Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Norway sides with OIE, decides to expose millions of consumers to the ATYPICAL BSE SRM TSE Prion aka mad cow type disease

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2016 8:24 PM To: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Subject: Norway decides to expose millions of consumers to the ATYPICAL BSE SRM TSE Prion aka mad cow type disease
 
Amendment of the TSE Regulations: Changes at BSE and SRM definitions, labeling, trade and import of cattle and sheep products
 
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Publisert 27.09.2016 | Sist endret 27.09.2016 Published 09/27/2016 | Last modified 27/09/2016 Skriv ut
 
Endringene fører blant annet til at en ny definisjon av BSE ikke tar med tilfeller av atypisk BSE. The changes are among the causes that a new definition of BSE do not include cases of atypical BSE. I tillegg endres merkekravene til slakt og produkter med risikomateriale, og det gis lettelser i krav ved samhandel med levende småfe og avlsprodukter under visse vilkår. In addition, modified labeling requirements for slaughter and products with risk material, and provides an easing of requirements for trade with live sheep and avlsprodukter under certain conditions.
 
Som et ledd i EØS-avtalen gjennomfører Mattilsynet forordning (EU) 2016/1396 som endrer vedleggene til forordning (EF) nr. 999/2001. As part of the EEA Agreement performs FSA Regulation (EC) 2016/1396 that modify Annexes to Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001. Dette medfører at TSE-forskriften må endres. This means that the TSE Regulations must be changed.
 
Atypisk BSE tas ut av definisjonen til BSE Atypical BSE removed from the definition of BSE Endringene omfatter at atypisk BSE tas ut av definisjonen til BSE (kugalskap). The changes include the atypical BSE taken out of the definition of BSE (mad cow disease). Dette er i tråd med endring av definisjonen for dyresykdommen i Verdens dyrehelseorganisasjon (OIE). This is in line with the change of definition for animal disease in the world animal health organization (OIE). Atypisk BSE smitter i motsetning til klassisk BSE ikke gjennom fôret, men oppstår spontant. Atypical BSE is transmitted unlike classical BSE not the liner but occurs spontaneously. Det er ingenting som tyder på at atypisk BSE har negative konsekvenser for mattryggheten. There is nothing to suggest that atypical BSE have negative consequences for food safety.
 
Merkekravene endres The labeling requirements changed Krav til merking av slakt og produkter fra storfe som stammer fra land med risiko for BSE og krav om spesiell behandling endres. Labelling requirements for slaughter and products from cattle originating from countries with BSE risk and demands for special treatment changed. Tidligere var det krav om merking dersom det ikke forelå krav om at spesielt risikomateriale fjernes fra slaktet. Previously it require labeling if there were no requirement that the special risk material is removed from slaughtered. Dette endres nå til krav om merking dersom det foreligger krav om at spesielt risikomateriale fjernes fra slaktet. This is now changing to require labeling if there is a requirement that special risk material is removed from slaughtered.
 
Videre tas tonsiller ut av definisjonen for risikomateriale dersom storfeet stammer fra land med neglisjerbar BSE-risiko. Furthermore taken tonsils removed from the definition of risk material if the herd originated from countries with negligible BSE risk. Dette medfører at det ikke lenger vil være et krav om at tonsillene ikke må følge med ved uttak av tunge fra norske storfeslakt. This means that it will no longer be a requirement that the tonsils do not have to pay attention when withdrawing heavy from Norwegian cattle slaughter.
 
Lettere å importere småfe fra Finland og Sverige Easier to import sheep from Finland and Sweden Finland og Sverige har dokumentert en bedre status når det gjelder klassisk skrapesjuke hos småfe. Finland and Sweden have documented a better status in terms of classical scrapie in small ruminants. Dette medfører at det blir lettere å innføre småfe fra disse landene til Norge. This means that it is easier to introduce sheep from these countries to Norway. Innførsel av levende dyr utgjør alltid en risiko for innførsel av dyresjukdom og bør unngås. Importation of live animals is always a risk of introducing animal diseases and should be avoided.
 
Det innføres lettelser i krav når det gjelder skrapesjuke ved forflytning av hanndyr av småfe fra seminstasjoner til besetninger, under særskilte vilkår. It introduced an easing of requirements in terms of scrapie when transferring the males of sheep coming from semen to crews, under special conditions. Dette begrunnes med at det er liten risiko for at hanndyr kan overføre smitte av sykdommen. This is because there is little risk that males can transmit infectious disease. Konsekvensen av dette er lettelser for avlsarbeidet for sau og geit. The consequence of this is easing for the breeding of sheep and goats.
 
