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Saturday, May 28, 2016

TPWD gives in to Breeders again and postponed their decision regarding proposed changes to state regulations for managing CWD allowing the TSE Prion to spread further

News Release Media Contact: TPWD News, news@tpwd.texas.gov, 512-389-8030

 

May 27, 2016

 

Decision Postponed on Chronic Wasting Disease Management Regulations AUSTIN – On Thursday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission postponed their decision regarding proposed changes to state regulations for managing chronic wasting disease (CWD), until a more thorough review is conducted. CWD is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects cervid species like white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk.

 

“How Texas responds to the prevalence of CWD in its captive deer herd will have significant effects on the way state wildlife agencies and animal health organizations mitigate epidemiological issues like this from here on out,” said TPW Commission Chairman T. Dan Friedkin. “The commission believes it is important to take some additional time to review the proposed rules, which are the product of months of study and consideration by the department, the Texas Animal Health Commission and a subject matter experts from the medical and deer breeding community.”

 

Following an extensive public hearing where commission members heard comments from a wide range of stakeholders, landowners and licensed deer breeders, Chairman Friedkin recommended tabling a formal decision on the proposed changes until June, when a special meeting can be held to vote on the changes. Time and location of the special meeting will be announced at a later date.

 

“We would like to take the opportunity to follow up with stakeholders about some of the concerns that have been voiced,” said Chairman Friedkin. “These are challenging issues that affect all rural landowners, wildlife enthusiasts, deer hunters and deer breeders. It is my plan that we will consider rules next month that blend reliable risk management with simplicity and predictability.”

 

In April, TPWD staff published proposed rules that would implement the department’s comprehensive CWD management plan with respect to the artificial movement of deer under several TPWD permits, including deer breeder permits, Triple T (trap, transfer and transplant) permits, DMP (deer management permit) and TTP (trap, transport and process) permits.

 

Additional information about the proposed rule changes and the department’s response to chronic wasting disease can be found on the department’s CWD web page.

 

2016-05-27

 


 

Thursday, May 26, 2016

 

TAHC Action CWD Response Rules Recommended Adoption of Proposed Rules May 26, 2016 But Instead Caves To Breeders and Postponed Implementation Action Chronic Wasting Disease

 

Response Rules Recommended Adoption of Proposed Rules May 26, 2016 But Instead Caves To Breeders and Postponed Implementation

 

Due to Breeder Concern of mandatory hunter harvest testing and Carcass restrictions of non breeder inside cwd surveillance zone, the TPWD et al caves, and decides to suspend implementation Chronic Wasting Disease Response Rules until July 11, for consideration in August 2016 (3 hour 30 minute mark). another 2 months of CWD waltzing across Texas will not matter, CWD has been waltzing across Texas since 2001 or so.

 

 > I would like to suggest that we suspend consideration of ... end

 

 ARCHIVED AUDIO OF MEETING

 

 Wednesday, May 25, 2016

 

 Work Session — MP3 Audio File

 


 

 Work Session Item No. 9 Presenter: Mitch Lockwood

 

 Chronic Wasting Disease Response and Rules Carcass Movement Restriction and CWD Zones and Associated Rules Request Permission to Publish Proposed Changes in Texas Register May 25, 2016

 

 I. Executive Summary: Staff will provide an overview of recommended rules regarding deer carcass movement, chronic wasting disease (CWD) zones and associated rules and seek permission to publish proposed rules in the Texas Register for public comment.

 

 II. Discussion: CWD is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects cervid species such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and others (susceptible species). It is classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, a family of diseases that includes scrapie (found in sheep) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, found in cattle). Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has been concerned for over a decade about the possible emergence of CWD in wild and captive deer populations in Texas. TPWD closed the Texas border in 2005 to the entry of out-of-state captive white-tailed and mule deer and increased regulatory requirements regarding disease monitoring and recordkeeping.

 

 Following the July 2012 CWD confirmation in two West Texas mule deer, the Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) Commission approved regulations, which defined geographic areas where the detection of CWD in Texas occurred or is probable (Containment Zones), where the presence of CWD could reasonably be expected (High Risk Zones), and where there is an elevated probability of discovering CWD (Buffer Zones). The rules adopted in November 2012 also established increased disease monitoring requirements and/or restricted activities conducted under any permits authorizing the capture, release, or possession of white-tailed deer and mule deer in those zones. See, 31 Tex. Admin. Code §§65.80-65.88, as adopted at 37 Tex.Reg. 10231 (2012).

 

 In 2015 and 2016, CWD has been detected in white-tailed deer in four deer breeding facilities and one associated release site in Central Texas and in a mule deer in the Texas Panhandle. In addition to the regulations regarding the movement of deer by persons holding permits issued by TPWD, there is a need to update and revise TPWD’s regulations regarding monitoring and surveillance zones, including regulations regarding hunter harvest surveillance. In addition, because infected carcasses may also be a source of CWD transmission, restrictions on the movement of deer carcasses are recommended to further curtail the spread of CWD.

 

 Staff will brief the TPW Commission on proposed rules to address zones and mandatory hunter surveillance and carcass movement. Staff will request permission to publish the proposed rules in the Texas Register for the required notice and comment period.

 

 Chronic Wasting Disease Response Rules – Request Permission to Publish Proposed Changes in Texas Register – Mitch Lockwood Carcass Movement Restriction (CMR) Rules CWD Zones and Associated Rules

 


 

 Commission Agenda Item No. 7 Presenter: Clayton Wolf

 

 Action Chronic Wasting Disease Response Rules Recommended Adoption of Proposed Rules May 26, 2016

 


 

 Executive Session

 

 Wednesday, May 25, 2016 9:00 a.m.

 

 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Executive Office Conference Room 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744

 

 T. Dan Friedkin, Commission Chair Carter Smith, Executive Director

 

 Update on Regulatory Litigation – Ann Bright (Executive Session Only) Red Snapper Oysters Chronic Wasting Disease

 


 

 ARCHIVED AUDIO OF MEETING

 

 Wednesday, May 25, 2016

 

 Work Session — MP3 Audio File

 


 

 Sunday, May 22, 2016

 

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

 


 

 IL-13 Transmission of prions to non human-primates: Implications for human populations

 

 Jean-Philippe Deslys, Emmanuel E. Comoy

 

 CEW, Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies (iMETI), Division of Prions and Related Diseases (SEPIA), Fontenay-aux-Roses, France

 

 Prion diseases 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 prion disease might be zoonotic under appropriate conditions. Contrarily, in the absence of obvious (epidemiological or experimental) elements supporting a transmission or genetic predispositions, prion diseases, like the other proteinopathies, are reputed to occur spontaneously (atypical animal prion strains, sporadic CJD summing 80 % of human prion cases).

 

 Non-human primate models provided the first evidences supporting the transmissibility of human prion strains and the zoonotic potential of BSE. Among them, cynomolgus macaques brought major information for BSE risk assessment for human health1, according to their phylogenetic proximity to humans and extended lifetime. We used this model to assess the risk of primary (oral) and secondary (transfusional) risk of BSE, and also the zoonotic potential of other animal prion diseases 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' . longer incubation than BSE2. Scrapie, as recently evoked in humanized mice3, is the third potentially zoonotic prion disease (with BSE and L-type BSE4), thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases. We also observed hidden prions transmitted by blood transfusion in primate which escape to the classical diagnostic methods and extend the field of healthy carriers. We will present an updated panorama of our different long-term transmission studies and discuss the implications on risk assessment of animal prion diseases for human health and of the status of healthy carrier5.

 

 1. Chen, C. C. & Wang, Y. H. Estimation of the Exposure of the UK Population to the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Agent through Dietary Intake During the Period 1980 to 1996. PLoS One 9, e94020 (2014).

 

 2. Comoy, E. E. et al. Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent incubation period. Sci Rep 5, 11573 (2015).

 

 3. Cassard, H. et al. Evidence for zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions. Nat Commun 5, 5821-5830 (2014).

 

 4. Comoy, E. E. et al. Atypical BSE (BASE) transmitted from asymptomatic aging cattle to a primate. PLoS One 3, e3017 (2008).

