Comment from Terry Singeltary

APHIS-2006-0118-0096 Greetings APHIS et al, I would kindly like to comment on ; Docket ID APHIS-2006-0118 Docket Title Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Document ID APHIS-2006-0118-0096 Document Title Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer, Elk, and Moose with great sadness, my comments are as follows ; DUE to the likelihood of CWD transmission to humans as a zootic disease, and proven transmission of CWD to other species via the lab, and the highly environmental transmission routes of CWD, the threat that game farms pose to the wild is great. RECENTLY, in the May 2009 CDC warns of this potential of prions to humans via CWD and Nutritional Supplements from ELK ANTLER VELVET. ALSO RECENTLY, a multi-state recall of ELK MEAT PRODUCTS FROM A CWD POSITIVE ELK. (they are not recalling all this meat for the well being of the dead cwd positive elk.) SOME of these game farms have proven to have a high infectious rate for CWD. Some as high as 79% infection rate. A NEW 2nd strain of CWD i.e. (THE WISCONSIN STRAIN of CWD?), and what will this curtail i.e. as in transmission ??? we found out with BSE in cattle, that the atypical strains, some are more virulent in transmission. FOR all these reasons, it is urgent to keep the failures of the CWD factory farming industry of 'big rack' deer and elk, to spreading to the wild. I urge that 100% CWD testing of elk, deer, and all animals on game farms tested for CWD/TSE. ANY positive should result in complete herd eradication. ANY GAME farm with one positive CWD animal must be shut down for good due to the ramifications of environmental infection risk factors, and future infection there from, there of. THE land there from, must be contained, and quarantined for 5 years, with no introduction of any game and or farm producing livestock for humans and or animals, and or crop production. Then a reevaluation of that farm/land and environmental risk factors there of must be done for a reassessment, before any use of that farm/land could go forward. ANY and all water run off must be contained at owners expense. ALL elk and deer and or any animal from game farms, must be identifiable and traceable, at all times. THIS all should be mandatory, and regulated by the federal government, because the chance of different regulations, and lack of enforcement, state by state, would enhance the spreading of CWD. WE must stop CWD before it spreads to all STATES, and until a validated 100% CWD TSE live test is available, one that can be used at birth, and until there is a way to completely decontaminate land that has been infected with the CWD agent, in my opinion, these draconian measures are the only plausible measures which i know of that can be taken, which might stop this spread of CWD to every state. see ; Saturday, September 06, 2008 Chronic wasting disease in a Wisconsin white-tailed deer farm 79% INFECTION RATE Contents: September 1 2008, Volume 20, Issue 5 Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation Vol. 20 Issue 5, 698-703 Copyright © 2008 by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Case Reports Chronic wasting disease in a Wisconsin white-tailed deer farm Delwyn P. Keane1, Daniel J. Barr, Philip N. Bochsler, S. Mark Hall, Thomas Gidlewski, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Terry R. Spraker and Michael D. Samuel Correspondence: 1Corresponding Author: Delwyn Keane, University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, 445 Easterday Lane, Madison, WI 53706. mhtml:%7B33B38F65-8D2E-434D-8F9B-8BDCD77D3066% 7Dmid://00000040/!x-usc:mailto:Delwyn.Keane@wvdl.wisc.edu In September 2002, chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disorder of captive and wild cervids, was diagnosed in a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from a captive farm in Wisconsin. The facility was subsequently quarantined, and in January 2006 the remaining 76 deer were depopulated. Sixty animals (79%) were found to be positive by immunohistochemical staining for the abnormal prion protein (PrPCWD) in at least one tissue; the prevalence of positive staining was high even in young deer. Although none of the deer displayed clinical signs suggestive of CWD at depopulation, 49 deer had considerable accumulation of the abnormal prion in the medulla at the level of the obex. Extraneural accumulation of the abnormal protein was observed in 59 deer, with accumulation in the retropharyngeal lymph node in 58 of 59 (98%), in the tonsil in 56 of 59 (95%), and in the rectal