Lettelser i handelskrav innenfor EØS Easing trade requirements within the EEA Det innføres lettelser i handelskrav for småfe når det gjelder skrapesjuke ved handel innad i EØS med avlsprodukter, levende dyr mellom dyreparker og levende dyr av spesielle raser. It introduced easing trade requirements for sheep as regards scrapie trade within the EEA with avlsprodukter, live animals between zoos and live animals of specific breeds. Lettelsene gis med særskilte vilkår som ivaretar dyrehelsen. Easing granted with special conditions that safeguard animal health. En av konsekvensene av dette er at det blir lettere å handle med avlsprodukter enn med levende dyr, noe som er gunstig for bevaring av den gode dyrehelsen i Norge. One of the consequences of this is that it is easier to trade with avlsprodukter than live animals, which is beneficial to the preservation of the good animal health in Norway.
 
Videre åpnes det for import av produkter fra storfe og småfe fra land med høyere risiko for BSE, forutsatt at risikomateriale er fjernet fra råvarene. Moreover, it opens the import of products from cattle and sheep from countries with higher risk for BSE, provided that risk material is removed from the raw materials.
 
Gangen i arbeidet er beskrevet i tidslinjen under, og den svarte boksen viser hvor vi er i prosessen. The decline in the work described in the timeline below, and the black box shows where we are in the process.
 
Tidslinje for dette arbeidet: Timeline for this work: Høring av forskriftsendring sendes til klarering Hearing of the Regulation to be submitted to clearance Mattilsynet har utarbeidet en forslag til forskriftsendring basert på forordningsteksten. FSA has prepared a proposal for amending the regulations based on Regulation text. Denne er nå sendt Landbruks- og matdepartementet for klarering for høring. This has now been sent Agriculture and Food for clearance for consultation.
 
27.09.2016 09/27/2016 Forskriftsutkast sendes på høring Regulations Draft submitted for consultation Mattilsynet sender forskriftsutkast og høringsbrev ut på høring. FSA sends draft regulations and consultation paper for consultation.
 
Oktober 2016 October 2016 Endringer i TSE-forskriften 3-2016 fastsettes Amendments to the TSE Regulations 3-2016 determined Mattilsynet fastsetter endringer i TSE-forskriften basert på forordning (EU) 2016/1396. FSA determines changes in the TSE-regulation based on Regulation (EC) 2016/1396.
 
 
 
 

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy ,Norway

Information received on 29/01/2015 from Dre Kristina Landsverk, Chief Veterinary Officer, Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Brumunddal, Norway

Summary

Report type
Immediate notification
Date of start of the event
16/01/2015
Date of pre-confirmation of the event
20/01/2015
Report date
29/01/2015
Date submitted to OIE
29/01/2015
Reason for notification
First occurrence of a listed disease
Manifestation of disease
Sub-clinical infection
Causal agent
Prion (atypical BSE type H)
Nature of diagnosis
Laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to
the whole country

New outbreaks

Summary of outbreaks
Total outbreaks: 1
Outbreak Location
  • NORD-TRONDELAG ( Verran, Tua, District office Innherred og Fosen, Region office Trøndelag og Møre og Romdal )
Total animals affected
Species
Susceptible
Cases
Deaths
Destroyed
Slaughtered
Cattle
27
1
0
1
0
Outbreak statistics
Species
Apparent morbidity rate
Apparent mortality rate
Apparent case fatality rate
Proportion susceptible animals lost*
Cattle
3.70%
0.00%
0.00%
3.70%

* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction and/or slaughter;

Epidemiology

Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection
  • Unknown or inconclusive
Epidemiological comments
Based on status on 29 January 2015: On 20 January 2015, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute reported suspicion of BSE on a cow in Norway, based on initial test done on CNS material. Part of this material was sent to European Union Reference Laboratory in Weybridge (21 January 2015) for verification of diagnosis. The affected cow was a 15-year-old and born in Norway. The dam was imported from Sweden. The cow did not show clinical signs of neurological disease before she was killed (12 January 2015) due to old age and injuries. The BSE test was taken as part of the BSE surveillance program. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) has put restrictions on movement on the farm, and performed epidemiological investigations. The NFSA has identified four risk animals, according to relevant legislation. These animals are also placed under official movement restrictions. The four identified risk animals will be killed and disposed by incineration according to European Union legislation. The epidemiological investigation including tracing of risk animals from the holding of origin as well as the present holding has identified 2 offspring borne within two years prior to the incident in addition to 2 cattle belonging either to (1) the cohort of animals born in the same herd as the affected animal within 12 months preceding or following the date of birth of the affected cow or (2) the cohort of animals which at any time during the first year of their lives were reared together with the affected cow during her first year of life. Progeny borne within two years prior to the incident and the cohort of risk animals are put under movement restrictions and the killing and destruction of these animals will be carried into effect as soon as possible. The affected cow’s carcass has been completely destroyed. The NFSA ensures that the cow’s carcass has been processed by pressure sterilisation in a Category 1 processing plant and that the resulting material has been sent for incineration/co-incineration in accordance with the By-Products Regulation.