 

 5. Gill O. N. et al. Prevalent abnormal prion protein in human appendixes after bovine spongiform encephalopathy epizootic: large scale survey. BMJ. 347, f5675 (2013).

 

 Curriculum Vitae

 

 Dr. Deslys co-authored more than one hundred publications in international scientific journals on main aspects of applied prion research (diagnostic, decontamination techniques, risk assessment, and therapeutic approaches in different experimental models) and on underlying pathological mechanisms. He studied the genetic of the first cases of iatrogenic CJD in France. His work has led to several patents including the BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) diagnostic test most widely used worldwide. He also wrote a book on mad cow disease which can be downloaded here for free (http://www.neuroprion.org/pdf_docs/documentation/madcow_deslys.pdf). His research group is Associate Laboratory to National Reference Laboratory for CJD in France and has high security level microbiological installations (NeuroPrion research platform) with different experimental models (mouse, hamster, macaque). The primate model of BSE developed by his group with cynomolgus macaques turned out to mimick remarkably well the human situation and allows to assess the primary (oral) and secondary (transfusional) risks linked to animal and human prions even after very long silent incubation periods. For several years, his interest has extended to the connections between PrP and Alzheimer and the prion mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases. He is coordinating the NeuroPrion international association (initially european network of excellence now open to all prion researchers).

 

 - 59-

 

 P-088 Transmission of experimental CH1641-like scrapie to bovine PrP overexpression mice

 

 Kohtaro Miyazawa1, Kentaro Masujin1, Hiroyuki Okada1, Yuichi Matsuura1, Takashi Yokoyama2

 

 1Influenza and Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, NARO, Japan; 2Department of Planning and General Administration, National Institute of Animal Health, NARO

 

 Introduction: Scrapie is a prion disease in sheep and goats. CH1641-lke scrapie is characterized by a lower molecular mass of the unglycosylated form of abnormal prion protein (PrpSc) compared to that of classical scrapie. It is worthy of attention because of the biochemical similarities of the Prpsc from CH1641-like and BSE affected sheep. We have reported that experimental CH1641-like scrapie is transmissible to bovine PrP overexpression (TgBoPrP) mice (Yokoyama et al. 2010). We report here the further details of this transmission study and compare the biological and biochemical properties to those of classical scrapie affected TgBoPrP mice.

 

 Methods: The details of sheep brain homogenates used in this study are described in our previous report (Yokoyama et al. 2010). TgBoPrP mice were intracerebrally inoculated with a 10% brain homogenate of each scrapie strain. The brains of mice were subjected to histopathological and biochemical analyses.

 

 Results: Prpsc banding pattern of CH1641-like scrapie affected TgBoPrP mice was similar to that of classical scrapie affected mice. Mean survival period of CH1641-like scrapie affected TgBoPrP mice was 170 days at the 3rd passage and it was significantly shorter than that of classical scrapie affected mice (439 days). Lesion profiles and Prpsc distributions in the brains also differed between CH1641-like and classical scrapie affected mice.

 

 Conclusion: We succeeded in stable transmission of CH1641-like scrapie to TgBoPrP mice. Our transmission study demonstrates that CH 1641-like scrapie is likely to be more virulent than classical scrapie in cattle.

 

 WS-02

 

 Scrapie in swine: A diagnostic challenge

 

 Justin J Greenlee1, Robert A Kunkle1, Jodi D Smith1, Heather W. Greenlee2

 

 1National Animal Disease Center, US Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, United States; 2Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine

 

 A naturally occurring prion disease has not been recognized in swine, but the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy does transmit to swine by experimental routes. Swine are thought to have a robust species barrier when exposed to the naturally occurring prion diseases of other species, but the susceptibility of swine to the agent of sheep scrapie has not been thoroughly tested.

 

 Since swine can be fed rations containing ruminant derived components in the United States and many other countries, we conducted this experiment to test the susceptibility of swine to U.S. scrapie isolates by intracranial and oral inoculation. Scrapie inoculum was a pooled 10% (w/v) homogenate derived from the brains of clinically ill sheep from the 4th passage of a serial passage study of the U.S scrapie agent (No. 13-7) through susceptible sheep that were homozygous ARQ at prion protein residues 136, 154, and 171, respectively. Pigs were inoculated intracranially (n=19) with a single 0.75 ml dose or orally (n=24) with 15 ml repeated on 4 consecutive days. Necropsies were done on a subset of animals at approximately six months post inoculation (PI), at the time the pigs were expected to reach market weight. Remaining pigs were maintained and monitored for clinical signs of TSE until study termination at 80 months PI or when removed due to intercurrent disease (primarily lameness). Brain samples were examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blot (WB), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Brain tissue from a subset of pigs in each inoculation group was used for bioassay in mice expressing porcine PRNP.

 

 At six-months PI, no evidence of scrapie infection was noted by any diagnostic method. However, at 51 months of incubation or greater, 5 animals were positive by one or more methods: IHC (n=4), WB (n=3), or ELISA (n=5). Interestingly, positive bioassay results were obtained from all inoculated groups (oral and intracranial; market weight and end of study).

 

 Swine inoculated with the agent of scrapie by the intracranial and oral routes do not accumulate abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) to a level detectable by IHC or WB by the time they reach typical market age and weight. However, strong support for the fact that swine are potential hosts for the agent of scrapie comes from positive bioassay from both intracranially and orally inoculated pigs and multiple diagnostic methods demonstrating abnormal prion protein in intracranially inoculated pigs with long incubation times.

 

 Curriculum Vitae

 

 Dr. Greenlee is Research Veterinary Medical Officer in the Virus and Prion Research Unit at the National Animal Disease Center, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. He applies his specialty in veterinary anatomic pathology to focused research on the intra- and interspecies transmission of prion diseases in livestock and the development of antemortem diagnostic assays for prion diseases. In addition, knockout and transgenic mouse models are used to complement ongoing experiments in livestock species. Dr. Greenlee has publications in a number of topic areas including prion agent decontamination, effects of PRNP genotype on susceptibility to the agent of sheep scrapie, characterization of US scrapie strains, transmission of chronic wasting disease to cervids and cattle, features of H-BSE associated with the E211 K polymorphism, and the development of retinal assessment for antemortem screening for prion diseases in sheep and cattle. Dr. Greenlee obtained his DVM degree and completed the PhD/residency program in Veterinary Pathology at Iowa State University. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

 


 

 >>>A naturally occurring prion disease has not been recognized in swine, but the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy does transmit to swine by experimental routes. <<<

 

 for anyone interested, please see old studies here ;

 

 Wednesday, May 25, 2016

 

 USDA APHIS National Scrapie TSE Prion Eradication Program April 2016 Monthly

 

 Report Prion 2016 Tokyo Update

 


 

 PRION 2016 TOKYO

 

 Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions: An Update

 

 Ignazio Cali1, Liuting Qing1, Jue Yuan1, Shenghai Huang2, Diane Kofskey1,3, Nicholas Maurer1, Debbie McKenzie4, Jiri Safar1,3,5, Wenquan Zou1,3,5,6, Pierluigi Gambetti1, Qingzhong Kong1,5,6

 

 1Department of Pathology, 3National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, 5Department of Neurology, 6National Center for Regenerative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.

 

 4Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,

 

 2Encore Health Resources, 1331 Lamar St, Houston, TX 77010

 

 Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a widespread and highly transmissible prion disease in free-ranging and captive cervid species in North America. The zoonotic potential of CWD prions is a serious public health concern, but the susceptibility of human CNS and peripheral organs to CWD prions remains largely unresolved. We reported earlier that peripheral and CNS infections were detected in transgenic mice expressing human PrP129M or PrP129V. Here we will present an update on this project, including evidence for strain dependence and influence of cervid PrP polymorphisms on CWD zoonosis as well as the characteristics of experimental human CWD prions.

