# Game Commission Notified Of Cwd-positive Deer In West Virginia



## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 4:46 PM
Subject: GAME COMMISSION NOTIFIED OF CWD-POSITIVE DEER IN WEST VIRGINIA


##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #####################

From: TSS ()
Subject: GAME COMMISSION NOTIFIED OF CWD-POSITIVE DEER IN WEST VIRGINIA
Date: September 2, 2005 at 2:35 pm PST 

Release #87-05
Sept. 2, 2005
For Information Contact:
Jerry Feaser
717-705-6541
[email protected] 

GAME COMMISSION NOTIFIED OF CWD-POSITIVE DEER IN WEST VIRGINIA 

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Game Commission officials late today were informed that West Virginia Division of Natural Resources received confirmation that a road-killed white-tailed deer from Hampshire County, West Virginia, tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The 2.5-year-old buck was discovered about 25 miles south of the Pennsylvania/Maryland line, due south of Bedford County, Pennsylvania. 

Following Pennsylvania's CWD Response Plan, all member agencies were notified and the state's CWD Task Force Executive Committee will attempt to meet next week to discuss what actions, if any, are necessary at this time. According to the response plan, anytime CWD is identified within 50 miles of Pennsylvania's borders the Task Force Executive Committee is to meet to begin monitoring the situation. 

"At this point, our only course of action is to find out more about how West Virginia officials plan to respond and what they are able to identify," said Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Management Assistant Director Bob Boyd, who has been overseeing the agency's wildlife disease issues. "In the four years that the Game Commission had been conducting tests of hunter-killed Pennsylvania elk and three years of testing random samples of hunter-killed Pennsylvania deer, we have not had one confirmed positive case. 

"When the CWD Task Force Executive Committee meets, we obviously will discuss increased sampling from those areas of Pennsylvania closest to the site of this confirmed case in West Virginia." 

Boyd added that tests done on Pennsylvania involved 162 elk and 6,259 deer. Also, since 1998, the Game Commission, in cooperation with the state Department of Agriculture, has tested more than 350 deer that have died of unknown illness or were exhibiting abnormal behavior. No evidence of CWD has been found in these samples. The Game Commission will continue to monitor for and collect samples from deer and elk that appear sick or behave abnormally. 

Pennsylvania's CWD Task Force included representatives from the Game Commission, the Governor's Policy Office, state Department of Agriculture, state Department of Health, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Pennsylvania. 

In April, task force members held similar meetings when it was announced that two deer in Oneida County, New York, tested positive for CWD. 

First identified in Colorado in 1967, CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects members of the deer family (cervids), including white-tailed deer and elk. It is a progressive and always fatal disease, which scientists theorize is caused by an unknown agent capable of transforming normal brain proteins into an abnormal form. Once the abnormal form is created, it changes the shape of adjacent proteins and causes holes to form in brain tissue. 

There currently is no practical way to test live animals for CWD, no cure for animals that contact the disease and no vaccine to prevent an animal from contracting the disease. Clinical signs include poor posture, lowered head and ears, uncoordinated movement, rough-hair coat, decreased appetite, weight loss, increased thirst, excessive drooling, and, ultimately, death. 

There is no scientific evidence of CWD being transmitted to humans or to other non-cervid livestock under normal conditions. 

Deer or elk harboring CWD may not show any signs of the disease for the first 18 months, and then death follows normally within a year of when symptoms begin. 

In addition to West Virginia, those states where CWD has been found in wild or captive deer or elk herds are: Colorado; Wyoming; Montana; Utah; New Mexico; New York; South Dakota; Nebraska; Kansas; Oklahoma; Minnesota; Wisconsin; and Illinois. In addition, CWD has been detected in wild or captive deer and elk in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

Anyone who sees Pennsylvania deer or elk behaving oddly, that appear to be very sick, or that are dying for unknown reasons are urged to contact the nearest Game Commission Region Office. Individuals should not kill the animal. 

"We are very serious about preventing CWD from entering Pennsylvania," Boyd said. "Some scientific modeling suggests that, if nothing is done to contain an outbreak of the disease, CWD could cause a local deer population's demise within 20 to 25 years in states with high-density deer populations, such as Pennsylvania. 

"We also are concerned about the potential environmental contamination that could be caused by CWD, as well as the serious economic impact that would result." 