Control measures

Measures applied
  • Movement control inside the country
  • Screening
  • No vaccination
  • No treatment of affected animals
Measures to be applied
  • Modified stamping out

Diagnostic test results

Laboratory name and type
Norwegian Veterinary Institute ( National laboratory )
Tests and results
Species
Test
Test date
Result
Cattle
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
20/01/2015
Positive
Cattle
western blot
20/01/2015
Positive
Laboratory name and type
EU Reference Laboratory, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge (United Kingdom) ( OIE’s Reference Laboratory )
Tests and results
Species
Test
Test date
Result
Cattle
immunohistochemical test
28/01/2015
Positive
Cattle
western blot
28/01/2015
Positive

Future Reporting

The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.


Encéphalopathie spongiforme bovine ,Norvège

Information reçue le 29/01/2015 de Dre Kristina Landsverk, Chief Veterinary Officer, Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Brumunddal, Norvège

Résumé

Type de rapport
Notification immédiate
Date de début de l’événement
16/01/2015
Date de pré-confirmation de l´événement
20/01/2015
Date du rapport
29/01/2015
Date d'envoi à l'OIE
29/01/2015
Raison de notification
Apparition pour la première fois d’une maladie listée par l'OIE
Manifestation de la maladie
Infection sub-clinique
Agent causal
Prion (EEB atypique, type H)
Nature du diagnostic
Tests approfondis en laboratoire (i.e. virologie, microscopie électronique, biologie moléculaire, immunologie)
Cet événement se rapporte à
tout le pays

Nouveaux foyers

Récapitulatif des foyers
Nombre total de foyers : 1
Localisation du foyer
  • NORD-TRONDELAG ( Verran, Tua, District office Innherred og Fosen, Region office Trøndelag og Møre og Romdal )
Nombre total d'animaux atteints
Espèce(s)
Sensibles
Cas
Morts
Détruits
Abattus
Bovins
27
1
0
1
0
Statistiques sur le foyer
Espèce(s)
Taux de morbidité apparent
Taux de mortalité apparent
Taux de fatalité apparent
Proportion d'animaux sensibles perdus*
Bovins
3.70%
0.00%
0.00%
3.70%

* Soustraits de la population sensible suite à la mort, à l´abattage et/ou à la destruction;

Epidémiologie

Source du/des foyer(s) ou origine de l´infection
  • Inconnue ou incertaine
Autres renseignements épidémiologiques / Commentaires
Situation au 29 janvier 2015 : Le 20 janvier 2015, l'Institut vétérinaire norvégien a informé d’une suspicion d’EEB chez une vache en Norvège en se basant sur un test initial effectué sur du matériel du SNC. Une partie de ce matériel a été envoyé au Laboratoire de référence de l'Union européenne à Weybridge (21 janvier 2015) pour vérification du diagnostic. La vache atteinte était âgée de 15 ans et était née en Norvège. La mère avait été importée de Suède. La vache n'a pas montré de signes cliniques de maladie neurologique avant d'être abattue en raison de son âge et de lésions (12 janvier 2015). Le test pour l’EEB a été effectué dans le cadre du programme de surveillance de l’EEB. L'Autorité norvégienne de sécurité alimentaire (NFSA) a mis en œuvre des restrictions aux déplacements dans l’élevage et a effectué des enquêtes épidémiologiques. La NFSA a identifié quatre animaux à risque, conformément à la législation pertinente. Les déplacements de ces animaux sont également soumis à des restrictions officielles. Les quatre animaux à risque identifiés seront abattus et éliminés par incinération conformément à la législation de l'Union européenne. Lors de l'enquête épidémiologique y compris l’enquête en amont des animaux à risque de l'exploitation d'origine ainsi que de l’exploitation actuelle ont été identifiés 2 descendants nés dans les deux ans précédant l'incident en plus de 2 bovins appartenant soit à (1) la cohorte d’animaux nés dans le même troupeau que l'animal atteint dans les 12 mois précédant ou suivant la date de naissance de la vache atteinte soit à (2) la cohorte d’animaux qui au cours de la première année de leur vies ont été élevés avec la vache atteinte au cours de sa première année de vie. Les déplacements de la descendance née dans les deux années qui ont précédé l'incident et de la cohorte d’animaux à risque sont soumis à des restrictions et l’abattage et la destruction de ces animaux seront effectués dès que possible. La carcasse de la vache atteinte a été complètement détruite. La NFSA s’assure que la carcasse de la vache a été traitée par stérilisation sous pression dans une usine de transformation de catégorie 1 et que le matériau résultant a été envoyé à l'incinération / co-incinération conformément aux dispositions du règlement sur les sous-produits animaux.