 

 PRION 2016 TOKYO

 

 In Conjunction with Asia Pacific Prion Symposium 2016

 

 PRION 2016 Tokyo

 

 Prion 2016

 


 

 Prion 2016

 

 Purchase options Price * Issue Purchase USD 198.00

 


 

 Prion. 10:S15-S21. 2016 ISSN: 1933-6896 printl 1933-690X online

 

 Taylor & Francis

 

 Prion 2016 Animal Prion Disease Workshop Abstracts

 

 WS-01: Prion diseases in animals and zoonotic potential

 

 Juan Maria Torres a, Olivier Andreoletti b, J uan-Carlos Espinosa a. Vincent Beringue c. Patricia Aguilar a,

 

 Natalia Fernandez-Borges a. and Alba Marin-Moreno a

 

 "Centro de Investigacion en Sanidad Animal ( CISA-INIA ). Valdeolmos, Madrid. Spain; b UMR INRA -ENVT 1225 Interactions Holes Agents Pathogenes. ENVT. Toulouse. France: "UR892. Virologie lmmunologie MolécuIaires, Jouy-en-Josas. France

 

 Dietary exposure to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) contaminated bovine tissues is considered as the origin of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob (vCJD) disease in human. To date, BSE agent is the only recognized zoonotic prion. Despite the variety of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) agents that have been circulating for centuries in farmed ruminants there is no apparent epidemiological link between exposure to ruminant products and the occurrence of other form of TSE in human like sporadic Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (sCJD). However, the zoonotic potential of the diversity of circulating TSE agents has never been systematically assessed. The major issue in experimental assessment of TSEs zoonotic potential lies in the modeling of the ‘species barrier‘, the biological phenomenon that limits TSE agents’ propagation from a species to another. In the last decade, mice genetically engineered to express normal forms of the human prion protein has proved essential in studying human prions pathogenesis and modeling the capacity of TSEs to cross the human species barrier.

 

 To assess the zoonotic potential of prions circulating in farmed ruminants, we study their transmission ability in transgenic mice expressing human PrPC (HuPrP-Tg). Two lines of mice expressing different forms of the human PrPC (129Met or 129Val) are used to determine the role of the Met129Val dimorphism in susceptibility/resistance to the different agents.

 

 These transmission experiments confirm the ability of BSE prions to propagate in 129M- HuPrP-Tg mice and demonstrate that Met129 homozygotes may be susceptible to BSE in sheep or goat to a greater degree than the BSE agent in cattle and that these agents can convey molecular properties and neuropathological indistinguishable from vCJD. However homozygous 129V mice are resistant to all tested BSE derived prions independently of the originating species suggesting a higher transmission barrier for 129V-PrP variant.

 

 Transmission data also revealed that several scrapie prions propagate in HuPrP-Tg mice with efficiency comparable to that of cattle BSE. While the efficiency of transmission at primary passage was low, subsequent passages resulted in a highly virulent prion disease in both Met129 and Val129 mice. Transmission of the different scrapie isolates in these mice leads to the emergence of prion strain phenotypes that showed similar characteristics to those displayed by MM1 or VV2 sCJD prion. These results demonstrate that scrapie prions have a zoonotic potential and raise new questions about the possible link between animal and human prions.

 


 

 Prion. 10:S15-S21. 2016 ISSN: 1933-6896 printl 1933-690X online

 

 Taylor & Francis

 

 Prion 2016 Animal Prion Disease Workshop Abstracts

 

 WS-01: Prion diseases in animals and zoonotic potential

 

 Juan Maria Torres a, Olivier Andreoletti b, J uan-Carlos Espinosa a. Vincent Beringue c. Patricia Aguilar a,

 

 Natalia Fernandez-Borges a. and Alba Marin-Moreno a

 

 "Centro de Investigacion en Sanidad Animal ( CISA-INIA ). Valdeolmos, Madrid. Spain; b UMR INRA -ENVT 1225 Interactions Holes Agents Pathogenes. ENVT. Toulouse. France: "UR892. Virologie lmmunologie MolécuIaires, Jouy-en-Josas. France

 

 Dietary exposure to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) contaminated bovine tissues is considered as the origin of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob (vCJD) disease in human. To date, BSE agent is the only recognized zoonotic prion. Despite the variety of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) agents that have been circulating for centuries in farmed ruminants there is no apparent epidemiological link between exposure to ruminant products and the occurrence of other form of TSE in human like sporadic Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (sCJD). However, the zoonotic potential of the diversity of circulating TSE agents has never been systematically assessed. The major issue in experimental assessment of TSEs zoonotic potential lies in the modeling of the ‘species barrier‘, the biological phenomenon that limits TSE agents’ propagation from a species to another. In the last decade, mice genetically engineered to express normal forms of the human prion protein has proved essential in studying human prions pathogenesis and modeling the capacity of TSEs to cross the human species barrier.

 

 To assess the zoonotic potential of prions circulating in farmed ruminants, we study their transmission ability in transgenic mice expressing human PrPC (HuPrP-Tg). Two lines of mice expressing different forms of the human PrPC (129Met or 129Val) are used to determine the role of the Met129Val dimorphism in susceptibility/resistance to the different agents.

 

 These transmission experiments confirm the ability of BSE prions to propagate in 129M- HuPrP-Tg mice and demonstrate that Met129 homozygotes may be susceptible to BSE in sheep or goat to a greater degree than the BSE agent in cattle and that these agents can convey molecular properties and neuropathological indistinguishable from vCJD. However homozygous 129V mice are resistant to all tested BSE derived prions independently of the originating species suggesting a higher transmission barrier for 129V-PrP variant.

 

 Transmission data also revealed that several scrapie prions propagate in HuPrP-Tg mice with efficiency comparable to that of cattle BSE. While the efficiency of transmission at primary passage was low, subsequent passages resulted in a highly virulent prion disease in both Met129 and Val129 mice. Transmission of the different scrapie isolates in these mice leads to the emergence of prion strain phenotypes that showed similar characteristics to those displayed by MM1 or VV2 sCJD prion. These results demonstrate that scrapie prions have a zoonotic potential and raise new questions about the possible link between animal and human prions.

 


 

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

 

Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3

 


 

Using in vitro prion replication for high sensitive detection of prions and prionlike proteins and for understanding mechanisms of transmission.

 

Claudio Soto

 

Mitchell Center for Alzheimer's diseases and related Brain disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

 

Prion and prion-like proteins are misfolded protein aggregates with the ability to selfpropagate to spread disease between cells, organs and in some cases across individuals. I n T r a n s m i s s i b l e s p o n g i f o r m encephalopathies (TSEs), prions are mostly composed by a misfolded form of the prion protein (PrPSc), which propagates by transmitting its misfolding to the normal prion protein (PrPC). The availability of a procedure to replicate prions in the laboratory may be important to study the mechanism of prion and prion-like spreading and to develop high sensitive detection of small quantities of misfolded proteins in biological fluids, tissues and environmental samples. Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (PMCA) is a simple, fast and efficient methodology to mimic prion replication in the test tube. PMCA is a platform technology that may enable amplification of any prion-like misfolded protein aggregating through a seeding/nucleation process. In TSEs, PMCA is able to detect the equivalent of one single molecule of infectious PrPSc and propagate prions that maintain high infectivity, strain properties and species specificity. Using PMCA we have been able to detect PrPSc in blood and urine of experimentally infected animals and humans affected by vCJD with high sensitivity and specificity. Recently, we have expanded the principles of PMCA to amplify amyloid-beta (Aβ) and alphasynuclein (α-syn) aggregates implicated in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, respectively. Experiments are ongoing to study the utility of this technology to detect Aβ and α-syn aggregates in samples of CSF and blood from patients affected by these diseases.

 

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

 

***Recently, we have been using PMCA to study the role of environmental prion contamination on the horizontal spreading of TSEs. These experiments have focused on the study of the interaction of prions with plants and environmentally relevant surfaces. Our results show that plants (both leaves and roots) bind tightly to prions present in brain extracts and excreta (urine and feces) and retain even small quantities of PrPSc for long periods of time. Strikingly, ingestion of prioncontaminated leaves and roots produced disease with a 100% attack rate and an incubation period not substantially longer than feeding animals directly with scrapie brain homogenate. Furthermore, plants can uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to different parts of the plant tissue (stem and leaves). Similarly, prions bind tightly to a variety of environmentally relevant surfaces, including stones, wood, metals, plastic, glass, cement, etc. Prion contaminated surfaces efficiently transmit prion disease when these materials were directly injected into the brain of animals and strikingly when the contaminated surfaces were just placed in the animal cage. These findings demonstrate that environmental materials can efficiently bind infectious prions and act as carriers of infectivity, suggesting that they may play an important role in the horizontal transmission of the disease.