mucosal lymphoid tissue in 48 of 58 (83%). The retina was positive in 4 deer, all with marked accumulation of prion in the obex. One deer was considered positive for PrPCWD in the brain but not in the extraneural tissue, a novel observation in white-tailed deer. The infection rate in captive deer was 20-fold higher than in wild deer. Although weakly related to infection rates in extraneural tissues, prion genotype was strongly linked to progression of prion accumulation in the obex. Antemortem testing by biopsy of recto–anal mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue (or other peripheral lymphoid tissue) may be a useful adjunct to tonsil biopsy for surveillance in captive herds at risk for CWD infection. http://jvdi.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/5/698? maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=prion&searchid=1& FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=20&issue=5&resourcetype=HWCIT PLEASE NOTE 76 DEER WERE DEPOPULATED. SIXTY ANIMALS (79%) WERE FOUND TO BE POSITIVE BY IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STAINING FOR THE ABNORMAL PRION PROTEIN (PrPCWD) IN AT LEAST ONE TISSUE; THE PREVALENCE OF POSITIVE STAINING WAS HIGH IN YOUNG DEER. ...TSS Title: Chronic wasting disease in a Wisconsin captive white-tailed deer farm Authors Keane, Delwyn - U OF WIS, WIS VET DIAG LA Barr, Daniel - U OF WIS, WIS VET DIAG LA Bochsler, Philip - U OF WIS, WIS VET DIAG LA Hall, S - USDA, APHIS, VS, NVSL Gidlewski, Thomas - USDA, APHIS, VS O`rourke, Katherine Spraker, Terry - CO STATE UNIVERSITY Samuel, Michael - US GEOLOGIC SERVICE Submitted to: Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: May 5, 2008 Publication Date: N/A Interpretive Summary: Chronic wasting disease is a fatal disease of deer and elk. Clinical signs, including weight loss, frequent urination, excessive thirst, and changes in behavior and gait, have been reported in mule deer and elk with this disorder. Clinical signs in captive white tailed deer are less well understood. In a previous study, a captive facility housed 200 deer, of which half were positive for the disease with no clinical signs reported. In this study, we examined 78 white tailed deer from a captive facility with a history of chronic wasting disease and no animals with clinical signs. Examination of the brain and lymph nodes demonstrated that the abnormal prion protein, a marker for disease, was observed in 60 of the deer. Biopsy of the rectal mucosa, a test that can be performed on live deer, detected 83% of the infected animals. The prion genetics of the deer was strongly linked to the rate of infection and to disease progression. The results demonstrate that clinical signs are a poor indicator of the disease in captive white tailed deer and that routine testing of live deer and comprehensive necropsy surveillance may be needed to identify infected herds. Technical Abstract: Chronic wasting disease CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or prion disease of deer and elk in North America. All diseases in this family are characterized by long preclinical incubation periods following by a relatively short clinical course. Endpoint disease is characterized by extensive deposits of aggregates of the abnormal prion protein in the central nervous system,. In deer, the abnormal prion proteins accumulate in some peripheral lymphoid tissues early in disease and are therefore suitable for antemortem and preclinical postmortem diagnostics and for determining disease progression in infected deer. In this study, a herd of deer with previous CWD diagnoses was depopulated. No clinical suspects were identified at that time. Examination of the brain and nodes demonstrated that 79% of the deer were infected. Of the deer with abnormal prion in the peripheral lymphoid system, the retropharyngeal lymph node was the most reliable diagnostic tissue. Biopsy of the rectal mucosal tissue, a site readily sampled in the restrained or chemically immobilized deer, provided an accurate diagnosis in 83% of the infected deer. The retina in the eye of the deer was positive only in late stage cases. This study demonstrated that clinical signs are a poor indicator of disease, supports the use of the retropharyngeal lymph node as the most appropriate postmortem sample, and supports a further evaluation of the rectal mucosal tissue biopsy as an antemortem test on a herd basis. http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm? SEQ_NO_115=218153 NOTICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION ARIZONA GAME AND FISH COMMISSION STATEWIDE EMERGENCY BAN ON CERVID IMPORTATION EFFECTIVE MAY 18, 2002 In addition to cases in captive research and free-ranging deer and elk, CWD has been diagnosed in privately owned elk on game farms in several states beginning in 1996. Infection has been particularly severe in a group of interconnected facilities near Rapid City, South Dakota that appear to be the original source of infection for other South Dakota game farms as well as the Saskatchewan epidemic. In contrast, infected elk in two of three Nebraska farms originated in Colorado, and infected elk in Oklahoma apparently originated in Montana; CWD has been confirmed in the Montana and Colorado source herds. http://www.azsos.gov/aar/2002/24/pubinfo.pdf The incidence of CWD can be remarkably high in captive cervid populations. In one infected research facility, more than 90% of mule deer over 2 years died or were euthanized due to illness from CWD.(5) Recently, a high CWD prevalence (about 50%) has been demonstrated in white- tailed deer confined at an infected Nebraska elk farm.(6) Among captive elk, CWD was the primary cause of adult mortality (five out of seven, 71%; four out of 23, 17%) in two research herds and a high prevalence (59%) was detected in a group of 17 elk slaughtered from an infected game farm herd.(7) The potential for density-dependent disease transmission is greater among animals in captivity than in free-ranging wildlife. Captive animals are often held at higher than natural densities and thus are more frequently in direct contact and are more consistently stressed.(2)(3) Their repeated exposure to the same (potentially contaminated) soil may exacerbate effects of density on captive cervids. CWD may be transmitted between captive and wild cervid populations, in either direction, and there is concern that transmission between cervids and cattle is possible, but this has only been demonstrated experimentally.(8) To date, cattle have rarely become infected when experimentally inoculated with CWD via intracerebral injection.(8) http://www.serconline.org/CWD/fact.html see full text ; http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-game-farms-baiting-and- politics.html Thursday, August 28, 2008 CWD TISSUE INFECTIVITY brain, lymph node, blood, urine, feces, antler velvet and muscle http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/08/cwd-tissue-infectivity-brain- lymph-node.html Thursday, March 19, 2009 Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet (Nutritional Supplements and CJD) 10.3201/eid1505.081458 Suggested citation for this article: Angers RC, Seward TS, Napier D, Green M, Hoover E, Spraker T, et al. Chronic wasting disease prions in elk antler velvet. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 May; [Epub ahead of print] Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet Rachel C. Angers,1 Tanya S. Seward, Dana Napier, Michael Green, Edward Hoover, Terry Spraker, Katherine O’Rourke, Aru Balachandran, and Glenn C. Telling Author affiliations: University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, USA (R.C. Angers, T.S. Seward, D. Napier, M. Green, G.C. Telling); Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA (E. Hoover, T. Spraker); US Department of Agriculture, Pullman, Washington, USA (K. O’Rourke); and Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (A. Balachandran) 1Current affiliation: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, fatal prion disease of deer and elk that continues to emerge in new locations. To explore the means by which prions are transmitted with high efficiency among cervids, we examined prion infectivity in the apical skin layer covering the growing antler (antler velvet) by using CWD-susceptible transgenic mice and protein misfolding cyclic amplification. Our finding of prions in antler velvet of CWD-affected elk suggests that this tissue may play a role in disease transmission among cervids. Humans who consume antler velvet as a nutritional supplement are at risk for exposure to prions. The fact that CWD prion incubation times in transgenic mice expressing elk prion protein are consistently more rapid raises the possibility that residue 226, the sole primary structural difference between deer and elk prion protein, may be a major determinant of CWD pathogenesis. snip... Discussion http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/15/5/pdfs/08-1458.pdf Sender: "Patricia Cantos" <patricia.cantos at bse.org.uk> To: "Terry S Singeltary Sr. (E-mail)" <flounder