CWD Management Zone expands to include Van Buren County
June 5, 2017 Randy Zellers Assistant Chief of Communications
LITTLE ROCK – Van Buren County is the latest area to be placed under special wildlife regulations to curb the spread of chronic wasting disease, as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission added it to the official CWD Management Zone.
No positive cases of CWD have been found in Van Buren County, but a positive elk was collected in Searcy County last year within a few miles of the county line. Based on AGFC’s management strategy for disease containment, counties within a 10-mile radius of a positive CWD case are included in the management zone.
“Yearling bucks are an age class of white-tailed deer that tend to travel the farthest. They can range up to 50 miles, but we based our CWD management strategy on the assumption of a 10-mile average dispersal radius,” said Jenn Ballard, veterinarian for the AGFC’s newly formed Research, Evaluation and Compliance Division. “Some may go more or less than that, but to keep it reasonable, any county that significantly overlaps one of those circles is included.”
Hunters who successfully harvest a deer in Van Buren County will no longer be allowed to move any part of their deer except for deboned meat, hides, cleaned antlers and skull plates, and finished taxidermy items outside of the CWD Management Zone.
“The prion which causes the disease is very resistant,” Ballard said. “We want to prevent the spread of it as much as possible because it stays in the environment indefinitely. We know that the brain and nervous tissue are the areas of the cervid’s body that house the most prions, so by leaving that portion in the zone, we drastically reduce the chance of spreading the disease to new areas of the state.”
Ballard says, the safest way to dispose of the remainder of the carcass is to bury it within the CWD Management Zone or take it to an approved landfill within the zone to help prevent scavengers from spreading infectious material.
People within Van Buren County also will need to adhere to new regulations regarding feeding wildlife. In general, placing food for wildlife viewing is now banned in the county. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Incidental feeding of wildlife from active livestock operations and any other normal agricultural operations are still allowed. Hand-feeding of wildlife, such as waterfowl and squirrels, and the use of birdfeeders and squirrel feeders are still allowed. Baiting deer and elk for hunting is allowed from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. Food plots may be used year-round. Baiting bears also is allowed 30 days before bear season opens, however any baiting before Sept. 1 must be with dog food, cat food, pastries and bread, cooking oils/grease, non-wildlife meat scraps, popped popcorn and fish.
“The regulation primarily concerns people supplementally feeding deer and concentrating them in one spot,” Ballard said. “We know that artificial congregation of animals increases the transmission of any disease, not just CWD.”
Ballard says there are still information gaps left to regarding CWD’s spread in Arkansas, but the picture is becoming clearer each time samples are taken and tested.
“We’re coming closer to defining the boundaries of the disease and hope to have more information by the end of the next hunting season, once more samples can be gathered from hunter harvests.”
Chronic wasting disease was first detected in a 2½-year-old, hunter-harvested, female elk near Pruitt, about 12 miles east of Ponca. The elk was shot Oct. 6, 2015, but the samples from that annual testing group were not confirmed CWD positive until Feb. 23, 2016. CWD was confirmed in Arkansas's white-tailed deer herd March 8, 2016, when a 2½-year-old female deer that was found dead near Boxley Valley tested positive for the disease.
To date, there have been 213 confirmed cases of CWD in Arkansas.
https://webapps.agfc.com/en/news/2017/06/05/cwd-management-zone-expands-to-include-van-buren-county/
SEE CWD FIGURES AND MAP HERE;
SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017
Arkansas Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Roundup 212 Cases Confirmed To Date
Subject: CWD TRANSMITS TO MACAQUE ORALLY MUSCLE INTAKE
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2005/03/24/NIH-may-destroy-human-brain-collection/UPI-84811111671758/?st_rec=36201111698400
Notice to Members Regarding Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
Posted on: May 31st, 2017To: MNA Members
From: Métis Nation of Alberta
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2017Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) was made aware of a recent Canadian research study examining the transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease. The initial results of the study indicate that macaque monkeys (genetically similar to humans) can be infected with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) after eating deer that is infected with CWD. CWD is a prion disease, which are fatal, transmissible diseases characterized by abnormal proteins in the brain and nervous system. To date no research has shown that CWD can be passed on to humans, and no human cases of CWD have ever been identified. However, this new research indicates that it is a possibility. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health has reached out to us to share with our Métis harvesters this important information.For more information you can visit:andWhat the Alberta Government knows:
- CWD is present in southeastern Alberta, with the area slowly spreading westward over time (introduced into Alberta from Saskatchewan) – see map for more information at http://aep.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/fishing-hunting-trapping/hunting-alberta/documents/HuntersCWD-HarvestedDeerHeads-2016.pdf
- CWD circulates in deer populations, particularly mule deer; it has been found in about 4% of deer tested in 2016;
- Elk can be infected in areas where CWD has been present in deer for a long period of time;
- Moose can also be infected, but this would be fairly rare.