Mesures de lutte

Mesure de lutte appliquées
  • Restriction des déplacements à l'intérieur du pays
  • Dépistage
  • Pas de vaccination
  • Aucun traitement des animaux atteints
Mesures à appliquer
  • Abattage sanitaire partiel

Résultats des tests de diagnostics

Nom du laboratoire et type
Laboratoire de référence de l'Union européenne, Agence de la santé animale et végétale (APHA), Weybridge (Royaume-Uni) ( Laboratoire de référence de l’OIE )
Tests et résultats
Espèce(s)
Test
Date du test
Résultat
Bovins
examen immunohistochimique
28/01/2015
Positif
Bovins
western blot
28/01/2015
Positif
Nom du laboratoire et type
Institut vétérinaire norvégien ( Laboratoire national )
Tests et résultats
Espèce(s)
Test
Date du test
Résultat
Bovins
méthode de dosage immuno-enzymatique (ELISA)
20/01/2015
Positif
Nom du laboratoire et type
Institut vétérinaire norvégien ( Laboratoire national )
Tests et résultats
Espèce(s)
Test
Date du test
Résultat
Bovins
western blot
20/01/2015
Positif

Rapports futurs

Cet événement se poursuit. Des rapports de suivi hebdomadaires devront être envoyés.


Encefalopatía espongiforme bovina ,Noruega

Información recibida el 29/01/2015 desde Dre Kristina Landsverk, Chief Veterinary Officer, Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Brumunddal, Noruega

Resumen

Tipo de informe
Notificación inmediata
Fecha del inicio del evento
16/01/2015
Fecha de pre-confirmación del evento
20/01/2015
Fecha del informe
29/01/2015
Fecha de envio del informe a la OIE
29/01/2015
Motivo de la notificación
Aparición por primera vez de una enfermedad de la Lista de la OIE
Manifestación de la enfermedad
Infección sub-clínica
Agente causal
Prion (EEB atípica, tipo H)
Naturaleza del diagnóstico
Pruebas de diagnóstico de laboratorio avanzadas (ej. virología, microscopía electrónica, biología molecular e inmunología)
Este evento concierne
todo el país

Nuevos focos

Resumen de los focos
Número total de focos: 1
Localización del foco
  • NORD-TRONDELAG ( Verran, Tua, District office Innherred og Fosen, Region office Trøndelag og Møre og Romdal )
Número total de animales afectados
Especies
Susceptibles
Casos
Muertos
Destruidos
Sacrificados
Bovinos
27
1
0
1
0
Estadística del foco
Especies
Tasa de morbilidad aparente
Tasa de mortalidad aparente
Tasa de fatalidad aparente
Proporción de animales susceptibles perdidos*
Bovinos
3.70%
0.00%
0.00%
3.70%

* Descontados de la población susceptible a raíz de su muerte, destrucción o sacrificio;

