release infectious agent into the environment from body fluids and from diseased animal carcasses. The rapid expansion of CWD in North America represents a significant and continued environmental risk not only to cervids but to other species as well. Our work has demonstrated that prion protein, including PrPCWD, binds avidly to soil and soil components. Significantly, prion/soil binding enhances disease transmission suggesting that the soils, once contaminated with infectious prions, plays a critical role in maintaining and perpetuating prion infections.

III International Symposium on THE NEW PRION BIOLOGY: BASIC SCIENCE, DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY 2 - 4 APRIL 2009, VENEZIA (ITALY)



http://www.istitutoveneto.it/prion_09/Abstracts_09.pdf



P35

ADAPTATION OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE (CWD) INTO HAMSTERS, EVIDENCE OF A WISCONSIN STRAIN OF CWD

Chad Johnson1, Judd Aiken2,3,4 and Debbie McKenzie4,5 1 Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI, USA 53706 2 Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences, 3 Alberta Veterinary Research Institute, 4.Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, 5 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Canada T6G 2P5 The identification and characterization of prion strains is increasingly important for the diagnosis and biological definition of these infectious pathogens. Although well-established in scrapie and, more recently, in BSE, comparatively little is known about the possibility of prion strains in chronic wasting disease (CWD), a disease affecting free ranging and captive cervids, primarily in North America. We have identified prion protein variants in the white-tailed deer population and demonstrated that Prnp genotype affects the susceptibility/disease progression of white-tailed deer to CWD agent. The existence of cervid prion protein variants raises the likelihood of distinct CWD strains. Small rodent models are a useful means of identifying prion strains. We intracerebrally inoculated hamsters with brain homogenates and phosphotungstate concentrated preparations from CWD positive hunter-harvested (Wisconsin CWD endemic area) and experimentally infected deer of known Prnp genotypes. These transmission studies resulted in clinical presentation in primary passage of concentrated CWD prions. Subclinical infection was established with the other primary passages based on the detection of PrPCWD in the brains of hamsters and the successful disease transmission upon second passage. Second and third passage data, when compared to transmission studies using different CWD inocula (Raymond et al., 2007) indicate that the CWD agent present in the Wisconsin white-tailed deer population is different than the strain(s) present in elk, mule-deer and white-tailed deer from the western United States endemic region.



http://www.istitutoveneto.it/prion_09/Abstracts_09.pdf



RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: FOODS CLASS II

___________________________________

PRODUCT

a) Elk Meat, Elk Tenderloin, Frozen in plastic vacuum packaging. Each package is approximately 2 lbs., and each case is approximately 16 lbs.; Item number 755125, Recall # F-129-9;

b) Elk Meat, Elk Trim, Frozen; Item number 755155, Recall # F-130-9;

c) Elk Meat, French Rack, Chilled. Item number 755132, Recall # F-131-9;

d) Elk Meat, Nude Denver Leg. Item number 755122, Recall # F-132-9;

e) Elk Meat, New York Strip Steak, Chilled. Item number 755128, Recall # F-133-9;

f) Elk Meat, Flank Steak Frozen. Item number 755131, Recall # F-134-9;

CODE

Elk Meats with production dates of December 29, 30, and 31

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Recalling Firm: Sierra Meats, Reno, NV, by telephone on January 29, 2009 and press release on February 9, 2009.

Manufacturer: Noah's Ark Holding, LLC, Dawson, MN. Firm initiated recall is ongoing.

REASON

Elk products contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

Unknown

DISTRIBUTION

NV, CA, TX, CO, NY, UT, FL, OK

___________________________________



http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ENFORCE/2009/ENF01099.html



Monday, February 09, 2009

Exotic Meats USA Announces Urgent Statewide Recall of Elk Tenderloin Because It May Contain Meat Derived From An Elk Confirmed To Have CWD

snip...

Cross-sequence transmission of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease creates a new prion strain

Date: August 25, 2007 at 12:42 pm PST

our results raise the possibility that CJD cases classified as VV1 may include cases caused by iatrogenic transmission of sCJD-MM1 prions or food-borne infection by type 1 prions from animals, e.g., chronic wasting disease prions in cervid. In fact, two CJD-VV1 patients who hunted deer or consumed venison have been reported (40, 41). The results of the present study emphasize the need for traceback studies and careful re-examination of the biochemical properties of sCJD-VV1 prions.



http://www.jbc.org/



snip...

Clearly, it is premature to draw firm conclusions about CWD passing naturally into humans, cattle and sheep, but the present results suggest that CWD transmissions to humans would be as limited by PrP incompatibility as transmissions of BSE or sheep scrapie to humans. Although there is no evidence that sheep scrapie has affected humans, it is likely that BSE has caused variant CJD in 74 people (definite and probable variant CJD cases to date according to the UK CJD Surveillance Unit). Given the presumably large number of people exposed to BSE infectivity, the susceptibility of humans may still be very low compared with cattle, which would be consistent with the relatively inefficient conversion of human PrP-sen by PrPBSE. Nonetheless, since humans have apparently been infected by BSE, it would seem prudent to take reasonable measures to limit exposure of humans (as well as sheep and cattle) to CWD infectivity as has been recommended for other animal TSEs.

snip...



http://www.emboj.org/current.shtml



snip



http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/03-1082.htm



From: TSS (216-119-163-189.ipset45.wt.net) Subject: CWD aka MAD DEER/ELK TO HUMANS ??? Date: September 30, 2002 at 7:06 am PST From: "Belay, Ermias" To: Cc: "Race, Richard (NIH)" ; ; "Belay, Ermias" Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 9:22 AM Subject: RE: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS

Dear Sir/Madam, In the Archives of Neurology you quoted (the abstract of which was attached to your email), we did not say CWD in humans will present like variant CJD.

That assumption would be wrong. I encourage you to read the whole article and call me if you have questions or need more clarification (phone: 404-639-3091). Also, we do not claim that "no-one has ever been infected with prion disease from eating venison." Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans in the article you quoted or in any other forum is limited to the patients we investigated.

Ermias Belay, M.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

-----Original Message----- From: Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 10:15 AM To: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask] Subject: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS

Sunday, November 10, 2002 6:26 PM ......snip........end..............TSS

snip...

full text ;



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/02/exotic-meats-usa-announces-urgent.html



Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Noah's Ark Holding, LLC, Dawson, MN RECALL Elk products contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have CWD NV, CA, TX, CO, NY, UT, FL, OK RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: FOODS CLASS II



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/03/noahs-ark-holding-llc-dawson-mn-recall.html



Thursday, March 19, 2009

Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet (Nutritional Supplements and CJD)



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/03/chronic-wasting-disease-prions-in-elk.html



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Detection of CWD Prions in Urine and Saliva of Deer by Transgenic Mouse Bioassay



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/03/detection-of-cwd-prions-in-urine-and.html



Thursday, March 26, 2009

HB 4214 - Texas: Relating to the business of taxidermy; providing penalties AND HELP PREVENT CWD



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/03/hb-4214-texas-relating-to-business-of.html



Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Chronic Wasting Disease found in a farmed elk from Olmsted County ST. PAUL, Minn. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, January 26, 2009



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/chronic-wasting-disease-found-in-farmed.html



Saturday, January 24, 2009

Research Project: Detection of TSE Agents in Livestock, Wildlife, Agricultural Products, and the Environment Location: 2008 Annual Report


http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/01/research-project-detection-of-tse.html



2008 CWD Laboratory Testing for Wild White-tailed Deer



http://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,1607,7-186-25806-202922--,00.html