To learn more about CWD, visit the agency's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) and click on "Hunting & Trapping" and then select "Chronic Wasting Disease." Additional information can be viewed by going to the national CWD Alliance website (www.cwd-info.org), or from West Virginia Division of Natural Resources website (www.wvdnr.gov). 

# # # 

TSS

#################### https://lists.aegee.org/bse-l.html ####################



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 4:31 PM
Subject: Chronic Wasting Disease of Elk: Transmissibility to Humans Examined by Transgenic Mouse Models


##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #####################

From: TSS ()
Subject: Chronic Wasting Disease of Elk: Transmissibility to Humans Examined by Transgenic Mouse Models 
Date: September 1, 2005 at 2:20 pm PST 

The Journal of Neuroscience, August 31, 2005, 25(35):7944-7949; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2467-05.2005 

Neurobiology of Disease
Chronic Wasting Disease of Elk: Transmissibility to Humans Examined by Transgenic Mouse Models 

Qingzhong Kong,1 Shenghai Huang,1 Wenquan Zou,1 Difernando Vanegas,1 Meiling Wang,1 Di Wu,1 Jue Yuan,1 Mengjie Zheng,1 Hua Bai,1 Huayun Deng,2 Ken Chen,3 Allen L. Jenny,4 Katherine O'Rourke,5 Ermias D. Belay,6 Lawrence B. Schonberger,6 Robert B. Petersen,1 Man-Sun Sy,1 Shu G. Chen,1 and Pierluigi Gambetti1 

Departments of 1Pathology and 2Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, 3Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, 4National Veterinary Services Laboratories, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa 50010, 5Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Pullman, Washington 99164, and 6Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333 


Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease affecting free-ranging and captive cervids (deer and elk), is widespread in the United States and parts of Canada. The large cervid population, the popularity of venison consumption, and the apparent spread of the CWD epidemic are likely resulting in increased human exposure to CWD in the United States. Whether CWD is transmissible to humans, as has been shown for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (the prion disease of cattle), is unknown. We generated transgenic mice expressing the elk or human prion protein (PrP) in a PrP-null background. After intracerebral inoculation with elk CWD prion, two lines of "humanized" transgenic mice that are susceptible to human prions failed to develop the hallmarks of prion diseases after >657 and >756 d, respectively, whereas the "cervidized" transgenic mice became infected after 118142 d. These data indicate that there is a substantial species barrier for transmission of elk CWD to humans. 


Key words: chronic wasting disease; CWD; transmissibility to humans; transgenic mice; prion; cervids; deer; elk; species barrier 


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Received June 16, 2005; revised July 18, 2005; accepted July 19, 2005. 

http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/25/35/7944?ct 



TRANSMISSIBILITY OF CWD TO HUMANS UPDATE 


Prion transmission in transgenic mice 


Prion Inoculum Mice PrP (Level) Mean incubation time Transmission Rate 


CWD (elk 1) Tg12 Elk PrP-132M (2x) 118+-20 days 13/14 


CWD (elk 2) Tg12 Elk PrP-132M (2x) 142+-18 days 7/7 


CWD (Tg12) Tg12 Elk PrP-132M (2x) 125+-8 days 5/5 


sCJDMM1 Tg40 HuPrP-129M (1x) 263+-38 days 9/10 


sCJDMM1 Tg1 HuPrP-129M (2x) 226+-13 days 7/7 


CWD (elk 1/2) Tg40 HuPrP-129M (1x) >710 days 0/29 


CWD (elk 1/2) Tg1 HuPrP-129M (2x) >611 days 0/22 


source NPDPSC 2004-2005, NO URL. 


IT will be very interesting to see what the 'second' round transmission studies will produce. ...TSS

#################### https://lists.aegee.org/bse-l.html ####################


USA CWD MAP 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/cwd/labmap.html 


Perspective 

Chronic Wasting Disease and Potential Transmission to Humans
Ermias D. Belay,* Ryan A. Maddox,* Elizabeth S. Williams, Michael W. Miller, Pierluigi Gambetti,§ and Lawrence B. Schonberger*
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Colorado Division of Wildlife, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; and §Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA 

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


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


SNIP... 