 

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

 

Since its invention 13 years ago, PMCA has helped to answer fundamental questions of prion propagation and has broad applications in research areas including the food industry, blood bank safety and human and veterinary disease diagnosis.

 


 

see ;

 

with CWD TSE Prions, I am not sure there is any absolute yet, other than what we know with transmission studies, and we know tse prion kill, and tse prion are bad. science shows to date, that indeed soil, dirt, some better than others, can act as a carrier. same with objects, farm furniture. take it with how ever many grains of salt you wish, or not. if load factor plays a role in the end formula, then everything should be on the table, in my opinion. see ;

 

***Recently, we have been using PMCA to study the role of environmental prion contamination on the horizontal spreading of TSEs. These experiments have focused on the study of the interaction of prions with plants and environmentally relevant surfaces. Our results show that plants (both leaves and roots) bind tightly to prions present in brain extracts and excreta (urine and feces) and retain even small quantities of PrPSc for long periods of time. Strikingly, ingestion of prioncontaminated leaves and roots produced disease with a 100% attack rate and an incubation period not substantially longer than feeding animals directly with scrapie brain homogenate. Furthermore, plants can uptake prions from contaminated soil and transport them to different parts of the plant tissue (stem and leaves). Similarly, prions bind tightly to a variety of environmentally relevant surfaces, including stones, wood, metals, plastic, glass, cement, etc. Prion contaminated surfaces efficiently transmit prion disease when these materials were directly injected into the brain of animals and strikingly when the contaminated surfaces were just placed in the animal cage. These findings demonstrate that environmental materials can efficiently bind infectious prions and act as carriers of infectivity, suggesting that they may play an important role in the horizontal transmission of the disease.

 

Since its invention 13 years ago, PMCA has helped to answer fundamental questions of prion propagation and has broad applications in research areas including the food industry, blood bank safety and human and veterinary disease diagnosis.

 


 

see ;

 


 

Oral Transmissibility of Prion Disease Is Enhanced by Binding to Soil Particles

 

Author Summary

 

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of incurable neurological diseases likely caused by a misfolded form of the prion protein. TSEs include scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (‘‘mad cow’’ disease) in cattle, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Scrapie and chronic wasting disease are unique among TSEs because they can be transmitted between animals, and the disease agents appear to persist in environments previously inhabited by infected animals. Soil has been hypothesized to act as a reservoir of infectivity and to bind the infectious agent. In the current study, we orally dosed experimental animals with a common clay mineral, montmorillonite, or whole soils laden with infectious prions, and compared the transmissibility to unbound agent. We found that prions bound to montmorillonite and whole soils remained orally infectious, and, in most cases, increased the oral transmission of disease compared to the unbound agent. The results presented in this study suggest that soil may contribute to environmental spread of TSEs by increasing the transmissibility of small amounts of infectious agent in the environment.

 


 

tse prion soil

 


 


 


 


 

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

 

Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission

 


 

The sources of dust borne prions are unknown but it seems reasonable to assume that faecal, urine, skin, parturient material and saliva-derived prions may contribute to this mobile environmental reservoir of infectivity. This work highlights a possible transmission route for scrapie within the farm environment, and this is likely to be paralleled in CWD which shows strong similarities with scrapie in terms of prion dissemination and disease transmission. The data indicate that the presence of scrapie prions in dust is likely to make the control of these diseases a considerable challenge.

 


 

>>>Particle-associated PrPTSE molecules may migrate from locations of deposition via transport processes affecting soil particles, including entrainment in and movement with air and overland flow. <<<

 

Fate of Prions in Soil: A Review

 

Christen B. Smith, Clarissa J. Booth, and Joel A. Pedersen*

 

Several reports have shown that prions can persist in soil for several years. Significant interest remains in developing methods that could be applied to degrade PrPTSE in naturally contaminated soils. Preliminary research suggests that serine proteases and the microbial consortia in stimulated soils and compost may partially degrade PrPTSE. Transition metal oxides in soil (viz. manganese oxide) may also mediate prion inactivation. Overall, the effect of prion attachment to soil particles on its persistence in the environment is not well understood, and additional study is needed to determine its implications on the environmental transmission of scrapie and CWD.

 


 

P.161: Prion soil binding may explain efficient horizontal CWD transmission

 

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

 


 

>>>Another alternative would be an absolute prohibition on the movement of deer within the state for any purpose. While this alternative would significantly reduce the potential spread of CWD, it would also have the simultaneous effect of preventing landowners and land managers from implementing popular management strategies involving the movement of deer, and would deprive deer breeders of the ability to engage in the business of buying and selling breeder deer. Therefore, this alternative was rejected because the department determined that it placed an avoidable burden on the regulated community.<<<

 

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

 

Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission

 

Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission

 

Timm Konold1*, Stephen A. C. Hawkins2, Lisa C. Thurston3, Ben C. Maddison4, Kevin C. Gough5, Anthony Duarte1 and Hugh A. Simmons1

 

1 Animal Sciences Unit, Animal and Plant Health Agency Weybridge, Addlestone, UK, 2 Pathology Department, Animal and Plant Health Agency Weybridge, Addlestone, UK, 3 Surveillance and Laboratory Services, Animal and Plant Health Agency Penrith, Penrith, UK, 4 ADAS UK, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK, 5 School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK

 

Classical scrapie is an environmentally transmissible prion disease of sheep and goats. Prions can persist and remain potentially infectious in the environment for many years and thus pose a risk of infecting animals after re-stocking. In vitro studies using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) have suggested that objects on a scrapie affected sheep farm could contribute to disease transmission. This in vivo study aimed to determine the role of field furniture (water troughs, feeding troughs, fencing, and other objects that sheep may rub against) used by a scrapie-infected sheep flock as a vector for disease transmission to scrapie-free lambs with the prion protein genotype VRQ/VRQ, which is associated with high susceptibility to classical scrapie. When the field furniture was placed in clean accommodation, sheep became infected when exposed to either a water trough (four out of five) or to objects used for rubbing (four out of seven). This field furniture had been used by the scrapie-infected flock 8 weeks earlier and had previously been shown to harbor scrapie prions by sPMCA. Sheep also became infected (20 out of 23) through exposure to contaminated field furniture placed within pasture not used by scrapie-infected sheep for 40 months, even though swabs from this furniture tested negative by PMCA. This infection rate decreased (1 out of 12) on the same paddock after replacement with clean field furniture. Twelve grazing sheep exposed to field furniture not in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for 18 months remained scrapie free. The findings of this study highlight the role of field furniture used by scrapie-infected sheep to act as a reservoir for disease re-introduction although infectivity declines considerably if the field furniture has not been in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for several months. PMCA may not be as sensitive as VRQ/VRQ sheep to test for environmental contamination.

 

snip...

 

Discussion

 

Classical scrapie is an environmentally transmissible disease because it has been reported in naïve, supposedly previously unexposed sheep placed in pastures formerly occupied by scrapie-infected sheep (4, 19, 20). Although the vector for disease transmission is not known, soil is likely to be an important reservoir for prions (2) where – based on studies in rodents – prions can adhere to minerals as a biologically active form (21) and remain infectious for more than 2 years (22). Similarly, chronic wasting disease (CWD) has re-occurred in mule deer housed in paddocks used by infected deer 2 years earlier, which was assumed to be through foraging and soil consumption (23).