Wednesday, January 07, 2009

CWD to tighten taxidermy rules Hunters need to understand regulations



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-to-tighten-taxidermy-rules-hunters.html



Thursday, December 25, 2008 Lions and Prions and Deer Demise



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/12/lions-and-prions-and-deer-demise.html




TSS

Labels: , ,

Monday, February 09, 2009

Exotic Meats USA Announces Urgent Statewide Recall of Elk Tenderloin Because It May Contain Meat Derived From An Elk Confirmed To Have CWD

Exotic Meats USA Announces Urgent Statewide Recall of Elk Tenderloin Because It May Contain Meat Derived From An Elk Confirmed To Have Chronic Wasting Disease (February 9)


Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:25:00 -0600



http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/exoticmeats02_09.html



Exotic Meats USA of San Antonio, TX is initiating a voluntary recall of Elk Tenderloin because it may contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The meat with production dates of December 29, 30 and 31, 2008 was purchased from Sierra Meat Company in Reno, NV. The infected elk came from Elk Farm LLC in Pine Island, MN and was among animals slaughtered and processed at USDA facility Noah's Ark Processors LLC.



http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/exoticmeats02_09.html


Recall -- Firm Press Release FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

Exotic Meats USA Announces Urgent Statewide Recall of Elk Tenderloin Because It May Contain Meat Derived From An Elk Confirmed To Have Chronic Wasting Disease Contact: Exotic Meats USA 1-800-680-4375

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- February 9, 2009 -- Exotic Meats USA of San Antonio, TX is initiating a voluntary recall of Elk Tenderloin because it may contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The meat with production dates of December 29, 30 and 31, 2008 was purchased from Sierra Meat Company in Reno, NV. The infected elk came from Elk Farm LLC in Pine Island, MN and was among animals slaughtered and processed at USDA facility Noah’s Ark Processors LLC.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal brain and nervous system disease found in elk and deer. The disease is caused by an abnormally shaped protein called a prion, which can damage the brain and nerves of animals in the deer family. Currently, it is believed that the prion responsible for causing CWD in deer and elk is not capable of infecting humans who eat deer or elk contaminated with the prion, but the observation of animal-to-human transmission of other prion-mediated diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has raised a theoretical concern regarding the transmission of CWD from deer or elk to humans. At the present time, FDA believes the risk of becoming ill from eating CWD-positive elk or deer meat is remote. However, FDA strongly advises consumers to return the product to the place of purchase, rather than disposing of it themselves, due to environmental concerns.

Exotic Meats USA purchased 1 case of Elk Tenderloins weighing 16.9 lbs. The Elk Tenderloin was sold from January 16 – 27, 2009. The Elk Tenderloins was packaged in individual vacuum packs weighing approximately 3 pounds each. A total of six packs of the Elk Tenderloins were sold to the public at the Exotic Meats USA retail store. Consumers who still have the Elk Tenderloins should return the product to Exotic Meats USA at 1003 NE Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78209. Customers with concerns or questions about the Voluntary Elk Recall can call 1-800-680-4375. The safety of our customer has always been and always will be our number one priority.

Exotic Meats USA requests that for those customers who have products with the production dates in question, do not consume or sell them and return them to the point of purchase. Customers should return the product to the vendor. The vendor should return it to the distributor and the distributor should work with the state to decide upon how best to dispose. If the consumer is disposing of the product he/she should consult with the local state EPA office.

#




http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/exoticmeats02_09.html



Cross-sequence transmission of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease creates a new prion strain

Date: August 25, 2007 at 12:42 pm PST

our results raise the possibility that CJD cases classified as VV1 may include cases caused by iatrogenic transmission of sCJD-MM1 prions or food-borne infection by type 1 prions from animals, e.g., chronic wasting disease prions in cervid. In fact, two CJD-VV1 patients who hunted deer or consumed venison have been reported (40, 41). The results of the present study emphasize the need for traceback studies and careful re-examination of the biochemical properties of sCJD-VV1 prions.

http://www.jbc.org/

snip...

Clearly, it is premature to draw firm conclusions about CWD passing naturally into humans, cattle and sheep, but the present results suggest that CWD transmissions to humans would be as limited by PrP incompatibility as transmissions of BSE or sheep scrapie to humans. Although there is no evidence that sheep scrapie has affected humans, it is likely that BSE has caused variant CJD in 74 people (definite and probable variant CJD cases to date according to the UK CJD Surveillance Unit). Given the presumably large number of people exposed to BSE infectivity, the susceptibility of humans may still be very low compared with cattle, which would be consistent with the relatively inefficient conversion of human PrP-sen by PrPBSE. Nonetheless, since humans have apparently been infected by BSE, it would seem prudent to take reasonable measures to limit exposure of humans (as well as sheep and cattle) to CWD infectivity as has been recommended for other animal TSEs.

snip...

http://www.emboj.org/current.shtml

snip

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/03-1082.htm

From: TSS (216-119-163-189.ipset45.wt.net) Subject: CWD aka MAD DEER/ELK TO HUMANS ??? Date: September 30, 2002 at 7:06 am PST

From: "Belay, Ermias" To: Cc: "Race, Richard (NIH)" ; ; "Belay, Ermias" Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 9:22 AM Subject: RE: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS

Dear Sir/Madam, In the Archives of Neurology you quoted (the abstract of which was attached to your email), we did not say CWD in humans will present like variant CJD.

That assumption would be wrong. I encourage you to read the whole article and call me if you have questions or need more clarification (phone: 404-639-3091). Also, we do not claim that "no-one has ever been infected with prion disease from eating venison." Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans in the article you quoted or in any other forum is limited to the patients we investigated.

Ermias Belay, M.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

-----Original Message----- From: Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 10:15 AM To: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask] Subject: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS

Sunday, November 10, 2002 6:26 PM ......snip........end..............TSS

also,

A. Aguzzi - Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) also needs to be addressed. Most serious because of rapid horizontal spread and higher prevalence than BSE in UK, up to 15% in some populations. Also may be a risk to humans - evidence that it is not dangerous to humans is thin.

http://www.tseandfoodsafety.org/activities/bse_conference_basel_april_02/2summar

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/08/cwd-stakeholder-advisory-group.html

The following paper published in the November issue of the Journal of Virology reports experimental transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) prions to a primate species. The paper is entitled Interspecies Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions to Squirrel Monkeys (_Saimiri sciureus_). The authors are: Richard F. Marsh (1) (Deceased), Anthony E. Kincaid (2), Richard A. Bessen (3), and Jason C. Bartz(4)*, at the Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706(1), Department of Physical Therapy(2), Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68178(4), Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59718(3).