Necessary Precautions for Harvesters:
- Hunters and others who handle carcasses follow basic handling precautions (available here http://aep.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/fishing-hunting-trapping/hunting-alberta/documents/CWDGuidelines-DeerCarcassTransportationHandling-Oct2009.pdf
- All deer, moose and elk harvested from CWD mandatory submission wildlife management units (WMUs) be tested for CWD; and
- A negative result (no CWD detected by the test) must be obtained before any part of an animal is eaten.
For more information, contact:
Amy Quintal
Métis Nation of Alberta
Métis Harvesting Liaison
Tel: (780) 455 – 2200
aquintal@metis.orgFRIDAY, JUNE 02, 2017Alberta Canada Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Update: 2016/17 FinalChronic Wasting Disease: CFIA Research SummaryEmbargoed until May 23, 2017(OCR of a scanned original)Research FindingsChronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of cervids including deer, elk, moose, and reindeer that is caused by abnormal proteins called prions. It is known as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Other TSEs include scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans.A limited number of experimental studies have demonstrated that non-human primates, specifically squirrel monkeys, are susceptible to CWD prions. An ongoing research study has now shown that CWD can also be transmitted to macaques, which are genetically closer to humans.The study led by Dr. Stefanie Czub, a scientist at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and funded by the Alberta Prion Research institute has demonstrated that by orally administering material under experimental conditions from cervids (deer and elk) naturally infected with CWD, the disease can be transmitted to macaques.in this project, which began in 2009, 18 macaques were exposed to CWD in a variety of ways: by injecting into the brain, through contact with skin, oral administration, and intravenously (into the bloodstream through veins). So far, results are available from 5 animals. At this point, two animals that were exposed to CWD by direct introduction into the brain, one that was administered infected brain material by oral administration and two that were given infected muscle by oral administration have become infected with CWD. The study is ongoing and testing continues in the remaining animals. The early results will be presented at PRlON 2017, the annual international conference on prion diseases, in Edinburgh, Scotland, May 23 to 26, 2017.Potential impacts of the new findingSince 2003 Canada has a policy that recommends that animals and materials known to be infected with prions be removed from the food chain and from health products. Although no direct evidence of CWD prion transmission to humans has ever been recorded, the policy advocates a precautionary approach to managing CWD and potential human exposure to prions. These initial findings do not change Health Canada’s Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB) position on food and health products. A precautionary approach is still recommended to manage the potential risks of exposure to prions through food and health products. Measures are in place at federal, provincial and territorial levels to reduce human exposure to products potentially contaminated by CWD by preventing known infected animals from entering the marketplace.While Federal and P/T government’s animal disease control policies continue to divert known CWD-infected animals away from entering the food and feed supply, research and development of sensitive detection methods including live-animal sampling techniques remain crucial for ensuring an accurate diagnosis. In addition, consistent federal, provincial and territorial communications of appropriate precautionary measures for hunters and indigenous communities are required.Next StepsThe CFlA will continue to collaborate with national and international partners to develop and validate new diagnostic techniques. The CFlA will also continue to offer confirmatory testing services and reference laboratory expertise to provincial and territorial partners on demand.Currently, CFlA laboratories are leading or collaborating on several research projects to understand the potential for CWD to infect humans. These projects use non‐human primates, genetically modified mice, and cell-free amplification approaches. Given the present findings, CFiA encourages continued research into TSEs.The results of this study reinforce the need to redesign the federal program to foster greater adoption of risk mitigation measures for farmed cervids. Federal and provincial government collaboration will continue as new program options are assessed.The results of Dr. Czub’s research into CWD will be of interest to scientists, governments, industry and people who consume cervid products. After the presentation at PRION 2017, the research will follow the normal steps of completion, peer review and publication. The Government of Canada will monitor the response to this research and determine whether further review of the science is required. Other studies underway by other researchers may also become public as a result of the presentation of Dr. Czub’s research.The Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada, CFlA and other Federal partners are working together to assess what policies or programs need further review as well as preparing other communications about the research and health policy and advice to Canadian. 2017/04/28===end...UNOFFICIAL...NO URL LINK...TSS===0:30 First evidence of intracranial and peroral transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) into Cynomolgus macaques: a work in progressDr Stefanie Czub University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine/Canadian Food Inspection Agency CanadaWEDNESDAY, MAY 03, 2017*** First evidence of intracranial and peroral transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) into Cynomolgus macaquesWednesday, May 24, 2017PRION2017 CONFERENCE VIDEO UPDATE 23 – 26 May 2017 Edinburgh UPDATE 1Subject: PRION2017 CONFERENCE VIDEO UPDATE 23 – 26 May 2017 Edinburgh*see archives of previous Prion Conferences, the ones that are still available, scroll down towards bottom in this link.WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017Texas New Exotic CWD Susceptible Species Rules Now in Effect