at wt.net> Subject: Your submission to the Inquiry Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 10:10:05 +0100 3 July 1998 Mr Terry S Singeltary Sr. E-Mail: Flounder at wt.net Ref: E2979 Dear Mr Singeltary, Thank you for your E-mail message of the 30th of June 1998 providing the Inquiry with your further comments. Thank you for offering to provide the Inquiry with any test results on the nutritional supplements your mother was taking before she died. As requested I am sending you our general Information Pack and a copy of the Chairman's letter. Please contact me if your system cannot read the attachments. Regarding your question, the Inquiry is looking into many aspects of the scientific evidence on BSE and nvCJD. I would refer you to the transcripts of evidence we have already heard which are found on our internet site at http://www.bse.org.uk. Could you please provide the Inquiry with a copy of the press article you refer to in your e-mail? If not an approximate date for the article so that we can locate it? In the meantime, thank you for you comments. Please do not hesitate to contact me on 0171 261 8332 should you have any queries. Yours sincerely Patricia Cantos Families Team Leader Attachments TSS ============== -------- Original Message -------- Subject: re: METABOLIFE AND TSEs GAO-03-494 ''URGENT DATA'' Date: Thu, 01 May 2003 16:04:35 -0400 From: "Marcia G Crosse" <CrosseM at gao.gov> To: <flounder at wt.net> CC: "Charles W Davenport" <DavenportC at gao.gov>, "Carolyn Feis Korman" <FeisKormanC at gao.gov>, "Martin Gahart" <GahartM at gao.gov> Mr. Singletary, We were informed by representatives of Metabolife, Inc. that Metabolife 356 was reformulated to remove bovine complex as an ingredient in the product, approximately September 2001. We did not independently verify the contents of the product. Sincerely, Marcia Crosse Acting Director Health CarePublic Health and Science Issues U.S. General Accounting Office 441 G Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20548 =================== -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: METABOLIFE AND TSEs GAO-03- 494 ''URGENT DATA'' Date: Thu, 01 May 2003 15:48:52 -0500 From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." <flounder at wt.net> To: Marcia G Crosse <CrosseM at gao.gov> CC: Charles W Davenport <DavenportC at gao.gov>, Carolyn Feis Korman <FeisKormanC at gao.gov>, Martin Gahart <GahartM at gao.gov> References: <seb14599.014 at GAOGWIA1.GAO.GOV> THANK YOU! see full text ; http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/03/chronic-wasting-disease- prions-in-elk.html P35 ADAPTATION OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE (CWD) INTO HAMSTERS, EVIDENCE OF A WISCONSIN STRAIN OF CWD Chad Johnson1, Judd Aiken2,3,4 and Debbie McKenzie4,5 1 Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI, USA 53706 2 Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences, 3 Alberta Veterinary Research Institute, 4.Center for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, 5 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Canada T6G 2P5 The identification and characterization of prion strains is increasingly important for the diagnosis and biological definition of these infectious pathogens. Although well-established in scrapie and, more recently, in BSE, comparatively little is known about the possibility of prion strains in chronic wasting disease (CWD), a disease affecting free ranging and captive cervids, primarily in North America. We have identified prion protein variants in the white-tailed deer population and demonstrated that Prnp genotype affects the susceptibility/disease progression of white-tailed deer to CWD agent. The existence of cervid prion protein variants raises the likelihood of distinct CWD strains. Small rodent models are a useful means of identifying prion strains. We intracerebrally inoculated hamsters with brain homogenates and phosphotungstate concentrated preparations from CWD positive hunter-harvested (Wisconsin CWD endemic area) and experimentally infected deer of known Prnp genotypes. These transmission studies resulted in clinical presentation in primary passage of concentrated CWD prions. Subclinical infection was established with the other primary passages based on the detection of PrPCWD in the brains of hamsters and the successful disease transmission upon second passage. Second and third passage data, when compared to transmission studies using different CWD inocula (Raymond et al., 2007) indicate that the CWD agent present in the