The Abstract reads as follows: "Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging prion disease of deer and elk. The risk of CWD transmission to humans following exposure to CWD-infected tissues is unknown. To assess the susceptibility of nonhuman primates to CWD, 2 squirrel monkeys were inoculated with brain tissue from a CWD-infected mule deer. The CWD-inoculated squirrel monkeys developed a progressive neurodegenerative disease and were euthanized at 31 and 34 months postinfection. Brain tissue from the CWD-infected squirrel monkeys contained the abnormal isoform of the prion protein, PrP-res, and displayed spongiform degeneration. This is the 1st reported transmission of CWD to primates."

http://apex.oracle.com/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1001:265605120839108489::::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_ARCHIVE_NUMBER,F2400_P1001_USE_ARCHIVE:1202,20051108.3270,Y

P01.47 Quantifying the Species Barrier in Chronic Wasting Disease by a Novel invitro Conversion Assay

Li, L1; Coulthart, MB2; Balachandran, A3; Chakrabartty, A4; Cashman, NR11University of British Columbia, Brain Research Centre, Canada; 2PublicHealth Agencyof Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Canada; 3Animal DiseasesResearch Institute, Canada Food Inspection Agency, National ReferenceLaboratory forScrapie and CWD, Canada; 4Ontario Cancer Institute and Department of MedicalBiophysics, University of Toronto, Canada

Background: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiformencephalopathy that can affect North American cervids (deer, elk, andmoose).Although the risk of CWD crossing the species barrier and causing humandisease is still unknown, however, definite bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE)transmission to humans as variant CJD (vCJD), it would seem prudent to limitthe exposure of humans to CWD.Aim: In view of the fact that BSE can be readily transmitted to non-bovidspecies, it is important to establish the species susceptibility range ofCWD.Methods: In vitro conversion system was performed by incubation of prionswith normal brain homogenates as described before, and protease K (PK)resistantPrP was determined by immunoblotting with 6H4 monoclonal prion antibody.Results: Our results demonstrate that PrPC from cervids (including moose)can be efficiently converted to a protease-resistant form by incubation withelkCWD prions, presumably due to sequence and structural similarities betweenthesespecies. Interestingly, hamster shows a high conversion ratio by PrPCWD.Moreover,partial denaturation of substrate PrPC can apparently overcome thestructuralbarriers between more distant species.Conclusions: Our work correctly predicted the transmission of CWD to a wildmoose.We find a species barrier for prion protein conversion between cervids andother species, however, this barrier might be overcome if the PrPC substratehasbeen partially denatured in a cellular environment. Such an environmentmightalso promote CWD transmission to non-cervid species, *** including humans. Acid/GdnHCl-treated brain PrPC was a superior substrate for the in vitroconversion than PrPC treated at physiological pH. This has implications forthe processby which the prion protein is converted in disease.

http://www.prion2007.com/pdf/Prion%20Book%20of%20Abstracts.pdf

North American Cervids Harbor Two Distinct CWD Strains

Authors

Angers, R. Seward, T, Napier, D., Browning, S., Miller, M., Balachandran A., McKenzie, D., Hoover, E., Telling, G. 'University of Kentucky; Colorado Division of Wildlife, Canadian Food Inspection Agency; University Of Wisconsin; Colorado State University.

Content

Despite the increasing geographic distribution and host range of CWD, little is known about the prion strain(s) responsible for distinct outbreaks of the disease. To address this we inoculated CWD-susceptible Tg(CerPrP)1536+/· mice with 29 individual prion samples from various geographic locations in North America. Upon serial passage, intrastudy incubation periods consistently diverged and clustered into two main groups with means around 210 and 290 days, with corresponding differences in neuropathology. Prion strain designations were utilized to distinguish between the two groups: Type I CWD mice succumbed to disease in the 200 day range and displayed a symmetrical pattern of vacuolation and PrPSc deposition, whereas Type II CWD mice succumbed to disease near 300 days and displayed a strikingly different pattern characterized by large local accumulations of florid plaques distributed asymmetrically. Type II CWD bears a striking resemblance to unstable parental scrapie strains such as 87A which give rise to stable, short incubation period strains such as ME7 under certain passage conditions. In agreement, the only groups of CWD-inoculated mice with unwavering incubation periods were those with Type I CWD. Additionally, following endpoint titration of a CWD sample, Type I CWD could be recovered only at the lowest dilution tested (10-1), whereas Type II CWD was detected in mice inoculated with all dilutions resulting in disease. Although strain properties are believed to be encoded in the tertiary structure of the infectious prion protein, we found no biochemical differences between Type I and Type II CWD. Our data confirm the co·existence of two distinct prion strains in CWD-infected cervids and suggest that Type II CWD is the parent strain of Type I CWD.

see page 29, and see other CWD studies ;

http://www.neuroprion.org/resources/pdf_docs/conferences/prion2008/abstract-book-prion2008.pdf

A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease 2008Posted Jun 24 08 5:07pm 1: Vet Res. 2008 Apr 3;39(4):41

A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease

Sigurdson CJ.

The recent discovery of chronic wasting disease in cervids (CWD) beyond the borders of Colorado and Wyoming, as far east as New York and including two Canadian Provinces, has led to the emergence of CWD as a prion disease of domestic and international importance. The apparent ease of horizontal transmission, potentially via environmental contamination or by prion-containing saliva, creates enormous challenges for disease management. Ongoing studies of CWD interspecies transmission by exposure of domestic and non-domestic species directly or using transgenic mice have shed light on species barriers. Transgenic mice expressing cervid PrP have also proven useful for assessing the genetic influences of Prnp polymorphisms on CWD susceptibility. Accumulating evidence of CWD pathogenesis indicates that the misfolded prion protein, PrPSc, seems to be widely disseminated in many nonneural organs, and CWD infectivity has been recently detected in blood. This review highlights recent research findings in this disease of free-ranging wildlife.

snip...

3. CWD prion spread and target organs

Collectively, CWD pathogenesis studies have revealed extensive deposition of PrPSc in the central nervous system (CNS) and extraneural tissues (Fig. 1). The only other natural prion diseases that even approach this degree of systemic involvement are variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans, sheep scrapie, and transmissible mink encephalopathy [22, 23, 30, 61, 62]. In mule deer, PrPSc is detectable in the retropharyngeal lymph node within only 6 weeks following an oral exposure [76]. In a further study of the kinetics of prion

1http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/cwd/cwd-distribution.html

5

infection in mule deer, Fox et al. showed that PrPSc is widely distributed in lymphoid tissues by 3 months post-oral exposure when it is first detected in brain [17]. By 9 months, PrPSc was detected in the myenteric and submucosal plexi throughout the gastrointestinal tract and in the vagus nerve, and by 16 months, PrPSc deposits were detectable throughout the brain and spinal cord. The Prnp genotype seemed to impact the infection kinetics in that mule deer that were SF heterozygous at codon 225 showed a delay in PrPSc spread; PrPSc was not

detectable in the brain until 16 months post-inoculation which was 13 months later than the 225SS deer. Perhaps the 225F allele confers a dominant negative effect on the kinetics of this CWD strain, as has been described in sheep, where the 171R allele has been shown to have a dominant negative effect on prion susceptibility [20, 33]. CWD pathogenesis seems to vary between deer and elk: PrPSc levels have been found to be lower in lymphoid tissues of elk compared to deer [66]. In a report of 226 CWD-infected elk, 28 had no PrPSc in lymphoid tissues despite having PrPSc in brain [81]. In addition to lymphoid tissues, PrPSc or infectivity has been detected in other non-CNS tissues, including pancreas [17, 77], adrenal gland [17, 77], and skeletal muscle [2]. Recently PrPSc was described in cardiac muscle from 7 of 16 (44%) white-tailed deer and from 12 of 17 (71%) elk [35]. This is the first report of PrPSc in cardiac muscle in any TSE. The cellular and molecular mechanisms of systemic prion spread are under investigation in many laboratories. A recent report showed that blood from CWD-infected deer contained infectivity and could transmit prion disease via a blood transfusion [50]. This finding recapitulates indirect findings of blood infectivity in vCJD affected humans [61] and experimental transfusion studies of scrapie sick sheep [32], and indicates that prion transport

throughout the body may include the blood as a potential vehicle.

snip...