Epidemiología

Fuente del o de los focos u origen de la infección
  • Desconocida o no concluyente
Otros detalles epidemiológicos / comentarios
Situación al 29 de enero de 2015: El 20 de enero de 2015, el Instituto de veterinaria noruego informó de una sospecha de EEB en una vaca en Noruega basada en una prueba inicial realizada con material del SNC. Parte de este material se envió al Laboratorio de referencia de la Unión Europea en Weybridge (21 de enero de 2015) para verificar el diagnóstico. La vaca afectada tenía 15 años y nació en Noruega. La madre fue importada de Suecia. La vaca no mostró signos clínicos de enfermedad neurológica antes de ser eliminada por su edad avanzada y lesiones (12 de enero de 2015). La prueba para la EEB fue realizada en el marco del programa de vigilancia para la EEB. La Autoridad noruega de seguridad alimentaria (NFSA) ha impuesto restricciones a los desplazamientos en la explotación y ha realizado las investigaciones epidemiológicas. La NFSA ha identificado cuatro animales de riesgo, de acuerdo con la legislación pertinente. Los desplazamientos de estos animales también son sometidos a las restricciones oficiales. Los cuatro animales de riesgo identificados serán eliminados y destruidos por incineración de acuerdo con la legislación de la Unión Europea. En la investigación epidemiológica incluido el rastreo de los animales de riesgo de la explotación de origen así como de la explotación actual se han identificado 2 descendientes nacidos en los dos años anteriores al incidente además de 2 bovinos pertenecientes a (1) la cohorte de animales nacidos en el mismo rebaño que el animal afectado en los 12 meses anteriores o posteriores a la fecha de nacimiento de la vaca afectada o a (2) la cohorte de animales que en cualquier momento durante el primer año de vida fueron criados con la vaca afectada durante su primer año de vida. Los desplazamientos de la descendencia nacida en los dos años anteriores al incidente y de la cohorte de animales de riesgo están sometidos a restricciones y la matanza y la destrucción de estos animales se llevará a cabo lo antes posible. La canal de la vaca afectada ha sido completamente destruida. La NFSA se asegura de que la canal de la vaca ha sido procesada por esterilización a presión en una planta de transformación de la categoría 1 y de que el material resultante ha sido enviado para su incineración/co-incineración de conformidad con el reglamento relativo a los subproductos de origen animal.

Medidas de Control

Medidas implementadas
  • Restricción de los movimientos en el interior del país
  • Tamizaje
  • Vacunación: no
  • Ningún tratamiento de los animales afectados
Medidas para implementar
  • Sacrificio sanitario parcial

Resultados de las pruebas diagnósticas

Nombre y tipo de laboratorio
Laboratorio de referencia de la Unión Europea, Agencia de sanidad animal y vegetal (APHA), Weybridge (Reino Unido) ( Laboratorio de referencia de la OIE )
Pruebas y resultados
Especies
Prueba
Fecha de la prueba
Resultados
Bovinos
examen inmunohistoquímico
28/01/2015
Positivo
Bovinos
western blot
28/01/2015
Positivo
Nombre y tipo de laboratorio
Instituto de veterinaria noruego ( Laboratorio nacional )
Pruebas y resultados
Especies
Prueba
Fecha de la prueba
Resultados
Bovinos
prueba inmunoenzimática (ELISA)
20/01/2015
Positivo
Bovinos
western blot
20/01/2015
Positivo

Informes futuros

El episodio continúa. Informes de seguimiento semanales serán enviados



end...TSS

 

Thursday, January 29, 2015

 

Atypical H-TYPE BSE Case Confirmed in Norway

 


 

atypical Scrapie Nor98

 

Atypical/Nor98 scrapie was first identified in 1998 in Norway (Benestad et al., 2003) and it is now considered as a worldwide disease of small ruminants and currently represents a significant part of the detected TSE cases in Europe (where its prevalence was estimated to range between 5 to 8 positive small ruminants per 10,000 tested per year), as well as in other countries like Canada, USA and New Zealand (Andreoletti et al., 2011; Benestad, Arsac, Goldmann, & Noremark, 2008; Fediaevsky et al., 2008). In Atypical/Nor98 scrapie the sheep genetic susceptibility is significantly different from what is observed in classical TSE forms, with homozygous and heterozygous ARR allele carriers being susceptible to the disease (Arsac et al., 2007; Luhken et al., 2007; Luhken, Buschmann, Groschup, & Erhardt, 2004; Moreno et al., 2007; Saunders, Cawthraw, Mountjoy, Hope, & Windl, 2006), which has been the basis of a large scale genetic selection policy aiming at the control of TSE diseases by increasing the frequency of the ARR allele in general population and restocking affected flocks with ARR animals. In contrast to classical scrapie, atypical scrapie is usually detected in older animals (mean age of five to six years) (Benestad et al., 2008) and prnp genotypes that include alleles A136H154Q171 and/or A136F141R154Q171, are more at risk (Moum et al., 2005). Moreover, atypical scrapie does not seem to cluster in positive flocks supporting the hypothesis that atypical scrapie, in contrast to classical scrapie, is not a contagious disease (Fediaevsky et al., 2010). As such, since 2002, 28 European countries (25 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) have been involved in scrapie surveillance in accordance with EC regulation (Regulation (EC) 999, 2001) for at least one year (Fediaevsky et al., 2010), but specific provisions for control of atypical scrapie were only first introduced in July 2007 (Regulation (EC) 727, 2007). However, we must be aware that the capacity of Atypical/Nor98 scrapie agent to cross species barrier, is insufficiently documented (Andreoletti et al., 2011). In fact, data from transmission of an Atypical/Nor98 scrapie isolate into transgenic mice over-expressing the porcine PrPC (Espinosa et al., 2009), underline the urgent need for further investigations on the potential capacity of Atypical/Nor98 scrapie to propagate in species, other than small ruminants. In Portugal, atypical/Nor98 scrapie is the predominant form of TSE in small ruminants (Orge et al., 2010). prnp genotyping of Portuguese atypical scrapie cases revealed a variety of genotypes rarely linked with classical scrapie, which included ARR/AFRQ, ARR/ARR,