Wisconsin white-tailed deer population is different than the strain(s) present in elk, mule-deer and white-tailed deer from the western United States endemic region. http://www.istitutoveneto.it/prion_09/Abstracts_09.pdf Sunday, April 12, 2009 CWD UPDATE Infection Studies in Two Species of Non-Human Primates and one Environmental reservoir infectivity study and evidence of two strains http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/04/cwd-update-infection-studies- in-two.html CWD Infection Studies in Two Species of Non-Human Primates Bruce Chesebro Laboratory of Persistent Virus Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, Montana USA 59840. CWD is a TSE/prion disease present in wild and domestic cervid populations of North America. CWD from cervids might possibly spread to humans who hunt and eat these species and to domestic animals such as cattle, sheep or horses sharing the same habitat. Therefore, it is important to understand the potential for spread of CWD to other species. Laboratory experiments have shown that CWD does not cause disease in transgenic mice expressing human PrP, suggesting that humans and other primates might be resistant to this infection. However, earlier data from the laboratory of Richard Marsh found that squirrel monkeys could be infected by intracerebral CWD inoculation. We recently followed up this work extending it to studies of two primate species, squirrel monkeys and Cynomolgus macaques. We also compared intracerebral and oral routes of infection. To search for possible CWD variant strains we analyzed 8 different CWD pools obtained from wild or domestic elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer. The results of these experiments will be presented. http://www.istitutoveneto.it/prion_09/Abstracts_09.pdf J Virol. 2005 November; 79(21): 13794-13796. doi: 10.1128/JVI.79.21.13794- 13796.2005. PMCID: PMC1262585 Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology Interspecies Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions to Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) Richard F. Marsh,1? Anthony E. Kincaid,2 Richard A. Bessen,3 and Jason C. Bartz4* Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706,1 Department of Physical Therapy,2 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68178,4 Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 597183 *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178. Phone: (402) 280-1811. Fax: (402) 280-1875. E-mail: jbartz@creighton.edu. ?Deceased. Received May 3, 2005; Accepted August 10, 2005. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Top AbstractChronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging prion disease of deer and elk. The risk of CWD transmission to humans following exposure to CWD-infected tissues is unknown. To assess the susceptibility of nonhuman primates to CWD, two squirrel monkeys were inoculated with brain tissue from a CWD-infected mule deer. The CWD-inoculated squirrel monkeys developed a progressive neurodegenerative disease and were euthanized at 31 and 34 months postinfection. Brain tissue from the CWD-infected squirrel monkeys contained the abnormal isoform of the prion protein, PrP-res, and displayed spongiform degeneration. This is the first reported transmission of CWD to primates. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1262585 P1 THE ENVIRONMENT AS A RESERVOIR OF PRION INFECTIVITY Aiken, Judd1,2, Chris Johnson4, Debbie McKenzie1,3 and Joel Pedersen5 1 Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, 2 Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences, 3 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Canada, 4 National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI and 5 Department of Soil Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison An environmental reservoir of prion infectivity has long been known to be a source of infection of sheep scrapie and likely plays an even more important role in the transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk, deer and moose. Prion infectivity is extremely resistant to degradation, resulting in an environmental persistence of infectious agent. CWD is a contagious disease of free-ranging cervids. Infected deer and elk release infectious agent into the environment from body fluids and from diseased animal carcasses. The rapid expansion of CWD in North America represents a significant and continued environmental risk not only to cervids but to other species as well. Our work has demonstrated that prion