6. CWD strains among deer and elk

Prion strains, such as those seen in sheep scrapie, show distinct incubation periods in differentially susceptible inbred mice and lesions target discrete brain regions [11, 18, 19]. CWD in deer and elk has been considered a single disease entity, and western blot glycoform patterns of PrPSc are similar among deer and elk [67]. However, some new data indicate otherwise, suggesting that conformational variants, or strains, may exist. In a study by Raymond et al., Syrian golden hamsters were infected with mule deer or elk CWD, but with an incomplete attack rate; only 2 of 7 and 0 of 7 hamsters developed terminal disease, respectively. Indeed, second and third passage of the mule deer derived strain resulted in a short incubation period of only 85-89 days, whereas the elk-derived strain led to an incubation period of 408-544 days. Surprisingly, when mule deer CWD was first passaged in hamster PrP expressing transgenic mice and then into hamsters, a slowly replicating strain

with distinct clinical disease and PrPSc deposition patterns in brain ensued. Therefore two different strains could be passaged from a single mule deer CWD isolate, a rapid and a slowly replicating strain with differing disease phenotypes [70]. Alternatively, these strains could have been generated upon interspecies transmission [6].

We have also observed two strains arising from a single CWD-infected mule deer upon

passage in transgenic mice overexpressing murine PrP. Here, mice developed different

PrPSc aggregate morphologies in brain, either dense, congophilic plaques or fine, diffuse aggregates which could be selectively passaged [78]. LaFauci et al. have reported that elk PrP expressing transgenic mice developed phenotypically divergent diseases when inoculated with either mule deer or elk CWD, which was also suggestive of different strains [44]. In each of these studies, it is not clear whether mule deer and elk possess heterogeneous PrP aggregates (strain mixture), or whether the strains may have developed in the new host. However, Safar et al. have reported differing conformational characteristics for PrPSc from CWD-infected white-tailed deer and elk directly, using a conformation dependent immunoassay (CDI) [71], which supports the existence of CWD strains. The possible existence of CWD strains is perhaps not entirely surprising, considering that there are genetic Prnp differences among deer and elk that could influence PrPSc conformation [34, 36, 58].

7

7. Interspecies CWD transmission

Wild predators and scavengers are presumably feeding on CWD-infected carcasses.

Skeletal muscle has been shown to harbor CWD prion infectivity [2], underscoring that other species will almost certainly be exposed to CWD through feeding. However, CWD has not been successfully transmitted by oral inoculation to species outside of the cervid family, suggestive of a strong species barrier for heterologous PrP conversion. Ferrets (family Mustelidae) can be infected with deer CWD after intracerebral (ic) but not oral exposure [5, 80]. Raccoons resisted even ic infection for up to 2 years thus far [24]. Mountain lion (Puma concolor) susceptibility to experimental feeding of CWD prions is currently under investigation (M. Miller and L. Wolfe, personal communication).

Could wild rodents colonizing CWD- or scrapie-infected pastures serve as an environmental reservoir of prion infectivity? Interestingly, bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), are readily infected with CWD and sheep scrapie by intracerebral inoculation ([64]; U. Agrimi, unpublished data) and are considered as a potential reservoir for sheep scrapie [64]. Many vole species occur in North America [65, 83] and further research may determine whether voles enhance CWD or scrapie spread through environmental contamination.

Given that environmental contamination with CWD prions likely occurs [55], domestic

ruminants may be exposed to CWD through common grazing areas. However, sheep and

cattle appear to be poorly susceptible to mule deer CWD: ic inoculation with mule deer CWD succeeded to infect only 2 of 8 sheep [28]; likewise cattle have not been infected after cograzing with CWD-infected mule deer, or after a direct oral exposure (over 6 years) (M. Miller, personal communication). Even direct ic inoculation led to CWD infection in only 5 of 13 cattle (38%) after 2-5 years [26]. In contrast, cattle are highly susceptible to white-tailed deer CWD with 12 of 14 animals developing neurologic disease and PrPSc by only 22 months post-ic inoculation (+/-0.5 months) [29]. Further studies are planned to determine whether

cattle are susceptible to white-tailed deer prions after an oral exposure (J. Richt, personal communication). The differential susceptibility of cattle to CWD from mule deer versus whitetailed deer suggests that CWD strains exist, and that CWD may differentially cross species barriers depending on the strain. Nevertheless, to date, natural CWD infections have been detected only in cervids.

Is the converse true, are cervids susceptible to sheep scrapie? Only one study has been performed on cervid susceptibility to sheep scrapie by the ic route, and showed that 3 of 6 elk developed neurologic signs, spongiform encephalopathy and PrPSc in brain [25]. Further experiments to address this question may be interesting since sheep scrapie is considered a possible source for CWD in North America [89, 91].

8. Human susceptibility to CWD

Millions of North Americans hunt deer and elk (U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Bureau), and there is no doubt that people have been exposed to CWD through venison consumption, particularly in light of recent data showing CWD prions in muscle [2]. Human susceptibility to CWD or to other newly emerging animal TSE [9, 14] is still unclear, although we can be somewhat reassured in that there have been no large scale outbreaks of human TSE cases in Colorado and Wyoming, where CWD has existed for decades [51]. Up until approximately 10 years ago, autopsies were not performed on suspect human TSE cases in many states due to biosafety concerns, therefore the diagnosis of potential new TSE strains has been hampered. This indicates that clinical TSE diagnoses in humans were not confirmed, nor was any strain typing done to look for the appearance of potentially subtle or unusual pathological or biochemical phenotypes of a new TSE strain. Fortunately, the

autopsy rate for suspect cases is improving. At the National Prion Disease Pathology

Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) suspect cases are studied and classified by CJD subtype. Thus far,

8

*** twenty-seven CJD patients who regularly consumed venison were reported to the

Surveillance Center***,

however there have been no unusual or novel prion subtypes that might indicate the appearance of a new prion strain [7, 41]. Other indirect studies of human susceptibility to CWD also suggest that the risk is low. In biochemical conversion studies, Raymond et al. [68] showed that the efficiency of CWD to

convert recombinant human PrP into amyloid fibrils was low, but similar to that of both BSE and scrapie fibrils to do the same. These results suggest that there is a molecular incompatibility in the conversion of human PrPC by CWD, sheep scrapie, or BSE, and that cross species infections in humans may be rare events.

To determine whether common PrPSc strain features may link CWD and CJD, histopathology and the PrPSc biochemical characteristics from deer and elk were compared with that of humans with sporadic CJD (sCJD) cases that are methionine homozygous at codon 129 of the Prnp gene by Xie et al. [96], although strain features including histologic profile, target organs, and glycoform patterns will not necessarily remain the same upon crossing species barriers [6, 5, 8, 57]. The PrPSc form is cleaved by proteinase-K (PK) at different sites depending on the conformation of the protein and may aid determination of whether the PrPSc conformation is similar. By western blot (SDS-PAGE) of elk CWD, the unglycosylated

PK-resistant PrPSc migrated at 21 kDa, similar to sCJD (MM1 subtype) and the PK cleavage site was the same, occurring at residues 78 and 82 as assessed by N-terminal sequencing. Conformational stability was evaluated by measuring the PrPSc stability under partially denaturing conditions and also showed no significant difference between elk CWD and sCJD MM1 PrPSc. However, elk CWD and human sCJD MM1 strains exhibited distinct glycoform patterns by two dimensional gel electrophoresis, suggesting that the strains differed. Future studies may utilize luminescent conjugated polymers, which were recently shown to distinguish naturally- and experimentally-derived prion strains [79].