 

148

 

ARQ/AFRQ and AFRQ/AFRQ (Orge et al., 2004; Orge et al., 2010), contradicting studies that reported the AHQ allele as being most frequently (then AFRQ allele) associated with atypical scrapie (Baylis & McIntyre, 2004; Benestad et al., 2008; Fediaevsky, Morignat, Ducrot, & Calavas, 2009; McIntyre, del Rio Vilas, & Gubbins, 2008).

 


 

Atypical/Nor98 cases are identified in older animals in comparison to classical scrapie [6], [40]. The lack of PrPSc detection in peripheral tissues of reported cases suggested that Atypical/Nor98 scrapie agent could be restricted to CNS. This is supportive of the hypothesis that Atypical/Nor98 scrapie could be a spontaneous disorder of PrP folding and metabolism occurring in aged animals without external cause [6], [38].

 

However, this hypothesis is questioned by the evidence reported here that a negative PrPSc testing result could be observed in animals harbouring high infectious titre in their brain and that the infectious agent can be present in peripheral tissues of Atypical/Nor98 scrapie incubating sheep. TSE are considered to be transmitted following oral exposure; initial uptake is followed by a peripheral replication phase which is generally associated with a dissemination of the agent in the lymphoid system and the deposition of large amounts of PrPSc. This peripheral replication phase is later followed by the entry of the infectious agent into the CNS through the autonomic nervous system [25], [27], [35], [36]. However, in several situations, like BSE in cattle [41], [42], [43] or classical scrapie in ARR heterozygote sheep [44], [45], the involvement of secondary lymphoid system is marginal, which does not preclude central neuro-invasion through the autonomic nervous system [46]. It could be proposed that Atypical Scrapie/Nor98 might occur following oral exposure to a TSE agent, which would spread marginally in lymphoid tissues before neuro-invasion. The slow propagation of Atypical Scrapie/Nor98 in its host (long incubation period) and the impaired detection sensitivity level of PrPSc based assays would explain the apparent old age of detected cases.

 

The results presented here are insufficient to rule out the hypothesis of a spontaneous/non contagious disorder or to consider this alternative scenario as a plausible hypothesis. Indeed, the presence of Atypical scrapie/Nor98 infectivity in peripheral tissues could be alternatively due to the centripetal spreading of the agent from the CNS. However, our findings point out that further clarifications on Atypical/Nor98 scrapie agent biology are needed before accepting that this TSE is a spontaneous and non contagious disorder of small ruminants. Assessing Atypical/Nor98 scrapie transmissibility through oral route in natural host and presence in placenta and in colostrum/milk (which are considered as major sources for TSE transmission between small ruminants) [28], [32] will provide crucial data.

 

The presence of infectivity in peripheral tissues that enter the food chain clearly indicates that the risk of dietary exposure to Atypical/Nor98 scrapie cannot be disregarded. However, according to our observations, in comparison to the brain, the infectious titres in the peripheral tissues were five log10 lower in Atypical/Nor98 scrapie than in classical scrapie. Therefore, the reduction of the relative exposure risk following SRM removal (CNS, head, spleen and ileum) is probably significantly higher in Atypical/Nor98 scrapie cases than in classical scrapie cases. However, considering the currently estimated prevalence of Atypical/Nor98 scrapie in healthy slaughtered EU population [10], it is probable that atypical scrapie infectivity enters in the food chain despite the prevention measures in force.

 

Finally, the capacity of Atypical/Nor98 scrapie agent (and more generally of small ruminants TSE agents) to cross species barrier that naturally limits the transmission risk is insufficiently documented. Recently, the transmission of an Atypical/Nor98 scrapie isolate was reported into transgenic mice over-expressing the porcine PrP [47]. Such results cannot directly be extrapolated to natural exposure conditions and natural hosts. However, they underline the urgent need for further investigations on the potential capacity of Atypical/Nor98 scrapie to propagate in other species than small ruminants.