 

Our study suggested that the risk of acquiring scrapie infection was greater through exposure to contaminated wooden, plastic, and metal surfaces via water or food troughs, fencing, and hurdles than through grazing. Drinking from a water trough used by the scrapie flock was sufficient to cause infection in sheep in a clean building. Exposure to fences and other objects used for rubbing also led to infection, which supported the hypothesis that skin may be a vector for disease transmission (9). The risk of these objects to cause infection was further demonstrated when 87% of 23 sheep presented with PrPSc in lymphoid tissue after grazing on one of the paddocks, which contained metal hurdles, a metal lamb creep and a water trough in contact with the scrapie flock up to 8 weeks earlier, whereas no infection had been demonstrated previously in sheep grazing on this paddock, when equipped with new fencing and field furniture. When the contaminated furniture and fencing were removed, the infection rate dropped significantly to 8% of 12 sheep, with soil of the paddock as the most likely source of infection caused by shedding of prions from the scrapie-infected sheep in this paddock up to a week earlier.

 

This study also indicated that the level of contamination of field furniture sufficient to cause infection was dependent on two factors: stage of incubation period and time of last use by scrapie-infected sheep. Drinking from a water trough that had been used by scrapie sheep in the predominantly pre-clinical phase did not appear to cause infection, whereas infection was shown in sheep drinking from the water trough used by scrapie sheep in the later stage of the disease. It is possible that contamination occurred through shedding of prions in saliva, which may have contaminated the surface of the water trough and subsequently the water when it was refilled. Contamination appeared to be sufficient to cause infection only if the trough was in contact with sheep that included clinical cases. Indeed, there is an increased risk of bodily fluid infectivity with disease progression in scrapie (24) and CWD (25) based on PrPSc detection by sPMCA. Although ultraviolet light and heat under natural conditions do not inactivate prions (26), furniture in contact with the scrapie flock, which was assumed to be sufficiently contaminated to cause infection, did not act as vector for disease if not used for 18 months, which suggest that the weathering process alone was sufficient to inactivate prions.

 

PrPSc detection by sPMCA is increasingly used as a surrogate for infectivity measurements by bioassay in sheep or mice. In this reported study, however, the levels of PrPSc present in the environment were below the limit of detection of the sPMCA method, yet were still sufficient to cause infection of in-contact animals. In the present study, the outdoor objects were removed from the infected flock 8 weeks prior to sampling and were positive by sPMCA at very low levels (2 out of 37 reactions). As this sPMCA assay also yielded 2 positive reactions out of 139 in samples from the scrapie-free farm, the sPMCA assay could not detect PrPSc on any of the objects above the background of the assay. False positive reactions with sPMCA at a low frequency associated with de novo formation of infectious prions have been reported (27, 28). This is in contrast to our previous study where we demonstrated that outdoor objects that had been in contact with the scrapie-infected flock up to 20 days prior to sampling harbored PrPSc that was detectable by sPMCA analysis [4 out of 15 reactions (12)] and was significantly more positive by the assay compared to analogous samples from the scrapie-free farm. This discrepancy could be due to the use of a different sPMCA substrate between the studies that may alter the efficiency of amplification of the environmental PrPSc. In addition, the present study had a longer timeframe between the objects being in contact with the infected flock and sampling, which may affect the levels of extractable PrPSc. Alternatively, there may be potentially patchy contamination of this furniture with PrPSc, which may have been missed by swabbing. The failure of sPMCA to detect CWD-associated PrP in saliva from clinically affected deer despite confirmation of infectivity in saliva-inoculated transgenic mice was associated with as yet unidentified inhibitors in saliva (29), and it is possible that the sensitivity of sPMCA is affected by other substances in the tested material. In addition, sampling of amplifiable PrPSc and subsequent detection by sPMCA may be more difficult from furniture exposed to weather, which is supported by the observation that PrPSc was detected by sPMCA more frequently in indoor than outdoor furniture (12). A recent experimental study has demonstrated that repeated cycles of drying and wetting of prion-contaminated soil, equivalent to what is expected under natural weathering conditions, could reduce PMCA amplification efficiency and extend the incubation period in hamsters inoculated with soil samples (30). This seems to apply also to this study even though the reduction in infectivity was more dramatic in the sPMCA assays than in the sheep model. Sheep were not kept until clinical end-point, which would have enabled us to compare incubation periods, but the lack of infection in sheep exposed to furniture that had not been in contact with scrapie sheep for a longer time period supports the hypothesis that prion degradation and subsequent loss of infectivity occurs even under natural conditions.

 

In conclusion, the results in the current study indicate that removal of furniture that had been in contact with scrapie-infected animals should be recommended, particularly since cleaning and decontamination may not effectively remove scrapie infectivity (31), even though infectivity declines considerably if the pasture and the field furniture have not been in contact with scrapie-infected sheep for several months. As sPMCA failed to detect PrPSc in furniture that was subjected to weathering, even though exposure led to infection in sheep, this method may not always be reliable in predicting the risk of scrapie infection through environmental contamination. These results suggest that the VRQ/VRQ sheep model may be more sensitive than sPMCA for the detection of environmentally associated scrapie, and suggest that extremely low levels of scrapie contamination are able to cause infection in susceptible sheep genotypes.

 

Keywords: classical scrapie, prion, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, sheep, field furniture, reservoir, serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification

 


 

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

 

*** Objects in contact with classical scrapie sheep act as a reservoir for scrapie transmission ***

 


 

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

 

Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3

 


 

>>>Another alternative would be an absolute prohibition on the movement of deer within the state for any purpose. While this alternative would significantly reduce the potential spread of CWD, it would also have the simultaneous effect of preventing landowners and land managers from implementing popular management strategies involving the movement of deer, and would deprive deer breeders of the ability to engage in the business of buying and selling breeder deer. Therefore, this alternative was rejected because the department determined that it placed an avoidable burden on the regulated community.<<<

 

Circulation of prions within dust on a scrapie affected farm

 

Kevin C Gough1, Claire A Baker2, Hugh A Simmons3, Steve A Hawkins3 and Ben C Maddison2*

 

Abstract

 

Prion diseases are fatal neurological disorders that affect humans and animals. Scrapie of sheep/goats and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) of deer/elk are contagious prion diseases where environmental reservoirs have a direct link to the transmission of disease. Using protein misfolding cyclic amplification we demonstrate that scrapie PrPSc can be detected within circulating dusts that are present on a farm that is naturally contaminated with sheep scrapie. The presence of infectious scrapie within airborne dusts may represent a possible route of infection and illustrates the difficulties that may be associated with the effective decontamination of such scrapie affected premises.

 

snip...

 

Discussion

 

We present biochemical data illustrating the airborne movement of scrapie containing material within a contaminated farm environment. We were able to detect scrapie PrPSc within extracts from dusts collected over a 70 day period, in the absence of any sheep activity. We were also able to detect scrapie PrPSc within dusts collected within pasture at 30 m but not at 60 m distance away from the scrapie contaminated buildings, suggesting that the chance of contamination of pasture by scrapie contaminated dusts decreases with distance from contaminated farm buildings. PrPSc amplification by sPMCA has been shown to correlate with infectivity and amplified products have been shown to be infectious [14,15]. These experiments illustrate the potential for low dose scrapie infectivity to be present within such samples. We estimate low ng levels of scrapie positive brain equivalent were deposited per m2 over 70 days, in a barn previously occupied by sheep affected with scrapie. This movement of dusts and the accumulation of low levels of scrapie infectivity within this environment may in part explain previous observations where despite stringent pen decontamination regimens healthy lambs still became scrapie infected after apparent exposure from their environment alone [16]. The presence of sPMCA seeding activity and by inference, infectious prions within dusts, and their potential for airborne dissemination is highly novel and may have implications for the spread of scrapie within infected premises. The low level circulation and accumulation of scrapie prion containing dust material within the farm environment will likely impede the efficient decontamination of such scrapie contaminated buildings unless all possible reservoirs of dust are removed. Scrapie containing dusts could possibly infect animals during feeding and drinking, and respiratory and conjunctival routes may also be involved. It has been demonstrated that scrapie can be efficiently transmitted via the nasal route in sheep [17], as is also the case for CWD in both murine models and in white tailed deer [18-20].

