http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/ The latest news about Chronic Wasting Disease and Prions. en-us 720 Copyright National Wildlife Health Center Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:22:03 -0600 karen_cunningham@usgs.gov tbeighley@usgs.gov http://www.prairiepost.com/news/sw-sask-news/environment/622-cwd-confirmed-south-of-transcanada.html Following the 2009 hunting season, the province of Saskatchewan received 3,200 deer heads to sample for chronic wasting disease. Testing, not quite complete, has shown 38 new positive cases within Saskatchewan in 2009. Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#35 http://www.wvmetronews.com/outdoors.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=34690 The slow growth and spread of chronic wasting disease continues in West Virginia. DNR Biologists report 16 deer killed by hunters in the 2009 deer season tested positive for the presence of CWD. The DNR pulled those positives from 1,091 deer killed by hunters in Hampshire at local checking stations during the season. Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#34 http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/84/1/210?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=cwd&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=84&issue=1&resourcetype=HWCIT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly contagious always fatal neurodegenerative disease that is currently known to naturally infect only species of the deer family, Cervidae. CWD epidemics are occurring in free-ranging cervids at several locations in North America, and other wildlife species are certainly being exposed to infectious material. To assess the potential for transmission, we intracerebrally inoculated four species of epidemic-sympatric rodents with CWD. Transmission was efficient in all species; the onset of disease was faster in the two vole species than the two Peromyscus spp. The results for inocula prepared from CWD-positive deer with or without CWD-resistant genotypes were similar. Survival times were substantially shortened upon second passage, demonstrating adaptation. Unlike all other known prion protein sequences for cricetid rodents that possess asparagine at position 170, our red-backed voles expressed serine and refute previous suggestions that a serine in this position substantially reduces susceptibility to CWD. Given the scavenging habits of these rodent species, the apparent persistence of CWD prions in the environment, and the inevitable exposure of these rodents to CWD prions, our intracerebral challenge results indicate that further investigation of the possibility of natural transmission is warranted. Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#33 http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091105/GPG0702/911050600/1233/GPG02 Although Wisconsin is home to North America's worst outbreak of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer, and although its prevalence has steadily worsened since its discovery in February 2002, our lawmakers, DNR brass and many hunters just keep smiling as sand fills the hole where they've stuck their heads. Talk about the power of faith-based beliefs. How can anyone look at 2008 data from our own laboratories and think CWD is stalling or disappearing? Those numbers show record-high CWD prevalence for the 210-square-mile core area west of Madison.For bucks 2.5 years and older, last year's infection rate exceeded 15 percent after hovering around 10 percent since 2002. Other 2008 infection rates follow:1.5-year-old bucks: 6 percent, after sitting at 3 percent since 2002.1.5-year-old females: 5.25 percent, up from 3.25 percent in 2007, which is five straight years the disease increased in this group.2.5-year-old does: 6.5 percent, up from 5 percent in 2006 and 2007.In addition, when Wisconsin's Inter-Agency CWD Health and Science team met July 28 and reviewed research by the National Wildlife Health Center, they learned CWD is most likely to take hold in high-density herds. Such herds remain common in the southern two-thirds of Wisconsin. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#32 http://wvgazette.com/Outdoors/200905070568 Biologists say a recent jump in chronic wasting disease rates among Wisconsin deer might spell trouble for deer in West Virginia's Hampshire County. Thu, 07 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#31 http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/outdoors/450114 Laboratory tests on deer shot last fall in western Dane and eastern Iowa counties show chronic wasting disease remains stronger than ever, no matter how much we hope, wish and deny it away. Wed, 06 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#30 Clean feeder areas to forestall salmonella disease Bemidji Pioneer - Bemidji,MN,USA According to the United States Geologic Survey?s ?National Wildlife Health Center? Web page, salmonella infection can occur in all species of birds. ... http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/forces+more+than+into+quarantine/1503789/story.html The second case this year of Chronic Wasting Disease in Saskatchewan has put an elk herd of more than 100 in quarantine.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed that a single elk suffered from the incurable disease, and then penned the entire herd, said CFIA animal health program manager Connie Argue. Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#29 http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Technology/Chronic+wasting+disease+spreading/1415799/story.html The Edmonton JournalMarch 22, 2009 Eight new cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild deer were found as part of the 2008 fall surveillance for the disease, according to provincial government figures. The new cases were found among the 4,347 deer heads that have been tested since last Sept. 1.Seven of the animals were shot by hunters, and one was a road-kill collected by Fish and Wildlife staff along the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. Seven were mule deer and one was a white-tailed deer.Two deer were detected in Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, which is the farthest west the disease has been detected in wild deer in Alberta. This indicates the disease has penetrated at least 75 kilometres into Alberta and is about 170 km east of Edmonton.The remaining six cases were detected near past positive cases. This means a total of 61 cases have been found in wild deer in Alberta since 2005.CWD is a prion disease like bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- BSE, or mad cow disease -- and is always fatal. It affects ungulates, such as deer and elk. It isn't known to infect humans, but the World Health Organization cautions people not to eat the meat of affected animals.The province has used deer killed by hunters to test for CWD.In addition, over the last three years the province has held a winter control program that culled deer in a 10-kilometre radius around any area where an animal that tested positive was found, and thinned herds in select locations.Staff are now conducting post-hunting-season aerial surveys to count deer near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border in order to plan future disease-management programs.hbrooymans@thejournal.canwest.com Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#28 http://www.news.wisc.edu/16144 In addition to being perhaps the weirdest infectious agent know to science, the prion is also the most durable. It resists almost every method of destruction from fire and ionizing radiation to chemical disinfectants and autoclaving, which reduce prion infectivity but fail to completely eliminate it. Now, however, a team of Wisconsin researchers has found that a common soil mineral, an oxidized from of manganese known as birnessite, can penetrate the prion's armor and degrade the protein. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#27 http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/36473349.html Buck at Jefferson County preserve had chronic wasting disease By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel Posted: Dec. 19, 2008A 7-year-old buck from a Jefferson County hunting preserve has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, state agriculture officials reported Friday. The white-tailed deer was killed Dec. 1 as part of an effort by the owner of the 53-acre preserve to cull his herd and repopulate it with new stock, said Donna Gilson, a spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Two deer remain on the preserve and will be killed. They have been quarantined by State Veterinarian Robert Ehlenfeldt. Gilson said the agriculture department will trace any possible movement of deer from the preserve to other captive facilities. The hunting preserve, Maple Hill Whitetails, is owned by Steve Hookstead of Helenville. According to the preserve's Web site, the business offers hunts, and breeding and genetics services. Hookstead was unavailable for comment.Hookstead's breeding herd will not be killed because the deer are separated from the hunting preserve by a fence, Gilson said. Chronic wasting disease was discovered in wild deer in Wisconsin in 2002. Since then, 98 deer and one elk have tested positive from nine captive facilities. More than 22,500 farm-raised deer and elk have been tested.Chronic wasting disease is always fatal and affects deer, elk and moose. The disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, a class of diseases that includes mad cow disease in cattle, scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. According to the World Health Organization, any tissue that may have come from deer with CWD should not be eaten, but there is no evidence the disease can be transmitted to humans. Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#26 http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wpr/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1421385 WYOMING (2008-11-21) Peter O'Dowd reports on the efforts in Wyoming and around the country to manage Chronic Wasting Disease. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#25 http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/34129689.html In its first long-term analysis of how to manage chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources acknowledged this week that the fatal deer disease can't be eliminated in some parts of the state. Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#24 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20081102/NEWS02/811020312/1007 The bloom came off New York's rose in 2005, when chronic wasting disease -- a fatal, contagious neurological disease of deer and elk that is similar to mad cow disease -- was discovered in two captive deer herds in Oneida County in the center of the state.Vermonters cannot bring home a deer carcass from neighboring towns in New York, yet a moratorium on importing captive deer and elk in Vermont was allowed to expire last year. This despite the fact that transporting captive deer and elk has a long track record of spreading CWD, and there is no fool-proof way to determine if even an ostensibly healthy deer has the disease Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#23 http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/press_release/result.jsp?prid=2229 CWD-positive white-tailed deer found in Junction City hunting preserveContact: Donna Gilson608-224-5130MADISON -- A white-tailed deer on a Portage County hunting preserve has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Ehlenfeldt announced today. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, reported the test results Thursday, Oct. 9. The animal was a 7-year-old doe owned by Alligator Creek Whitetails LLC and was one of about 150 deer in the preserve. The 119-acre preserve near Junction City in the Town of Eau Pleine in Portage County. The deer was killed on Sept. 20. The Animal Health Division of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection's investigation will look at the animal's history and trace movements of deer onto and off the property to find out whether other herds may have been exposed to CWD. Deer herds on hunting preserves are generally not on the state's CWD monitoring program. However, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection rules require that all farm-raised deer and elk 16 months or older must be tested when they die, go to slaughter or are killed. Ehlenfeldt quarantined the Alligator Creek herd immediately. The quarantine stops movement of live deer off or onto the property without written permission from the department. The business will be allowed to conduct hunts through Jan. 15, because properly handled dead animals leaving the premises do not pose a disease risk. Hunters must be notified of the quarantine and the reason for it. This is the first new CWD-infected herd on a Wisconsin farm since January 2005. To date, 97 farm-raised animals in Wisconsin have tested positive for CWD on eight farms and hunting preserves, including 82 on a single Portage County operation. One of the infected animals was an elk; the rest have been white-tailed deer. To date, more than 21,500 farm-raised deer and elk have been tested. Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#21 http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jul08/080715t.asp Researchers in May completed their third year of evaluating and validating the first live rectal-tissue biopsy method for detecting chronic wasting disease in captive and wild elk. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#20 http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080701/full/news.2008.926.html Prions, the infective particles behind diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), can breach standard sewage treatment methods, new research shows. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#19 http://www.peacecountrysun.com/News/405367.html Researchers from the Alberta Prion Institute have been studying wild populations of deer to learn more about chronic wasting disease and its control in the province Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#18 http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2008/05/cwdelktst.shtml Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Colorado State University (CSU) recently completed their third year of evaluating and validating the first live rectal-tissue biopsy method for detecting chronic wasting disease (CWD) in captive and wild elk. To date, researchers have collected over 1,500 biopsies from captive elk in Colorado and used the technique to find 15 elk that were positive for CWD. As compared to proven post-mortem diagnostic tests, this live test appears to be nearly as accurate Fri, 30 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#17 http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=b0013b73-4229-46a7-9d49-5fcfe2b1f2c4 The first-ever cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild elk have been discovered in Saskatchewan, but the provincial government hasn't been very public about it.The animals were found dead west of Nipawin in early April, close to Fort a la Corne in the province's east-central region. Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#15 http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_130114959.html ROMNEY - Test results have detected the chronic wasting disease agent in 11 white-tailed deer collected this spring in Hampshire County, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.These collections have been designed to investigate and determine the prevalence and distribution of the disease in Hampshire County. Wildlife biologists are carefully monitoring changes in the structure of the deer herd within the CWD containment area. Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/chronic_wasting_disease/index.jsp#16