Conclusions
The lack of evidence of a link between CWD transmission and unusual cases of CJD, despite several epidemiologic investigations, and the absence of an increase in CJD incidence in Colorado and Wyoming suggest that the risk, if any, of transmission of CWD to humans is low. Although the in vitro studies indicating inefficient conversion of human prion protein by CWD-associated prions raise the possibility of low-level transmission of CWD to humans, no human cases of prion disease with strong evidence of a link with CWD have been identified. However, the transmission of BSE to humans and the resulting vCJD indicate that, provided sufficient exposure, the species barrier may not completely protect humans from animal prion diseases. Because CWD has occurred in a limited geographic area for decades, an adequate number of people may not have been exposed to the CWD agent to result in a clinically recognizable human disease. The level and frequency of human exposure to the CWD agent may increase with the spread of CWD in the United States. Because the number of studies seeking evidence for CWD transmission to humans is limited, more epidemiologic and laboratory studies should be conducted to monitor the possibility of such transmissions. Studies involving transgenic mice expressing human and cervid prion protein are in progress to further assess the potential for the CWD agent to cause human disease. Epidemiologic studies have also been initiated to identify human cases of prion disease among persons with an increased risk for exposure to potentially CWD-infected deer or elk meat (47). If such cases are identified, laboratory data showing similarities of the etiologic agent to that of the CWD agent would strengthen the conclusion for a causal link. Surveillance for human prion diseases, particularly in areas where CWD has been detected, remains important to effectively monitor the possible transmission of CWD to humans. Because of the long incubation period associated with prion diseases, convincing negative results from epidemiologic and experimental laboratory studies would likely require years of follow-up. In the meantime, to minimize the risk for exposure to the CWD agent, hunters should consult with their state wildlife agencies to identify areas where CWD occurs and continue to follow advice provided by public health and wildlife agencies. Hunters should avoid eating meat from deer and elk that look sick or test positive for CWD. They should wear gloves when field-dressing carcasses, bone-out the meat from the animal, and minimize handling of brain and spinal cord tissues. As a precaution, hunters should avoid eating deer and elk tissues known to harbor the CWD agent (e.g., brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils, lymph nodes) from areas where CWD has been identified. 


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


Research 

Environmental Sources of Prion Transmission in Mule Deer
Michael W. Miller,* Elizabeth S. Williams, N. Thompson Hobbs, and Lisa L. Wolfe*
*Colorado Division of Wildlife, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA; and Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA 

Suggested citation for this article: Miller MW, Williams ES, Hobbs NT, Wolfe LL. Environmental sources of prion transmission in mule deer. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2004 Jun [date cited]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/04-0010.htm 


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Whether transmission of the chronic wasting disease (CWD) prion among cervids requires direct interaction with infected animals has been unclear. We report that CWD can be transmitted to susceptible animals indirectly, from environments contaminated by excreta or decomposed carcasses. Under experimental conditions, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) became infected in two of three paddocks containing naturally infected deer, in two of three paddocks where infected deer carcasses had decomposed in situ &#8776;1.8 years earlier, and in one of three paddocks where infected deer had last resided 2.2 years earlier. Indirect transmission and environmental persistence of infectious prions will complicate efforts to control CWD and perhaps other animal prion diseases. 


snip... 


Discussion





Prions cannot be directly demonstrated in excreta or soil. However, CWD infectionspecific protease-resistant prion protein (PrPCWD) accumulates in gut-associated lymphoid tissues (e.g., tonsils, Peyer patches, and mesenteric lymph nodes) of infected mule deer (11,17,22), which implicates alimentary shedding of the CWD agent in both feces and saliva (10,11,17). Because PrPCWD becomes progressively abundant in nervous system and lymphoid tissues through the disease course (11), carcasses of deer succumbing to CWD also likely harbor considerable infectivity and thus serve as foci of infection. We could not determine the precise mechanism for CWD transmission in excreta-contaminated paddocks, but foraging and soil consumption seemed most plausible. Deer did not actively consume decomposed carcass remains, but they did forage in the immediate vicinity of carcass sites where a likely nutrient flush (23) produced lush vegetation (Figure). 

Our findings show that environmental sources of infectivity may contribute to CWD epidemics and illustrate the potential complexity of such epidemics in natural populations. The relative importance of different routes of infection from the environment cannot be discerned from our experiment, but each could play a role in sustaining natural epidemics. Although confinement likely exaggerated transmission probabilities, conditions simulated by this experiment do arise in the wild. Mule deer live in established home ranges and show strong fidelity to historic home ranges (24-26). As a result of such behavior, encounters with contaminated environments will occur more frequently than if deer movements were random. Feces and carcass remains are routinely encountered on native ranges, thus representing natural opportunities for exposure. Social behavior of deer, particularly their tendency to concentrate and become sedentary on their winter range, also may increase the probability of coming into contact with sources of infection in their environment. 