 

The sources of dust borne prions are unknown but it seems reasonable to assume that faecal, urine, skin, parturient material and saliva-derived prions may contribute to this mobile environmental reservoir of infectivity. This work highlights a possible transmission route for scrapie within the farm environment, and this is likely to be paralleled in CWD which shows strong similarities with scrapie in terms of prion dissemination and disease transmission. The data indicate that the presence of scrapie prions in dust is likely to make the control of these diseases a considerable challenge.

 


 

Thursday, May 26, 2016

 

TPWD Action CWD Response Rules Recommended Adoption of Proposed Rules May 26, 2016 But Instead Caves To Breeders and Postponed Implementation

 


 

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

 


 

Friday, April 22, 2016

 

*** Texas Scrapie Confirmed in a Hartley County Sheep where CWD was detected in a Mule Deer

 


 

Monday, April 25, 2016

 

TEXAS Nilgai Exotic Antelope Let Loose for Trophy Hunts Blamed for Spreading Cattle Tick Fever, and what about CWD TSE Prion Disease ?

 


 

Saturday, April 02, 2016

 

TEXAS TAHC BREAKS IT'S SILENCE WITH TWO MORE CASES CWD CAPTIVE DEER BRINGING TOTAL TO 10 CAPTIVES REPORTED TO DATE

 


 

Friday, February 26, 2016

 

TEXAS Hartley County Mule Deer Tests Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion

 


 

Friday, February 05, 2016

 

TEXAS NEW CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD CASE DISCOVERD AT CAPTIVE DEER RELEASE SITE

 


 

Saturday, January 23, 2016

 

Texas new interim rule governing Deer Management Permit (DMP) activities as part of the state’s response to the detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in captive deer populations

 


 

Sunday, January 17, 2016

 

Texas 10,000 deer in Texas tested for deadly disease CWD TSE, but not tested much in the most logical place, the five-mile radius around the Medina County captive-deer facility where it was discovered

 


 

Friday, January 15, 2016

 

TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE CWD Ante-Mortem Testing Symposium Texas Disposal Systems Events Pavilion January 12, 2016

 


 

Sunday, January 10, 2016

 

TEXAS MEDIA REPORTING A BIT OF GOOD NEWS ON CWD TESTING SO FAR INSTEAD OF TAHC which is still mum, still refusing timely updates to the public TSE PRION DISEASE

 


 

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

 

*** TEXAS MONTHLY CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD JANUARY 2016 DEER BREEDERS STILL DON'T GET IT $

 

Chronic Wasting Unease

 

*** The emergence of a deadly disease has wildlife officials and deer breeders eyeing each other suspiciously. ***

 


 

Monday, November 16, 2015

 

*** TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ORDER NO. 015-006

 

*** Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) immediate danger to the white-tailed deer and mule deer resources of Texas

 


 

Saturday, November 14, 2015

 

TEXAS CAPTIVE BREEDER CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD 2 MORE SUSPECTS DECTECTED BRINGING NUMBER TO 7 DETECTED IN CAPTIVE BREEDER (if/when the last two are confirmed).

 


 

Thursday, November 05, 2015

 

*** TPW Commission Adopts Interim Deer Breeder Movement Rules

 


 

Friday, October 09, 2015

 

Texas TWA Chronic Wasting Disease TSE Prion Webinars and Meeting October 2015

 


 

Saturday, October 03, 2015

 

TEXAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION GOD MUST NOT BE A TEXAN 2002 TO 2015

 


 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

 

TEXAS Hunters Asked to Submit Samples for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Testing

 

*** I cannot stress enough to all of you, for the sake of your family and mine, before putting anything in the freezer, have those deer tested for CWD. ...terry

 


 

***raw and uncut

 

Sunday, August 23, 2015

 

TAHC Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion and how to put lipstick on a pig and take her to the dance in Texas

 


 

Friday, August 07, 2015

 

*** Texas CWD Captive, and then there were 4 ?

 


 

Thursday, August 06, 2015

 

*** WE HAVE LOST TEXAS TO CWD TASK FORCE CATERING TO INDUSTRY

 


 

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

 

*** Texas CWD Medina County Herd Investigation Update July 16, 2015 ***

 


 

Thursday, July 09, 2015

 

TEXAS Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Herd Plan for Trace-Forward Exposed Herd with Testing of Exposed Animals

 


 

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

 

TEXAS Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Medina County Captive Deer

 


 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

 

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Confirmed Texas Trans Pecos March 18, 2015

 


 

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

 

Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Cases Confirmed In New Mexico 2013 and 2014 UPDATE 2015

 


 

Thursday, May 02, 2013

 

*** Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Texas Important Update on OBEX ONLY TEXTING

 


 

Monday, February 11, 2013

 

TEXAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD Four New Positives Found in Trans Pecos

 


 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

 

Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Far West Texas

 


 

Monday, March 26, 2012

 

Texas Prepares for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Possibility in Far West Texas

 


 

2011 – 2012

 

Friday, October 28, 2011

 

CWD Herd Monitoring Program to be Enforced Jan. 2012 TEXAS

 

Greetings TAHC et al,

 

A kind greetings from Bacliff, Texas.

 

In reply to ;

 

Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) Announcement October 27, 2011

 

I kindly submit the following ;

 


 


 

***for anyone interested, here is some history of CWD along the Texas, New Mexico border, and my attempt to keep up with it...terry

 

snip...

 

see history CWD Texas, New Mexico Border ;

 

Monday, March 26, 2012

 

3 CASES OF CWD FOUND NEW MEXICO MULE DEER SEVERAL MILES FROM TEXAS BORDER

 


 

Sunday, October 04, 2009

 

CWD NEW MEXICO SPREADING SOUTH TO TEXAS 2009 2009 Summary of Chronic Wasting Disease in New Mexico New Mexico Department of Game and Fish

 


 

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

 

*** Wisconsin Two deer that escaped farm had chronic wasting disease CWD ***

 


 

Sunday, January 17, 2016

 

*** Wisconsin Captive CWD Lotto Pays Out Again indemnity payment of $298,770 for 228 white-tailed deer killed on farm ***

 


 

WISCONSIN CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION SPIRALING FURTHER INTO THE ABYSS UPDATE

 


 

Arkansas Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion and Elk Restoration Project and Hunkering Down in the BSE Situation Room USDA 1998

 


 

Monday, April 25, 2016

 

Arkansas AGFC Phase 2 sampling reveals CWD positive deer in Madison and Pope counties

 


 

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

 

Arkansas First Phase of CWD sampling reveals 23 percent prevalence rate in focal area With 82 Confirmed to Date

 


 

PENNSYLVANIA TWELVE MORE CASES OF CWD FOUND: STATE GEARS UP FOR ADDITIONAL CONTROL MEASURES

 


 

Friday, April 22, 2016

 

Missouri MDC finds seven new cases of ChronicWasting Disease CWD during past‐season testing

 


 

Friday, April 22, 2016

 

COLORADO CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION SURVEILLANCE AND TESTING PROGRAM IS MINIMAL AND LIMITED

 


 

KANSAS CWD CASES ALARMING

 

Wednesday, March 02, 2016 Kansas Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion 52 cases 2015 updated report 'ALARMING'

 


 

Tuesday, February 02, 2016

 

Illinois six out of 19 deer samples tested positive for CWD in the Oswego zone of Kendall County

 


 

Sunday, May 22, 2016

 

Arkansas Commission approves hunting regulations, hears new proposals for CWD management

 


 

I could go on, for more see ;

 

Thursday, March 31, 2016

 

*** Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Roundup USA April 1, 2016 ***

 


 


 

Saturday, April 16, 2016

 

APHIS [Docket No. APHIS-2016-0029] Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health; Meeting May 2, 2016, and June 16, 2016 Singeltary Submission

 


 

Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed Singeltary Submission

 


 

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

 

Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0764 for Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards Singeltary Comment Submission

 


 

Sunday, March 20, 2016

 

*** UPDATED MARCH 2016 URGENT Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0432 (formerly 03D-0186) Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed Singeltary Submission

 


 

Monday, April 11, 2016

 

*** DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY DUE TO A FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD IN THE UNITED STATES AND NORTH AMERICA ?