To study elk-human prion species barriers, Kong et al. inoculated elk CWD into transgenic mice expressing either human PrP or elk PrP. Whereas the elk PrP expressing mice developed disease after only 118-142 days post-inoculation, human PrP expressing mice (129M) did not develop any features of TSE after more than 657 or more than 756 days [41].

In accordance with these results, Tamgüney et al. also reported that human PrP

overexpressing mice were not susceptible to 9 CWD isolates from mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk [84]. However, mice have a limited lifespan and further passages may be necessary to detect low levels of prion infectivity that may be present subclinically. Although indirect evidence is accumulating that there may be a robust species barrier for CWD transmission to humans, one report indicates nonhuman primate susceptibility to CWD. Intracerebral inoculation of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) demonstrated a positive CWD transmission [49]. Among non-human primates, however, the Prnp sequence of the new world monkeys are the most distant from humans [72], and therefore may not indicate that human prion conversion would occur by CWD.

snip...

11. Disease control challenges posed by CWD

Evidence is building that indicates efficient horizontal transmission occurs in CWD, indeed a complicating aspect in disease control [91]. Potential transmission mechanisms range from spread via direct contact among animals to environmental exposure through grazing in areas contaminated by prion-infected secretions, excretions (saliva, urine, feces), tissues (placenta), or decomposed carcasses. Recently, in a breakthrough finding, saliva from CWD infected deer was shown to transmit prion disease [50]. An additional experiment by Miller and colleagues showed that CWD-infected carcasses allowed to decay naturally in confined pastures can lead to CWD infections in captive deer, demonstrating the potential for

environmental contamination to spread infection [55]. Modelling studies have provided further

10

support that environmental contamination is likely playing a significant role in transmitting CWD [56, 53]. Additionally, infectious prions have been demonstrated to bind soil particles and remain infectious to animals by both intracerebral and oral exposure routes [38, 37]. Prion infectivity has been recovered from soil more than two years after experimental exposure to prions, suggesting the soil may serve as a reservoir for CWD prions [75]. Taken together, these results indicate that there may even be multiple sources for CWD exposure, perhaps through direct contact and environmental routes.

Significant challenges to CWD eradication exist in free-ranging cervids. Infected deer and elk range over a broad geographic region, and even previously surmised geographic barriers such as the Continental Divide have proven passable by infected animals. Ridding the environment of CWD-contaminated soil or even CWD-infected carcasses is not possible.

Moreover, the available ante-mortem diagnostic tests for surveillance are laborious and impractical for large numbers of free-ranging animals [74, 88, 95]. Therefore for a wildlife manager, this disease is costly to survey and difficult to control.

12. Conclusion

CWD in cervids is efficiently transmitted, likely more than any other TSE in animals or humans. Therefore, it is unlikely that this TSE can be eradicated, but perhaps through an improved understanding of transmission routes, biological factors influencing pathogenesis, and the molecular basis of CWD prion conversion, a targeted strategy for interrupting disease spread may be developed.

Acknowledgements

I thank Drs. Michael Miller, Jason Bartz and Mathias Heikenwalder for critical review of the manuscript.

snip...see full text 19 pages ;

http://www.vetres.org/index.php?option=article&access=standard&Itemid=129&url=/a

Research Project: Strain Typing of Chronic Wasting Disease (Cwd) and Scrapie by Intracerebral Inoculation into Transgenic and Inbred Mouse Lines

Location: Animal Diseases Research

Project Number: 5348-32000-026-07

Project Type: Specific C/A

Start Date: Sep 28, 2007

End Date: Sep 27, 2012

Objective:

To identify and differentiate typical and atypical case samples of CWD and Scrapie by characterizing the biologic phenotype and pathologic profile of these agents when administered to susceptible lines of transgenic and inbred mice.

Approach:

Tissue samples from deer, elk, sheep and goats with Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) will be administered to mice by intracerebral injection. Multiple tissue types will be included, such as samples of brain, lymph node, blood, urine, feces, antler velvet and muscle. Mouse models used as recipient hosts will include both preexisting and recently created transgenic and inbred mouse lines. Recipient mouse phenotype will be evaluated by measuring clinical response, population disease rate, incubation time, and pathologic profile within the central nervous system (CNS). Pathologic profile of CNS lesion foci is assessed by evaluating anatomic localization, spongiform change, astrocytic gliosis, and deposition of protease resistant prion protein. BSL-1; 9-4-06. Documents SCA with U. of WA.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.htm?accn_no=411895

Research Project: Strain Typing of Chronic Wasting Disease (Cwd) and Scrapie by Intracerebral Inoculation into Transgenic and Inbred Mouse Lines

Location: Animal Diseases Research

2007 Annual Report

1a.Objectives (from AD-416)

To identify and differentiate typical and atypical case samples of CWD and Scrapie by characterizing the biologic phenotype and pathologic profile of these agents when administered to susceptible lines of transgenic and inbred mice.

1b.Approach (from AD-416)

Tissue samples from deer, elk, sheep and goats with Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) will be administered to mice by intracerebral injection. Multiple tissue types will be included, such as samples of brain, lymph node, blood, urine, feces, antler velvet and muscle. Mouse models used as recipient hosts will include both preexisting and recently created transgenic and inbred mouse lines. Recipient mouse phenotype will be evaluated by measuring clinical response, population disease rate, incubation time, and pathologic profile within the central nervous system (CNS). Pathologic profile of CNS lesion foci is assessed by evaluating anatomic localization, spongiform change, astrocytic gliosis, and deposition of protease resistant prion protein. BSL-1; 9-4-06. Documents SCA with U. of WA.

3.Progress Report

This report serves to document research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and the University of Washington. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project 5348-32000-026-00D Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies: the role of genetics, strain variation, and environmental contamination in disease control. The purpose of this new SCA is to identify and differentiate typical and atypical case samples of CWD and scrapie by characterizing the biologic phenotype and pathologic profile of these agents when administered to susceptible lines of transgenic and inbred mice. There will be weekly interactions between the ADODR, ADRU scientists and University of Washington collaborators through personnel visits, conference calls and emails.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.htm?ACCN_NO=411895&showpars=t

Chronic Wasting Disease and Potential Transmission to Humans

Ermias D. Belay,* Ryan A. Maddox,* Elizabeth S. Williams,† Michael W. Miller,‡ Pierluigi Gambetti,§ and Lawrence B. Schonberger*

*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; †University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA; ‡Colorado Division of Wildlife, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; and §Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Suggested citation for this article: Belay ED, Maddox RA, Williams ES, Miller MW, Gambetti P, Schonberger LB. Chronic wasting disease and potential transmission to humans. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2004 Jun [date cited]. Available from:http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/03-1082.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk is endemic in a tri-corner area of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, and new foci of CWD have been detected in other parts of the United States. Although detection in some areas may be related to increased surveillance, introduction of CWD due to translocation or natural migration of animals may account for some new foci of infection. Increasing spread of CWD has raised concerns about the potential for increasing human exposure to the CWD agent. The foodborne transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans indicates that the species barrier may not completely protect humans from animal prion diseases. Conversion of human prion protein by CWD-associated prions has been demonstrated in an in vitro cell-free experiment, but limited investigations have not identified strong evidence for CWD transmission to humans. More epidemiologic and laboratory studies are needed to monitor the possibility of such transmissions.

snip...full text ;

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/03-1082.htm

Volume 12, Number 10–October 2006

Research

Human Prion Disease and Relative Risk Associated with Chronic Wasting Disease

Samantha MaWhinney,* W. John Pape,† Jeri E. Forster,* C. Alan Anderson,‡§ Patrick Bosque,‡¶ and Michael W. Miller#