 


 

Thursday, September 22, 2016

 

NORWAY DETECTS 5TH CASE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION Skrantesjuke

 


 

Saturday, September 03, 2016

 

NORWAY Regulation concerning temporary measures to reduce the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) as 4th case of skrantesjuke confirmed in Sogn og Fjordane

 


 

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

 

*** NORWAY CONFIRMS 4TH CASE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION IN SECOND CARIBOU

 


 

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

 

NORWAY CONFIRMS 4TH CASE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION IN SECOND CARIBOU

 


 

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

 

Chronic wasting disease of deer – is the battle to keep Europe free already lost?

 


 

*** Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a moose from Selbu in Sør-Trøndelag Norway ***

 


 

Thursday, July 07, 2016

 

Norway reports a third case Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion in 2nd Norwegian moose

 

14/06/2016 - Norway reports a third case

 


 

Saturday, July 16, 2016

 

Chronic wasting Disease in Deer (CWD or Spongiform Encephalopathy) The British Deer Society 07/04/2016

 

Red Deer Ataxia or Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE PRION?

 

could this have been cwd in the UK back in 1970’S ???

 


 


 


 


 

SEE FULL TEXT ;

 


 

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

 

The first detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Europe free-ranging reindeer from the Nordfjella population in South-Norway.

 


 

The Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI, 2016) has reported a case of prion disease Cervid Spongiform Encephalopathy detected in free ranging wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus)

 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

 


 

P03.141

 

Aspects of the Cerebellar Neuropathology in Nor98

 

Gavier-Widén, D1; Benestad, SL2; Ottander, L1; Westergren, E1 1National Veterinary Insitute, Sweden; 2National Veterinary Institute,

 

Norway Nor98 is a prion disease of old sheep and goats. This atypical form of scrapie was first described in Norway in 1998. Several features of Nor98 were shown to be different from classical scrapie including the distribution of disease associated prion protein (PrPd) accumulation in the brain. The cerebellum is generally the most affected brain area in Nor98. The study here presented aimed at adding information on the neuropathology in the cerebellum of Nor98 naturally affected sheep of various genotypes in Sweden and Norway. A panel of histochemical and immunohistochemical (IHC) stainings such as IHC for PrPd, synaptophysin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, amyloid, and cell markers for phagocytic cells were conducted. The type of histological lesions and tissue reactions were evaluated. The types of PrPd deposition were characterized. The cerebellar cortex was regularly affected, even though there was a variation in the severity of the lesions from case to case. Neuropil vacuolation was more marked in the molecular layer, but affected also the granular cell layer. There was a loss of granule cells. Punctate deposition of PrPd was characteristic. It was morphologically and in distribution identical with that of synaptophysin, suggesting that PrPd accumulates in the synaptic structures. PrPd was also observed in the granule cell layer and in the white matter. The pathology features of Nor98 in the cerebellum of the affected sheep showed similarities with those of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

 

***The pathology features of Nor98 in the cerebellum of the affected sheep showed similarities with those of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

 


 

PR-26

 

NOR98 SHOWS MOLECULAR FEATURES REMINISCENT OF GSS

 

R. Nonno1, E. Esposito1, G. Vaccari1, E. Bandino2, M. Conte1, B. Chiappini1, S. Marcon1, M. Di Bari1, S.L. Benestad3, U. Agrimi1 1 Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health, Rome, Italy (romolo.nonno@iss.it); 2 Istituto Zooprofilattico della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy; 3 National Veterinary Institute, Department of Pathology, Oslo, Norway

 

Molecular variants of PrPSc are being increasingly investigated in sheep scrapie and are generally referred to as "atypical" scrapie, as opposed to "classical scrapie". Among the atypical group, Nor98 seems to be the best identified. We studied the molecular properties of Italian and Norwegian Nor98 samples by WB analysis of brain homogenates, either untreated, digested with different concentrations of proteinase K, or subjected to enzymatic deglycosylation. The identity of PrP fragments was inferred by means of antibodies spanning the full PrP sequence. We found that undigested brain homogenates contain a Nor98-specific PrP fragment migrating at 11 kDa (PrP11), truncated at both the C-terminus and the N-terminus, and not N-glycosylated. After mild PK digestion, Nor98 displayed full-length PrP (FL-PrP) and N-glycosylated C-terminal fragments (CTF), along with increased levels of PrP11. Proteinase K digestion curves (0,006-6,4 mg/ml) showed that FL-PrP and CTF are mainly digested above 0,01 mg/ml, while PrP11 is not entirely digested even at the highest concentrations, similarly to PrP27-30 associated with classical scrapie. Above 0,2 mg/ml PK, most Nor98 samples showed only PrP11 and a fragment of 17 kDa with the same properties of PrP11, that was tentatively identified as a dimer of PrP11. Detergent solubility studies showed that PrP11 is insoluble in 2% sodium laurylsorcosine and is mainly produced from detergentsoluble, full-length PrPSc. Furthermore, among Italian scrapie isolates, we found that a sample with molecular and pathological properties consistent with Nor98 showed plaque-like deposits of PrPSc in the thalamus when the brain was analysed by PrPSc immunohistochemistry. Taken together, our results show that the distinctive pathological feature of Nor98 is a PrP fragment spanning amino acids ~ 90-155. This fragment is produced by successive N-terminal and C-terminal cleavages from a full-length and largely detergent-soluble PrPSc, is produced in vivo and is extremely resistant to PK digestion.