 


 

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

 

Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2016 12:11 PM

 

To: SACAH.Management@aphis.usda.gov

 

Subject: Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health; Meeting [Docket No. APHIS-2016-0007] Singeltary Submission

 

Hello Mrs. R.J. Cabrera and USDA et al,

 

I would kindly like to submit and comment on the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health; Meeting [Docket No. APHIS-2016-0007] ;

 


 

Saturday, April 16, 2016

 

APHIS [Docket No. APHIS-2016-0029] Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health; Meeting May 2, 2016, and June 16, 2016 Singeltary Submission

 


 

In Confidence - Perceptions of unconventional slow virus diseases of animals in the USA - APRIL-MAY 1989 - G A H Wells

 

3. Prof. A. Robertson gave a brief account of BSE. The US approach was to accord it a very low profile indeed. Dr. A Thiermann showed the picture in the ''Independent'' with cattle being incinerated and thought this was a fanatical incident to be avoided in the US at all costs. ...

 


 

snip...see full text ;

 

*** SEE CWD HIGH INFECTION RATE MAPS FOR COLORADO ! ***

 


 

Monday, May 09, 2016

 

A comparison of classical and H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy associated with E211K prion protein polymorphism in wild type and EK211 cattle following intracranial inoculation

 


 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

 

*** Former Ag Secretary Ann Veneman talks women in agriculture and we talk mad cow disease USDA and what really happened in Texas ***

 


 

CJD/BSE (aka madcow) Human/Animal TSE’s--U.S.--Submission To Scientific Advisors and Consultants Staff January 2001 Meeting (short version)

 

Freas, William

 

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [flounder@wt.net]

 

Sent: Monday, January 08,2001 3:03 PM

 

TO: freas@CBS5055530.CBER.FDA.GOV

 

Subject: CJD/BSE (aka madcow) Human/Animal TSE’s--U.S.--Submission To Scientific Advisors and Consultants Staff January 2001 Meeting (short version)

 

CJD/BSE (aka madcow) Human/Animal TSE’s--U.S.--Submission To Scientific Advisors and Consultants Staff January 2001 Meeting (short version)

 

Greetings again Dr. Freas and Committee Members,

 

I wish to submit the following information to the Scientific Advisors and Consultants Staff 2001 Advisory Committee (short version).

 

I understand the reason of having to shorten my submission, but only hope that you add it to a copy of the long version, for members to take and read at their pleasure, (if cost is problem, bill me, address below). So when they realize some time in the near future of the 'real' risks i speak of from human/animal TSEs and blood/surgical products. I cannot explain the 'real' risk of this in 5 or 10 minutes at some meeting, or on 2 or 3 pages, but will attempt here:

 

remember AIDS/HIV, 'no problem to heterosexuals in the U.S.? no need to go into that, you know of this blunder:

 

DO NOT make these same stupid mistakes again with human/animal TSE's aka MADCOW DISEASE. I lost my Mom to hvCJD, and my neighbor lost his Mother to sCJD as well (both cases confirmed). I have seen many deaths, from many diseases. I have never seen anything as CJD, I still see my Mom laying helpless, jerking tremendously, and screaming "God, what's wrong with me, why can't I stop this". I still see this, and will never forget. Approximately 10 weeks from 1st of symptoms to death. This is what drives me. I have learned more in 3 years about not only human/animal TSE's but the cattle/rendering/feeding industry/government than i ever wished to.

 

I think you are all aware of CJD vs vCJD, but i don't think you all know the facts of human/animal TSE's as a whole, they are all very very similar, and are all tied to the same thing, GREED and MAN.

 

I am beginning to think that the endless attempt to track down and ban, potential victims from known BSE Countries from giving blood will be futile. You would have to ban everyone on the Globe eventually? AS well, I think we MUST ACT SWIFTLY to find blood test for TSE's, whether it be blood test, urine test, .eyelid test, anything at whatever cost, we need a test FAST.

 

DO NOT let the incubation time period of these TSEs fool you.

 

To think of Scrapie as the prime agent to compare CJD, but yet overlook the Louping-ill vaccine event in 1930's of which 1000's of sheep where infected by scrapie from a vaccine made of scrapie infected sheep brains, would be foolish. I acquired this full text version of the event which was recorded in the Annual Congress of 1946 National Vet. Med. Ass. of Great Britain and Ireland. from the BVA and the URL is posted in my (long version).

 

U.S.A. should make all human/animal TSE's notifiable at all ages, with requirements for a thorough surveillance and post-mortem examinations free of charge, if you are serious about eradicating this horrible disease in man and animal.

 

There is histopathology reports describing o florid plaques" in CJD victims in the USA and some of these victims are getting younger. I have copies of such autopsies, there has to be more. PLUS, sub-clinical human TSE's will most definitely be a problem.

 

THEN think of vaccineCJD in children and the bovine tissues used in the manufacturing process, think of the FACT that this agent surviving 6OO*C. PNAS -- Brown et al. 97 (7): 3418 scrapie agent live at 600*C

 

Then think of the CONFIDENTIAL documents of what was known of human/animal TSE and vaccines in the mid to late 80s, it was all about depletion of stock, to hell with the kids, BUT yet they knew. To think of the recall and worry of TSE's from the polio vaccine, (one taken orally i think?), but yet neglect to act on the other potential TSE vaccines (inoculations, the most effective mode to transmit TSEs) of which thousands of doses were kept and used, to deplete stockpile, again would be foolish.

 

--Oral polio; up to 1988, foetal calf serum was used from UK and New Zealand (pooled); since 1988 foetal calf serum only from New Zealand. Large stocks are held.

 

--Rubella; bulk was made before 1979 from foetal calf serum from UK and New Zealand. None has been made as there are some 15 years stock.

 

--Diphtheria; UK bovine beef muscle and ox heart is used but since the end of 1988 this has been sourced from Eire. There are 1,250 litres of stock.

 

--Tetanus; this involves bovine material from the UK mainly Scottish. There are 21,000 litres of stock.

 

--Pertussis; uses bovine material from the UK. There are 63,000 litres of stock. --They consider that to switch to a non-UK source will take a minimum of 6-18 months and to switch to a non-bovine source will take a minimum of five years.

 

3. XXXXXXXXXXX have measles, mumps, MMR, rubella vaccines. These are sourced from the USA and the company believes that US material only is used.

 

89/2.14/2.1

 

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

 

BSE3/1 0251

 

4. XXXXXXXXXXX have a measles vaccine using bovine serum from the UK. there are 440,000 units of stock. They have also got MMR using bovine serum from the UK.

 

5. XXXXXXXXXXX have influenza, rubella, measles,' MMR vaccines likely to be used in children. Of those they think that only MMR contains bovine material which is probably a French origin.

 

6. XXXXXXXXXXX have diphtheria/tetanus and potasses on clinical trial. hese use veal material, some of which has come from the UK and has been ade by XXXXXXXXXXX (see above).

 

I have documents of imports from known BSE Countries, of ferments, whole blood, antiallergenic preparations,

 

2

 

human blood plasma, normal human blood sera, human immune blood sera, fetal bovine serum, and other blood fractions not elsewhere specified or included, imported glands, catgut, vaccines for both human/animal, as late as 1998. Let us not forget about PITUITARY EXTRACT. This was used to help COWS super ovulate. This tissue was considered to be of greatest risk of containing BSE and consequently transmitting the disease.

 

ANNEX 6

 

MEETING HELD ON 8 JUNE 1988 TO DISCUSS THE IMPLICATIONS OF BSE TO BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING BOVINE - EXTRACTED MATERIAL

 

How much of this was used in the U.S.?

 

Please do not keep making the same mistakes; 'Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence'.

 

What are the U.S. rules for importing and manufacturing vaccines, medicines and medical devices?

 

Does the U.S.A. allow sourcing of raw material of ruminants from the U.S.A.?

 

U.S. cattle, what kind of guarantee can you give for serum or tissue donor herds? . The U.S. rendering system would easily amplify T.S.E.'s:

 

Have we increased the stability of the system (improved heat treatments) since the EU SSC report on the U.S.A. was published in july 2000?

 

What is done to avoid cross-contaminations in the U.S.A.?