*University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado, USA; †Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, Colorado, USA; ‡University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA; §Denver Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, USA; ¶Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, USA; and #Colorado Division of Wildlife, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Suggested citation for this article

The transmission of the prion disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to humans raises concern about chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease of deer and elk. In 7 Colorado counties with high CWD prevalence, 75% of state hunting licenses are issued locally, which suggests that residents consume most regionally harvested game. We used Colorado death certificate data from 1979 through 2001 to evaluate rates of death from the human prion disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The relative risk (RR) of CJD for CWD-endemic county residents was not significantly increased (RR 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40–1.63), and the rate of CJD did not increase over time (5-year RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.73–1.16). In Colorado, human prion disease resulting from CWD exposure is rare or nonexistent. However, given uncertainties about the incubation period, exposure, and clinical presentation, the possibility that the CWD agent might cause human disease cannot be eliminated.

snip... full text ;

http://0-www.cdc.gov.mill1.sjlibrary.org/ncidod/EID/vol12no10/06-0019.htm

full text ;

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html

CWD

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/

CJD QUESTIONNAIRE

http://cjdquestionnaire.blogspot.com/

Monitoring the occurrence of emerging forms of CJD

http://cjdusa.blogspot.com/

Singeltary, Sr et al. JAMA.2001; 285: 733-734.

Diagnosis and Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150

words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor:

In their Research Letter, Dr Gibbons and colleagues1 reported that the

annual US death rate due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has been stable

since 1985. These estimates, however, are based only on reported cases, and

do not include misdiagnosed or preclinical cases. It seems to me that

misdiagnosis alone would drastically change these figures. An unknown number

of persons with a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease in fact may have CJD,

although only a small number of these patients receive the postmortem

examination necessary to make this diagnosis. Furthermore, only a few states

have made CJD reportable. Human and animal transmissible spongiform

encephalopathies should be reportable nationwide and internationally.

Terry S. Singeltary, Sr

Bacliff, Tex

1. Gibbons RV, Holman RC, Belay ED, Schonberger LB. Creutzfeldt-Jakob

disease in the United States: 1979-1998. JAMA. 2000;284:2322-2323. FREE FULL

TEXT

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/285/6/733?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=1

JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY

MARCH 26, 2003

In light of the findings of Asante and Collinge et al, there

should be drastic measures to safeguard the medical and surgical arena

from sporadic CJDs and all human TSEs. I only ponder how many sporadic

CJDs in the USA are type 2 PrPSc?

http://www.neurology.org/cgi/eletters/60/2/176#535

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Research Project: Detection of TSE Agents in Livestock, Wildlife, Agricultural Products, and the Environment Location: 2008 Annual Report

http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/01/research-project-detection-of-tse.html

Saturday, January 24, 2009 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy h-BSE ATYPICAL USA 2008 Annual Report Research Project: Study of Atypical Bse

Location: Virus and Prion Diseases of Livestock

2008 Annual Report

http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/01/bovine-spongiform-encephalopathy-h-bse.html

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 TAFS1 Position Paper on Specified Risk Materials (January, 2009)

TAFS INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR TRANSMISSIBLE ANIMAL DISEASES AND FOOD SAFETY a non-profit Swiss Foundation

(January 2009)

TAFS1 Position Paper on Specified Risk Materials

http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2009/01/tafs1-position-paper-on-specified-risk.html

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 TAFS1 Position Paper on BSE in small ruminants (January 2009)

http://scrapie-usa.blogspot.com/2009/01/tafs1-position-paper-on-bse-in-small.html

Monday, September 1, 2008 RE-FOIA OF DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY BECAUSE OF AN ATYPICAL T.S.E. (PRION DISEASE) OF FOREIGN ORIGIN IN THE UNITED STATES [No. 00-072-1] September 1, 2008

http://foiamadsheepmadrivervalley.blogspot.com/2008/09/re-foia-of-declaration-of-extraordinary.html

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: DOCKET-- 03D-0186 -- FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; Availability Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:47:37 -0500 From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." <mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066%7Dmid://00000365/!x-usc:mailto:flounder@wt.net> To: mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066%7Dmid://00000365/!x-usc:mailto:fdadockets@oc.fda.gov

Greetings FDA,

i would kindly like to comment on; Docket 03D-0186FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed; Availability Several factors on this apparent voluntary proposal disturbs me greatly, please allow me to point them out;

1. MY first point is the failure of the partial ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban of 8/4/97. this partial and voluntary feed ban of some ruminant materials being fed back to cattle is terribly flawed. without the_total_ and _mandatory_ ban of all ruminant materials being fed back to ruminants including cattle, sheep, goat, deer, elk and mink, chickens, fish (all farmed animals for human/animal consumption), this half ass measure will fail terribly, as in the past decades...

2. WHAT about sub-clinical TSE in deer and elk? with the recent findings of deer fawns being infected with CWD, how many could possibly be sub-clinically infected. until we have a rapid TSE test toassure us that all deer/elk are free of disease (clinical and sub-clinical), we must ban not only documented CWD infected deer/elk, but healthyones as well. it this is not done, they system will fail...

3. WE must ban not only CNS (SRMs specified risk materials), but ALL tissues. recent new and old findings support infectivity in the rump or ass muscle. wether it be low or high, accumulation will play a crucial role in TSEs.

4. THERE are and have been for some time many TSEs in theUSA. TME in mink, Scrapie in Sheep and Goats, and unidentified TSE in USA cattle. all this has been proven, but the TSE in USA cattle has been totally ignored for decades. i will document this data below in my references.

5. UNTIL we ban all ruminant by-products from being fed back to ALL ruminants, until we rapid TSE test (not only deer/elk) but cattle in sufficient numbers to find (1 million rapid TSE test in USA cattle annually for 5 years), any partial measures such as the ones proposed while ignoring sub-clinical TSEs and not rapid TSE testing cattle, not closing down feed mills that continue to violate the FDA's BSE feed regulation (21 CFR 589.2000) and not making freely available those violations, will only continue to spread theseTSE mad cow agents in the USA.

I am curious what we will call a phenotype in a species that is mixed with who knows how many strains of scrapie, who knows what strain or how many strains of TSE in USA cattle, and the CWD in deer and elk (no telling how many strains there), but all of this has been rendered for animal feeds in the USA for decades. it will get interesting once someone starts looking in all species, including humans here in theUSA, but this has yet to happen...

6. IT is paramount that CJD be made reportable in every state (especially ''sporadic'' cjd), and that a CJD Questionnaire must be issued to every family of a victim of TSE. only checking death certificates will not be sufficient. this has been proven as well (see below HISTORY OF CJD -- CJD QUESTIONNAIRE)

7. WE must learn from our past mistakes, not continue to make the same mistakes...

references

snip...