protein, including PrPCWD, binds avidly to soil and soil components. Significantly, prion/soil binding enhances disease transmission suggesting that the soils, once contaminated with infectious prions, plays a critical role in maintaining and perpetuating prion infections. III International Symposium on THE NEW PRION BIOLOGY: BASIC SCIENCE, DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY 2 - 4 APRIL 2009, VENEZIA (ITALY) http://www.istitutoveneto.it/prion_09/Abstracts_09.pdf PLEASE be assured, the FDA is not recalling all this CWD positive meat, for the well being of the DEAD CWD POSTIVE ELK ; RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: FOODS CLASS II ___________________________________ PRODUCT a) Elk Meat, Elk Tenderloin, Frozen in plastic vacuum packaging. Each package is approximately 2 lbs., and each case is approximately 16 lbs.; Item number 755125, Recall # F-129-9; b) Elk Meat, Elk Trim, Frozen; Item number 755155, Recall # F-130-9; c) Elk Meat, French Rack, Chilled. Item number 755132, Recall # F-131-9; d) Elk Meat, Nude Denver Leg. Item number 755122, Recall # F-132-9; e) Elk Meat, New York Strip Steak, Chilled. Item number 755128, Recall # F-133- 9; f) Elk Meat, Flank Steak Frozen. Item number 755131, Recall # F-134-9; CODE Elk Meats with production dates of December 29, 30, and 31 RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER Recalling Firm: Sierra Meats, Reno, NV, by telephone on January 29, 2009 and press release on February 9, 2009. Manufacturer: Noah's Ark Holding, LLC, Dawson, MN. Firm initiated recall is ongoing. REASON Elk products contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE Unknown DISTRIBUTION NV, CA, TX, CO, NY, UT, FL, OK ___________________________________ http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ENFORCE/2009/ENF01099.html Cross-sequence transmission of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease creates a new prion strain Date: August 25, 2007 at 12:42 pm PST our results raise the possibility that CJD cases classified as VV1 may include cases caused by iatrogenic transmission of sCJD-MM1 prions or food-borne infection by type 1 prions from animals, e.g., chronic wasting disease prions in cervid. In fact, two CJD-VV1 patients who hunted deer or consumed venison have been reported (40, 41). The results of the present study emphasize the need for traceback studies and careful re-examination of the biochemical properties of sCJD-VV1 prions. http://www.jbc.org/ snip... Clearly, it is premature to draw firm conclusions about CWD passing naturally into humans, cattle and sheep, but the present results suggest that CWD transmissions to humans would be as limited by PrP incompatibility as transmissions of BSE or sheep scrapie to humans. Although there is no evidence that sheep scrapie has affected humans, it is likely that BSE has caused variant CJD in 74 people (definite and probable variant CJD cases to date according to the UK CJD Surveillance Unit). Given the presumably large number of people exposed to BSE infectivity, the susceptibility of humans may still be very low compared with cattle, which would be consistent with the relatively inefficient conversion of human PrP-sen by PrPBSE. Nonetheless, since humans have apparently been infected by BSE, it would seem prudent to take reasonable measures to limit exposure of humans (as well as sheep and cattle) to CWD infectivity as has been recommended for other animal TSEs. snip... http://www.emboj.org/current.shtml snip http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/03-1082.htm From: TSS (216-119-163-189.ipset45.wt.net) Subject: CWD aka MAD DEER/ELK TO HUMANS ??? Date: September 30, 2002 at 7:06 am PST From: "Belay, Ermias" To: Cc: "Race, Richard (NIH)" ; ; "Belay, Ermias" Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 9:22 AM Subject: RE: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS Dear Sir/Madam, In the Archives of Neurology you quoted (the abstract of which was attached to your email), we did not say CWD in humans will present like variant CJD. That assumption would be wrong. I encourage you to read the whole article and call me if you have questions or need more clarification (phone: 404-639-3091). Also, we do not claim that "no-one has ever been infected with prion disease from eating venison." Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans in the article you quoted or in any other forum is limited to the patients we investigated. Ermias Belay, M.