WEDNESDAY, MAY 03, 2017
*** First evidence of intracranial and peroral transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) into Cynomolgus macaques
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
PRION2017 CONFERENCE VIDEO UPDATE 23 – 26 May 2017 Edinburgh UPDATE 1
Subject: PRION2017 CONFERENCE VIDEO UPDATE 23 – 26 May 2017 Edinburgh
*see archives of previous Prion Conferences, the ones that are still available, scroll down towards bottom in this link.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017
Texas New Exotic CWD Susceptible Species Rules Now in Effect
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2017
CWD, TSE, PRION, Cattle, Pigs, Sheep, and Humans aka Mad Cow Disease
Groups seek to save NIH brain collection
By STEVE MITCHELL, Medical Correspondent | April 1, 2005 at 4:48 PM
NIH may destroy human brain collection
By STEVE MITCHELL, Medical Correspondent | March 24, 2005 at 8:42 AM
NIH sends mixed signals on CJD brains
By STEVE MITCHELL, Medical Correspondent | April 7, 2005 at 3:30 PM
Groups seek to save NIH brain collection
By STEVE MITCHELL, Medical Correspondent | April 1, 2005 at 4:48 PM
JOHN CORNYN TEXAS UNITED STATES SENATE WASHINGTON, DC 20510-4305 April 26,2005
Mr. Terry Singeltary
Bacliff, Texas 77518
Dear Mr. Singeltary:
In response to your recent request for my assistance, I have contacted the National Institutes of Health. I will write you again as soon as I receive a reply. I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the United States Senate and to be of service in this matter.
Sincerely, JOHN CORNYN United States Senator JC:djl
===============
JOHN CORNYN TEXAS UNITED STATES SENATE WASHINGTON, DC 20510-4305 May 18,2005 Mr. Terry Singeltary
Bacliff, Texas 77518
Dear Mr. Singeltary:
Enclosed is the reply I received from the Department of Health and Human Services in response to my earlier inquiry on your behalf. I hope this will be useful to you. I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the United States Senate. Thank you for taking time to contact me.
Sincerely, JOHN CORNYN United States Senate JC:djl Enclosure
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke NINDS Building 31, Room 8A52 31 Center Dr., MSC 2540 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-2540 Phone: 301-496-9746 Fax: 301-496-0296 Email: [log in to unmask] May 10, 2005
The Honorable John Cornyn United States Senator Occidental Tower 5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1150 Dallas, Texas 75244-6199
Dear Senator Cornyn:
Your letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) forwarding correspondence from Mr. Terry S. Singeltary, Sr., has been forwarded to me for reply. Mr. Singeltary is concerned about the preservation of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) brain samples that have been maintained by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Intramural Research program for many years. I am sorry to learn that Mr. Singeltary's mother died of CJD and can certainly understand his desire that any tissues that could help investigators unravel the puzzle of this deadly disease are preserved. I hope he will be pleased to learn that all the brains and other tissues with potential to help scientists learn about CJD are, and will continue to be, conserved. (The tissues that a red is carded are those that have either decayed to an extent that renders them no longer appropriate for research or those for which we do not have sufficient identification.) The purpose of gathering these brains and tissues is to help scientists learn about CJD. To that end, some of the NINDS-held samples are distributed to investigators who can demonstrate that they have a compelling research or public health need for such materials. For example, samples have been transferred to NIH grantee Dr. Pierluigi Gambetti, who heads the National Prion Diseases Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and works with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor all cases of CJD in the United States. Dr. Gambetti studies the tissues to learn about the formation, physical and chemical properties, and pathogenic mechanisms of prion proteins, which are believed to be involved in the cause of CJD. Samples have also been transferred to Dr. David Asher, at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for use in assessing a potential diagnostic test for CJD.
Page 2 - The Honorable John Cornyn
in closing, we know that donating organs and tissue from loved ones is a very difficult and personal choice that must often be made at the most stressful of times. We at the NINDS are grateful to those stalwart family members who make this choice in the selfless hope that it will help others afflicted with CJD. We also know the invaluable contribution such donations make to the advancement of medical science, and we are dedicated to the preservation of all of the tissue samples that can help in our efforts to overcome CJD.
I hope this information is helpful to you in responding to Mr. Singeltary. Sincerely, Story C. Landis, Ph.D. Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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kind regards, terry
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