Oral transmission and early lymphoid tropism of chronic wasting diseasePrPres in mule deer fawns (Odocoileus hemionus )

Christina J. Sigurdson1, Elizabeth S. Williams2, Michael W. Miller3,Terry R. Spraker1,4, Katherine I. O'Rourke5 and Edward A. Hoover1Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and BiomedicalSciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523- 1671, USA1Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, 1174 SnowyRange Road, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82070, USA 2Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, 317 WestProspect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526-2097, USA3Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, 300 WestDrake Road, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1671, USA4Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, USDepartment of Agriculture, 337 Bustad Hall, Washington State University,Pullman, WA 99164-7030, USA5Author for correspondence: Edward Hoover.Fax +1 970 491 0523. mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066%7Dmid://00000365/!x-usc:mailto:e-mailehoover@lamar.colostate.eduMule

deer fawns (Odocoileus hemionus) were inoculated orally with abrain homogenate prepared from mule deer with naturally occurring chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion-induced transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Fawns were necropsied and examined for PrP res, the abnormal prion protein isoform, at 10, 42, 53, 77, 78 and 80 days post-inoculation (p.i.) using an immunohistochemistry assay modified to enhance sensitivity. PrPres was detected in alimentary-tract-associatedl ymphoid tissues (one or more of the following: retropharyngeal lymphnode, tonsil, Peyer's patch and ileocaecal lymph node) as early as 42days p.i. and in all fawns examined thereafter (53 to 80 days p.i.). No PrPres staining was detected in lymphoid tissue of three control fawns receiving a control brain inoculum, nor was PrPres detectable in neural tissue of any fawn. PrPres-specific staining was markedly enhanced by sequential tissue treatment with formic acid, proteinase K and hydrated autoclaving prior to immunohistochemical staining with monoclonalantibody F89/160.1.5. These results indicate that CWD PrP res can be detected in lymphoid tissues draining the alimentary tract within a few weeks after oral exposure to infectious prions and may reflect the initial pathway of CWD infection in deer. The rapid infection of deer fawns following exposure by the most plausible natural route is consistent with the efficient horizontal transmission of CWD in nature and enables accelerated studies of transmission and pathogenesis in the native species.

snip...

These results indicate that mule deer fawns develop detectable PrPres after oral exposure to an inoculum containing CWD prions. In the earliest post-exposure period, CWD PrPres was traced to the lymphoidtissues draining the oral and intestinal mucosa (i.e. there tropharyngeal lymph nodes, tonsil, ileal Peyer's patches and ileocaecal lymph nodes), which probably received the highest initial exposure to the inoculum. Hadlow et al. (1982) demonstrated scrapie agent in the tonsil, retropharyngeal and mesenteric lymph nodes, ileumand spleen in a 10-month-old naturally infected lamb by mouse bioassay. Eight of nine sheep had infectivity in the retropharyngeal lymph node.He concluded that the tissue distribution suggested primary infection via the gastrointestinal tract. The tissue distribution of PrPres in the early stages of infection in the fawns is strikingly similar to that seen in naturally infected sheep with scrapie. These findings supportoral exposure as a natural route of CWD infection in deer and supportoral inoculation as a reasonable exposure route for experimental studies of CWD.

snip...

http://vir.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/full/80/10/2757

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now, just what is in that deer feed? _ANIMAL PROTEIN_

Subject: MAD DEER/ELK DISEASE AND POTENTIAL SOURCES

Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 18:41:46 -0700 From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." Reply-To: BSE-LTo: BSE-L

8420-20.5% Antler DeveloperFor Deer and Game in the wildGuaranteed Analysis Ingredients / Products Feeding Directions

snip...

_animal protein_

http://www.surefed.com/deer.htm

BODE'S GAME FEED SUPPLEMENT #400A RATION FOR DEERNET WEIGHT 50 POUNDS22.6 KG.

snip...

_animal protein_

http://www.bodefeed.com/prod7.htm

IngredientsGrain Products, Plant Protein Products, Processed Grain By-Products,Forage Products, Roughage Products 15%, Molasses Products,

__Animal Protein Products__,

Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Pyosphate, Salt,Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Acetate with D-activated Animal Sterol(source of Vitamin D3), Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement,Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Panothenate, CholineChloride, Folic Acid, Menadione Soduim Bisulfite Complex, PyridoxineHydorchloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Biotin, Manganous Oxide, ZincOxide, Ferrous Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, DriedSacchoromyces Berevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Cellulose gum,Artificial Flavors added.http://www.bodefeed.com/prod6.htm

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MORE ANIMAL PROTEIN PRODUCTS FOR DEER

Bode's #1 Game PelletsA RATION FOR DEERF3153GUARANTEED ANALYSISCrude Protein (Min) 16%Crude Fat (Min) 2.0%Crude Fiber (Max) 19%Calcium (Ca) (Min) 1.25%Calcium (Ca) (Max) 1.75%Phosphorus (P) (Min) 1.0%Salt (Min) .30%Salt (Max) .70%IngredientsGrain Products, Plant Protein Products, Processed Grain By-Products,Forage Products, Roughage Products, 15% Molasses Products,

__Animal Protein Products__,

Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt,Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Acetate with D-activated Animal Sterol(source of Vitamin D3) Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement,Roboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, CholineChloride, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, PyridoxineHydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, e - Biotin, Manganous Oxide, ZincOxide, Ferrous Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, DriedSaccharyomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Cellulose gum,Artificial Flavors added.FEEDING DIRECTIONSFeed as Creep Feed with Normal Diet

http://www.bodefeed.com/prod8.htm

INGREDIENTS

Grain Products, Roughage Products (not more than 35%), Processed GrainBy-Products, Plant Protein Products, Forage Products,

__Animal Protein Products__,

L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Monocalcium/DicalciumPhosphate, Yeast Culture, Magnesium Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, BasicCopper Chloride, Manganese Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite,Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide,Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin ASupplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Mineral Oil, Mold Inhibitor, CalciumLignin Sulfonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium BisulfiteComplex, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Niacin, Biotin, Folic Acid,Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Mineral Oil, Chromium Tripicolinate

DIRECTIONS FOR USE

Deer Builder Pellets is designed to be fed to deer under rangeconditions or deer that require higher levels of protein. Feed to deerduring gestation, fawning, lactation, antler growth and pre-rut, allphases which require a higher level of nutrition. Provide adequateamounts of good quality roughage and fresh water at all times.

http://www.profilenutrition.com/Products/Specialty/deer_builder_pellets.html

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICESPUBLIC HEALTH SERVICEFOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATIONApril 9, 2001 WARNING LETTER01-PHI-12CERTIFIED MAILRETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

Brian J. Raymond, Owner Sandy Lake Mills 26 Mill Street P.O. Box 117 Sandy Lake, PA 16145

PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT

Tel: 215-597-4390

Dear Mr. Raymond:Food and Drug Administration Investigator Gregory E. Beichner conducted an inspection of your animal feed manufacturing operation, located in Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, on March 23,2001, and determined that your firm manufactures animal feeds including feeds containing prohibited materials. The inspection found significant deviations from the requirements set forth in Title 21, code of Federal Regulations, part 589.2000 - Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. The regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) . Such deviations cause products being manufactured at this facility to be misbranded within the meaning of Section 403(f), of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act).Our investigation found failure to label your swine feed with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to cattleor other Ruminants" The FDA suggests that the statement be distinguished by different type-size or color or other means of highlighting the statement so that it is easily noticed by a purchaser.