The ability of the CWD agent to persist in contaminated environments for >2 years may further increase the probability of transmission and protract epidemic dynamics (8). Because infectivity in contaminated paddocks could not be measured, neither the initial levels nor degradation rate of the CWD agent in the environment was estimable. However, the observed persistence of the CWD agent was comparable to that of the scrapie agent, which persisted in paddocks for &#8776;1 to 3 years after removal of naturally infected sheep (7). Similarities between the CWD and scrapie agents suggest that environmental persistence may be a common trait of prions. Whether persistence of the BSE prion in contaminated feed production facilities or in environments where cattle reside contributed to BSE cases in the United Kingdom after feed bans were enacted (27) remains uncertain but merits further consideration. 

Indirect transmission and environmental persistence of prions will complicate efforts to control CWD and perhaps other animal prion diseases. Historically, control strategies for animal prion diseases have focused on infected live animals as the primary source of infection. Although live deer and elk represent the most plausible mechanism for geographic spread of CWD, our data show that environmental sources could contribute to maintaining and prolonging local epidemics, even when all infected animals are eliminated. Moreover, the efficacy of various culling strategies as control measures depends in part on the rates at which the CWD agent is added to and lost from the environment. Consequently, these dynamics and their implications for disease management need to be more completely understood. 


snip... 


http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/04-0010.htm 


TSS


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## terry (Sep 13, 2002)

Joe Manchin III, Governor

Frank Jezioro, Director



News Release : September 2, 2005



Hoy Murphy , Public Information Officer (304) 558-3380 [email protected]

Contact: Paul Johansen , Wildlife Resources Section

(304) 558-2771 or (304) 389-5077 [email protected]


Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Hampshire County Deer



The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced today it has
received confirmation that a road-killed deer in Hampshire County tested
positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This is the first known
occurrence of CWD in West Virginia , said Director Frank Jezioro . Upon
receiving this confirmation, we initiated our CWD Response Plan which is
designed to effectively address this important wildlife disease issue.



The CWD Response Plan is specifically designed to accomplish the following
goals:

(1) determine the prevalence and the distribution of CWD through enhanced
surveillance efforts;

(2) communicate and coordinate with the public and other appropriate
agencies on issues relating to CWD and the steps being taken to respond to
this disease;

(3) initiate appropriate management actions necessary to control the
spread of this disease, prevent further introductions of the disease and
possibly eliminate the disease from the state.



The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study located at the University of
Georgia 's College of Veterinary Medicine , has tested 1,320 free-ranging
deer from West Virginia for CWD since 2002, and the Hampshire County deer is
the only animal found thus far to be infected with CWD. The positive CWD
sample was collected from a 2½ year-old, male deer in Hampshire County as
part of a long-term, statewide CWD surveillance effort. The Hampshire County
deer tissue sample was first tested at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife
Disease Study in Athens , Georgia , and then confirmed as positive for CWD
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services
Laboratories in Ames , Iowa .



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


CWD was first recognized in 1967 in Colorado , and it subsequently had
been found in captive herds in nine states and two Canadian provinces and in
free-ranging deer or elk in nine states and one province. Earlier this year,
the disease was found as far east as New York . The source of infection for
wild and captive deer and elk in new geographical areas is unknown in many
instances. While it is not known exactly how CWD is transmitted, lateral
spread from animal to animal through shedding of the infectious agent from
the digestive tract appears to be important, and indirect transmission
through environmental contamination with infective material is likely.



While the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources certainly considers
this a serious wildlife disease situation with potential impacts to the
state's important deer management program, I am confident that our well
trained and professional staff of wildlife biologists, wildlife managers and
conservation officers will meet this challenge and implement appropriate
management strategies, said Jezioro. In addition, we are most fortunate to
have scientists and veterinarians stationed at the Southeastern Cooperative
Wildlife Disease Study, including some of the foremost wildlife disease
experts in the world, available to assist us in this effort.



More information on CWD can be found at the West Virginia Division of
Natural Resources' Web site: www.wvdnr.gov/hunting/chronicwaste.shtm and
the CWD Alliance website: www.cwd-info.org .

**DNR**


http://www.wvdnr.gov/2005news/05news167.shtm

TSS


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