 

How can the U.S. control absence of cross-contaminations of animal TSE's when pig and horse MBM and even deer and elk are allowed in ruminant feed, as well as bovine blood? I sadly think of the rendering and feeding policy before the Aug. 4, 1997 'partial' feed ban, where anything went, from the city police horse, to the circus elephant, i will not mention all the scrapie infected sheep. I am surprised that we have not included man 'aka soyent green'. It is a disgusting industry and nothing more than greed fuels it.

 

When will the U.S.. start real surveillance of the U.S. bovine population (not passive, this will not work)?

 

When will U.S. start removing SRMs?

 

Have they stopped the use of pneumatic stunners in the U.S.?

 

If so, will we stop it in all U.S. abattoirs or only in those abattoirs exporting to Europe?

 

If not, WHY NOT?

 

same questions for removal of SRM in the U.S.A., or just for export?

 

If not, WHY NOT?

 

How do we now sterilize surgical/dental instruments in the U.S.A.?

 

Where have we been sourcing surgical catgut?

 

(i have copies of imports to U.S., and it would floor you) hen will re-usable surgical instruments be banned?

 

'Unregulated "foods" such as 'nutritional supplements' containing various extracts from ruminants, whether imported or derived from

 

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US cattle/sheep/cervids ("antler velvet" extracts!) should be forbidden or at least very seriously regulated. (neighbors Mom, whom also died from CJD, had been taking bovine based supplement, which contained brain, eye, and many other bovine/ovine tissues for years, 'IPLEX').

 

What is the use of banning blood or tissue donors from Germany, France, etc... when the U.S.A. continues exposing cattle, sheep and people to SRM, refuses to have a serious feed ban, refuses to do systematic BSE-surveillance?

 

The FDA should feel responsible for the safety of what people eat, prohibit the most dangerous foods, not only prohibit a few more donors - the FDA should be responsible for the safe sourcing of medical devices, not only rely on banning donors "from Europe", The 'real' risks are here in the U.S. as well, and nave been for some time.

 

We must not forget the studies that have proven infectivity in blood from TSE's.

 

The Lancet, November 9, 1985

 

Sir, --Professor Manuelidis and his colleagues (Oct 19, p896) report transmission to animals of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) from the buffy coat from two patients. We also transmitted the disease from, whole blood samples of a patient (and of mice) infected with CJD.l Brain, Cornea, and urine from this patient were also infectious, and the clinicopathological findings2 are summarised as follows.

 

snip...

 

Samples,were taken aseptically at necropsy. 10% crude homogenates of brain and cornea in saline, whole blood (after crushing a clot), and untreated CSF and urine were innoculated intracerebrally into CFl strain mice (20 ul per animal). Some mice showed emaciation, bradykinesia, rigidity of the body and tail, and sometimes tremor after long incubation periods. Tissues obtained after the animal died (or was killed) were studied histologically (table). Animals infected by various inocula showed common pathological changes, consisting of severe spongiform changes, glial proliferation, and a moderate loss of nerve cells. A few mice inoculated with brain tissue or urine had the same amyloid plaques found in patients and animals with CJD.3

 

snip...

 

Department of Neuropathology,. Neurological Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka812, Japan JUN TATEISHI

 

(full text-long version)

 

and

 

CWD and transmission to man will be no different than other TSE's.

 

"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

 

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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,"

 

G.J. Raymond1, A. Bossers2, L.D. Raymond1, K.I. O'Rourke3, L.E. McHolland4, P.K. Bryant III4, M.W. Miller5, E.S. Williams6, M. Smits2 and B. Caughey1,7

 

or more recently transmission of BSE to sheep via whole blood Research letters Volume 356, Number 9234 16 September 2000

 

Transmission of BSE by blood transfusion in sheep

 

Lancet 2000; 356: 999 – 1000

 

F Houston, J D Foster, Angela Chong, N Hunter, C J Bostock

 

See Commentary

 

"We have shown that it is possible to transmit bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to a sheep by transfusion with whole blood taken from another sheep during the symptom-free phase of an experimental BSE infection. BSE and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in human beings are caused by the same infectious agent, and the sheep-BSE experimental model has a similar pathogenesis to that of human vCJD. Although UK blood transfusions are leucodepleted--a possible protective measure against any risk from blood transmission-- this report suggests that blood donated by symptom-free vCJD-infected human beings may represent a risk of spread of vCJD infection among the human population of the UK."

 

"The demonstration that the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is caused by the same agent that causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle1 has raised concerns that blood from human beings in the symptom-free stages of vCJD could transmit infection to recipients of blood transfusions (full text long version)"

 

and...

 

"The large number of cases (1040), temporal clustering of the outbreaks (15 in the first 6 months of 1997), the high in-flock incidence, and the exceptional involvement of goats (390 cases), suggested an accidental infection. The source of the epidemic might have been TSE-contaminated meat and bonemeal, but eight flocks had never been fed any commercial feedstuff. Infection might have risen from the use of a formol-inactivated vaccine against contagious agalactia prepared by a single laboratory with brain and mammary gland homogenates of sheep infected with Mycoplasma agalactiae. Although clinical signs of TSE in the donor sheep have not been found, it is possible that one or more of them were harbouring the

 

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infectious agent. Between 1995 and 1996, this vaccine was given subcutaneously to 15 of the affected flocks (to one flock in 1994) ; in these animals the disease appeared between 23 and 35 months after vaccination. No information is available for herd 13 because it was made up of stolen animals. Sheep from the remaining three flocks (1-3, figure) did not receive the vaccine, thus suggesting a naturally occurring disease.’’ (again, full text long version).

 

IN SHORT, please do under estimate this data and or human/animal TSE's including CWD in the U.S.A.

 

A few last words, please.

 

The cattle industry would love to have us turn our focus to CWD and forget about our own home grown TSE in Bovines. This would be easy to do. Marsh's work was from downer cattle feed, NOT downer deer/elk feed. This has been proven.

 

DO NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE.

 

There should be NO LESS THAN 1,000,000 tests for BSE/TSE ' in 2001 for U.S.A. French are testing 20,000 a week. The tests are available. Why wait until we stumble across a case from passive surveillance, by then it is to late. IF we want the truth, this is a must???

 

United States Total ,Bovine Brain Submissions by State,

 

May 10 ,1990 thru October 31, 2000

 

Total 11,700

 

FROM 1.5 BILLION HEAD OF CATTLE since 1990 ???

 

with same feeding and rendering practices as that of U.K. for years and years, same scrapie infected sheep used in feed, for years and years, 950 scrapie infect FLOCKS in the U.S. and over 20 different strains of scrapie known to date. (hmmm, i am thinking why there is not a variant scrapie, that is totally different than all the rest)? just being sarcastic.

 

with only PARTIAL FEED BAN implemented on Aug. 4, 1997??? (you really need to reconsider that blood meal etc. 'TOTAL BAN')

 


 

AND PLEASE FOR GODS SAKE, STOP saying vCJD victims are the only ones tied to this environmental death sentence. "PROVE IT". It's just not true. The 'CHOSEN ONES' are not the only ones dying because of this man-made death sentence. When making regulations for human health from human/animal TSEs, you had better include ALL human TSE's, not just vCJD. Do NOT underestimate sporadic CJD with the 'prehistoric' testing available to date. This could be a deadly mistake. Remember, sCJD kills much faster from 1st onset of symptoms to death, and hvCJD is the fastest. Could it just be a higher titre of infectivity, or route or source, or all three?

 

Last, but not least. The illegal/legal harvesting of body parts and tissues will come back to haunt you. Maybe not morally, but due to NO background checks and human TSEs, again it will continue to spread.

 

Stupidity, Ignorance and Greed is what fuels this disease. You must stop all of this, and ACT AT ONCE...

 

Sent: Monday, January 08,2001 3:03 PM

 

TO: freas@CBS5055530.CBER.FDA.GOV

 

FDA CJD BSE TSE Prion Scientific Advisors and Consultants Staff January 2001 Meeting Singeltary Submission

 

2001 FDA CJD TSE Prion Singeltary Submission

 


 

2001 FDA CJD TSE Prion Singeltary Submission

 


 

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

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