In addition, we note that you are using approximately 140 pounds of cracked corn to flush your mixer used in the manufacture of animal feeds containing prohibited material. This flushed material is fed to wild game including deer, a ruminant animal.Feed material which may potentially contain prohibited material should not be fed to ruminant animals which may become part of the food chain.The above is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of deviations fromthe regulations. As a manufacturer of materials intended for animalfeed use, you are responsible for assuring that your overall operation and the products you manufacture and distribute are in compliance withthe law. We have enclosed a copy of FDA's Small Entity Compliance Guideto assist you with complying with the regulation... blah, blah, blah...

http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/g1115d.pdf

==================================

snip...end...full text ;

2003D-0186 Guidance for Industry: Use of Material From Deer and Elk In Animal Feed

EMC 1 Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Vol #: 1

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/Jun03/060903/060903.htm

2003D-0186 Guidance for Industry: Use of Material From Deer and Elk In Animal Feed

EMC 7 Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Vol #: 1

2003D-0186 Guidance for Industry: Use of Material From Deer and Elk In Animal Feed

EMC 7 Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Vol #: 1

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/oct03/100203/100203.htm

01N-0423 Substances Prohibited from use in animal food/Feed Ruminant

APE 5 National Renderers Association, Inc. Vol#: 2

APE 6 Animal Protein Producers Industry Vol#: 2

APE 7 Darling International Inc. Vol#: 2

EMC 1 Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Vol#: 3

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/01/Oct01/101501/101501.htm

snip...end

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

CWD Update 93 December 29, 2008

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-update-93-december-29-2008.html

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Antemortem detection of PrPCWD in preclinical, ranch-raised Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) by biopsy of the rectal mucosa Full Scientific Reports

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/antemortem-detection-of-prpcwd-in.html

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Chronic Wasting Disease Investigation Update Michigan December 18, 2008

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/chronic-wasting-disease-investigation.html

Sunday, September 07, 2008

CWD LIVE TEST, and the political aspects or fallout of live testing for BSE in cattle in the USA

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/09/cwd-live-test-and-political-aspects-or.html

2008 CWD Laboratory Testing for Wild White-tailed Deer

http://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,1607,7-186-25806-202922--,00.html

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

CWD to tighten taxidermy rules Hunters need to understand regulations

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-to-tighten-taxidermy-rules-hunters.html

Monday, January 05, 2009

CWD, GAME FARMS, BAITING, AND POLITICS

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-game-farms-baiting-and-politics.html

Thursday, December 25, 2008 Lions and Prions and Deer Demise

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/12/lions-and-prions-and-deer-demise.html

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

CWD Update 93 December 29, 2008

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-update-93-december-29-2008.html

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 CWD MICHIGAN UPDATE September 5, 2008

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/09/cwd-michigan-update-september-5-2008.html

Monday, August 25, 2008 CWD FIRST DOCUMENTED IN MICHIGAN

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/08/cwd-first-documented-in-michigan.html

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Research Project: Detection of TSE Agents in Livestock, Wildlife, Agricultural Products, and the Environment Location: 2008 Annual Report

http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/01/research-project-detection-of-tse.html

Wednesday, February 04, 2009 Nebraska reports 22 cases of CWD in deer

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/02/nebraska-reports-22-cases-of-cwd-in.html

TSS

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Antemortem detection of PrPCWD in preclinical, ranch-raised Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) by biopsy of the rectal mucosa

Full Scientific Reports

Antemortem detection of PrPCWD in preclinical, ranch-raised Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) by biopsy of the rectal mucosa


Terry R. Spraker, Kurt C. VerCauteren, Thomas Gidlewski, David A. Schneider, Randy Munger, Aru Balachandran and Katherine I. O'Rourke1 Correspondence: 1Corresponding Author: Katherine O'Rourke, USDA, ARS ADRU, 3003 ADBF, Pullman, WA 99164. katherine.o'rourke@ars.usda.gov

Antemortem biopsy of the rectal mucosa was evaluated as a method for the preclinical diagnosis of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a herd of ranch-raised Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) quarantined because of exposure to CWD. Biopsy samples were obtained from 41 elk during the winter of 2005–2006 and from 26 elk from that herd still alive and available for testing during the winter of 2006–2007. Samples were examined for PrPCWD, the protein marker for CWD infection, by immunohistochemistry. PrPCWD was detected in follicles of the rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue in biopsy samples from 1 elk with clinical signs of chronic wasting disease and 5 clinically normal elk. The diagnosis was confirmed in all 6 animals by postmortem analysis of brain and peripheral lymph nodes. PrPCWD was also observed in the submucosal plexus and myenteric plexus of the enteric nervous system, and in close association with nonmyelinated mucosal and submucosal nerve fibers. In antemortem rectal biopsy samples from positive animals, immunostaining was consistently observed in approximately 60% of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue follicles if 10 or more total follicles per biopsy were present for evaluation. Most antemortem biopsy samples obtained from elk younger than 6.5 years contained at least 10 follicles per rectal mucosal biopsy. These findings support the analysis of antemortem biopsy of the rectal mucosa samples as part of an integrated strategy to manage chronic wasting disease in Rocky Mountain elk.

Key Words: Antemortem diagnosis • chronic wasting disease • elk • transmissible spongiform encephalopathy



http://jvdi.org/cgi/content/abstract/21/1/15?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=prion&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=21&issue=1&resourcetype=HWCIT




Brief Research Reports

Field performance of two rapid screening tests in active surveillance of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in small ruminants

Torsten Seuberlich1, Marcus G. Doherr, Catherine Botteron, Alexandra Nicolier, Heinzpeter Schwermer, Hervé Brünisholz, Dagmar Heim and Andreas Zurbriggen Correspondence: 1Corresponding Author: Torsten Seuberlich, NeuroCentre, Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Bremgartenstrasse 109 a, CH-3001 Berne, Switzerland. mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066%7Dmid://00000135/!x-usc:mailto:torsten.seuberlich@itn.unibe.ch

Recently, screening tests for monitoring the prevalence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies specifically in sheep and goats became available. Although most countries require comprehensive test validation prior to approval, little is known about their performance under normal operating conditions. Switzerland was one of the first countries to implement 2 of these tests, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a Western blot, in a 1-year active surveillance program. Slaughtered animals (n = 32,777) were analyzed in either of the 2 tests with immunohistochemistry for confirmation of initial reactive results, and fallen stock samples (n = 3,193) were subjected to both screening tests and immunohistochemistry in parallel. Initial reactive and false-positive rates were recorded over time. Both tests revealed an excellent diagnostic specificity (>99.5%). However, initial reactive rates were elevated at the beginning of the program but dropped to levels below 1% with routine and enhanced staff training. Only those in the ELISA increased again in the second half of the program and correlated with the degree of tissue autolysis in the fallen stock samples. It is noteworthy that the Western blot missed 1 of the 3 atypical scrapie cases in the fallen stock, indicating potential differences in the diagnostic sensitivities between the 2 screening tests. However, an estimation of the diagnostic sensitivity for both tests on field samples remained difficult due to the low disease prevalence. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of staff training, sample quality, and interlaboratory comparison trials when such screening tests are implemented in the field.

Key Words: Goats • prion • rapid tests • scrapie • sheep • surveillance • transmissible spongiform encephalopathy



http://jvdi.org/cgi/content/abstract/21/1/97?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=prion&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=21&issue=1&resourcetype=HWCIT



Sunday, September 07, 2008

CWD LIVE TEST, and the political aspects or fallout of live testing for BSE in cattle in the USA



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/09/cwd-live-test-and-political-aspects-or.html




Saturday, January 10, 2009

Chronic Wasting Disease Investigation Update Michigan December 18, 2008



http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/chronic-wasting-disease-investigation.html




Thursday, October 18, 2007


BSE BASE MAD COW TESTING TEXAS, USA, AND CANADA, A REVIEW OF SORTS



http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/2007/10/bse-base-mad-cow-testing-texas-usa-and.html




BSE BASE MAD COW TESTING TEXAS, USA, AND CANADA



http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/




Sunday, December 28, 2008

MAD COW DISEASE USA DECEMBER 28, 2008 an 8 year review of a failed and flawed policy



http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2008/12/mad-cow-disease-usa-december-28-2008-8.html





Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518

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