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -----Original Message----- From: Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 10:15 AM To: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask] Subject: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS Sunday, November 10, 2002 6:26 PM ......snip........end..............TSS snip... full text ; http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/02/exotic-meats-usa- announces-urgent.html Thursday, April 03, 2008 A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease 2008 1: Vet Res. 2008 Apr 3;39(4):41 A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease Sigurdson CJ. snip... *** twenty-seven CJD patients who regularly consumed venison were reported to the Surveillance Center***, snip... full text ; http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/04/prion-disease-of-cervids- chronic.html Sunday, April 12, 2009 CWD UPDATE Infection Studies in Two Species of Non-Human Primates and one Environmental reservoir i nfectivity study and evidence of two strains http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/04/cwd-update-infection-studies- in-two.html CWD Infection Studies in Two Species of Non-Human Primates Bruce Chesebro Laboratory of Persistent Virus Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, Montana USA 59840. CWD is a TSE/prion disease present in wild and domestic cervid populations of North America. CWD from cervids might possibly spread to humans who hunt and eat these species and to domestic animals such as cattle, sheep or horses sharing the same habitat. Therefore, it is important to understand the potential for spread of CWD to other species. Laboratory experiments have shown that CWD does not cause disease in transgenic mice expressing human PrP, suggesting that humans and other primates might be resistant to this infection. However, earlier data from the laboratory of Richard Marsh found that squirrel monkeys could be infected by intracerebral CWD inoculation. We recently followed up this work extending it to studies of two primate species, squirrel monkeys and Cynomolgus macaques. We also compared intracerebr al and oral routes of infection. To search for possible CWD variant strains we analyzed 8 different CWD pools obtained from wild or domestic elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer. The results of these experiments will be presented. http://www.istitutoveneto.it/prion_09/Abstracts_09.pdf J Virol. 2005 November; 79(21): 13794-13796. doi: 10.1128/JVI.79.21.13794- 13796.2005. PMCID: PMC1262585 Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology Interspecies Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions to Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) Richard F. Marsh,1? Anthony E. Kincaid,2 Richard A. Bessen,3 and Jason C. Bartz4* Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706,1 Department of Physical Therapy,2 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68178,4 Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 597183 *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Oma ha, NE 68178. Phone: (402) 280-1811. Fax: (402) 280-1875. E-mail: jbartz@creighton.edu. ?Deceased. Received May 3, 2005; Accepted August 10, 2005. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Top AbstractChronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging prion disease of deer and elk. The risk of CWD transmission to humans following exposure to CWD-infected tissues is unknown. To assess the susceptibility of nonhuman primates to CWD, two squirrel monkeys were inoculated with brain tissue from a CWD-infected mule deer. The CWD-inoculated squirrel monkeys developed a progressive neurodegenerative disease and were euthanized at 31 and 34 months postinfection. Brain tissue from the CWD-infected squirrel monkeys contained the abnormal isoform of the prion protein, PrP-res, and displayed spongiform degeneration. This is the first reported transmission of CWD to primates. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1262585 2008 CWD Laboratory Testing for Wild White-tailed Deer http://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,1607,7-186-25806-202922--,00.html http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/09/cwd-live-test-and-political- aspects-or.html Wednesday, January 07, 2009 CWD to tighten taxidermy rules Hunters need to understand regulations http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/01/cwd-to-tighten-taxidermy- rules-hunters.html Thursday, December 25, 2008 Lions and Prions and Deer Demise http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/12/lions-and-prions-and-deer- demise.html Friday, April 17, 2009 MORE GAME FARMS FINDING CWD, ANOTHER ONE QUARANTINED CANADA http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-game-farms-finding- cwd-another-one.html Sunday, August 24, 2008 HAVE ANOTHER GLASS OF CWD PRIONS COURTESY Dane County Wisconsin Mike DiMaggio, solid waste manager http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2008/08/have-another-glass-of-cwd- prions.html Atypical BSE North America Update February 2009 http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/02/atypical-bse-north-america-update.html Monday, May 11, 2009 Rare BSE mutation raises concerns over risks to public health http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/05/rare-bse-mutation-raises-concerns- over.html NOR-98 ATYPICAL SCRAPIE 5 cases documented in USA in 5 different states USA http://nor-98.blogspot.com/2008/04/seac-spongiform-encephalopathy-advisory.html Tuesday, June 3, 2008 SCRAPIE USA UPDATE JUNE 2008 NOR-98 REPORTED PA http://nor-98.blogspot.com/2008/06/scrapie-usa-update-june-2008-nor-98.html http://nor-98.blogspot.com/ http://scrapie-usa.blogspot.com/ Sunday, May 10, 2009 Meeting of the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Committee On June 12, 2009 (Singeltary submission) http://tseac.blogspot.com/2009/05/meeting-of-transmissible-spongiform.html April 20, 2009 National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined1 (December 31, 2008) National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined1 (December 31, 2008) Year Total Referrals2 Prion Disease Sporadic Familial Iatrogenic vCJD 1996 & earlier 42 32 28 4 0 0 1997 115 68 59 9 0 0 1998 93 53 45 7 1 0 1999 115 69 61 8 0 0 2000 151 103 89 14 0 0 2001 210 118 108 9 0 0 2002 258 147 123 22 2 0 2003 273 176 135 41 0 0 2004 335 184 162 21 0 13 2005 346 193 154 38 1 0 2006 380 192 159 32 0 14 2007 370 212 185 26 0 0 2008 383 228 182 23 0 0 TOTAL 30715 17756 1490 254 4 2 1 Listed based on the year of death or, if not available, on year of referral; 2 Cases with suspected prion disease for which brain tissue and/or blood (in familial cases) were submitted; 3 Disease acquired in the United Kingdom; 4 Disease acquired in Saudi Arabia; 5 Includes 20 cases in which the diagnosis is pending, and 17 inconclusive cases; 6 Includes 25 cases with type determination pending in which the diagnosis of vCJD has been excluded. Rev 2/13/09 National http://www.cjdsurveillance.com/pdf/case-table.pdf http://www.cjdsurveillance.com/resources-casereport.html http://www.aan.com/news/?event=read&article_id=4397&page=72.45.45 *5 Includes 20 cases in which the diagnosis is pending, and 17 inconclusive cases; *6 Includes 25 cases with type determination pending in which the diagnosis of vCJD has been excluded. Greetings, it would be interesting to know what year these atypical cases occurred, as opposed to lumping them in with the totals only. are they accumulating ? did they occur in one year, two years, same state, same city ? location would be very interesting ? age group ? sex ? how was it determined that nvCJD was ruled out ? from 1997, the year i started dealing with this nightmare, there were 28 cases (per this report), up until 2007 where the total was 185 cases (per this report), and to date 2008 is at 182. a staggering increase in my opinion, for something that just happens spontaneously as some would have us believe. i don't believe it, not in 85%+ of all sporadic CJD cases. actually, i do not believe yet that anyone has proven that any of the sporadic CJD cases have been proven to be a spontaneous misfolding of a protein. there are many potential routes and sources for the sporadic CJD's. ...TSS Sunday, April 12, 2009 r-calf and the USA mad cow problem, don't look, don't find, and then blame Canada http://prionunitusaupdate2008.blogspot.com/2009/04/r-calf-and-usa-mad-cow- problem-dont.html snip...SEE FULL TEXT BELOW ! Monday, April 20, 2009 National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined1 (December 31, 2008) http://prionunitusaupdate2008.blogspot.com/2009/04/national-prion-disease- pathology.html 'As implied in the Inset 25 we must not assume that transmission of BSE to other species will invariably present pathology typical of a scrapie-like disease.' http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1991/01/04004001.pdf CWRU CJD QUESTIONNAIRE HISTORY http://cjdquestionnaire.blogspot.com/ Thank You, with kindest regards, I am sincerely, Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518