 

*** Intriguingly, these conclusions suggest that some pathological features of Nor98 are reminiscent of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease.

 

119

 


 

A newly identified type of scrapie agent can naturally infect sheep with resistant PrP genotypes

 

Annick Le Dur*,?, Vincent Béringue*,?, Olivier Andréoletti?, Fabienne Reine*, Thanh Lan Laï*, Thierry Baron§, Bjørn Bratberg¶, Jean-Luc Vilotte?, Pierre Sarradin**, Sylvie L. Benestad¶, and Hubert Laude*,?? +Author Affiliations

 

*Virologie Immunologie Moléculaires and ?Génétique Biochimique et Cytogénétique, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France; ?Unité Mixte de Recherche, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène, 31066 Toulouse, France; §Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, Unité Agents Transmissibles Non Conventionnels, 69364 Lyon, France; **Pathologie Infectieuse et Immunologie, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 37380 Nouzilly, France; and ¶Department of Pathology, National Veterinary Institute, 0033 Oslo, Norway

 

***Edited by Stanley B. Prusiner, University of California, San Francisco, CA (received for review March 21, 2005)

 

Abstract Scrapie in small ruminants belongs to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, a family of fatal neurodegenerative disorders that affect humans and animals and can transmit within and between species by ingestion or inoculation. Conversion of the host-encoded prion protein (PrP), normal cellular PrP (PrPc), into a misfolded form, abnormal PrP (PrPSc), plays a key role in TSE transmission and pathogenesis. The intensified surveillance of scrapie in the European Union, together with the improvement of PrPSc detection techniques, has led to the discovery of a growing number of so-called atypical scrapie cases. These include clinical Nor98 cases first identified in Norwegian sheep on the basis of unusual pathological and PrPSc molecular features and "cases" that produced discordant responses in the rapid tests currently applied to the large-scale random screening of slaughtered or fallen animals. Worryingly, a substantial proportion of such cases involved sheep with PrP genotypes known until now to confer natural resistance to conventional scrapie. Here we report that both Nor98 and discordant cases, including three sheep homozygous for the resistant PrPARR allele (A136R154R171), efficiently transmitted the disease to transgenic mice expressing ovine PrP, and that they shared unique biological and biochemical features upon propagation in mice. *** These observations support the view that a truly infectious TSE agent, unrecognized until recently, infects sheep and goat flocks and may have important implications in terms of scrapie control and public health.

 


 

Monday, December 1, 2008

 

When Atypical Scrapie cross species barriers

 

Authors

 

Andreoletti O., Herva M. H., Cassard H., Espinosa J. C., Lacroux C., Simon S., Padilla D., Benestad S. L., Lantier F., Schelcher F., Grassi J., Torres, J. M., UMR INRA ENVT 1225, Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse.France; ICISA-INlA, Madrid, Spain; CEA, IBiTec-5, DSV, CEA/Saclay, Gif sur Yvette cedex, France; National Veterinary Institute, Postboks 750 Sentrum, 0106 Oslo, Norway, INRA IASP, Centre INRA de Tours, 3738O Nouzilly, France.

 

Content

 

Atypical scrapie is a TSE occurring in small ruminants and harbouring peculiar clinical, epidemiological and biochemical properties. Currently this form of disease is identified in a large number of countries. In this study we report the transmission of an atypical scrapie isolate through different species barriers as modeled by transgenic mice (Tg) expressing different species PRP sequence.

 

The donor isolate was collected in 1995 in a French commercial sheep flock. inoculation into AHQ/AHQ sheep induced a disease which had all neuro-pathological and biochemical characteristics of atypical scrapie. Transmitted into Transgenic mice expressing either ovine or PrPc, the isolate retained all the described characteristics of atypical scrapie.

 

Surprisingly the TSE agent characteristics were dramatically different v/hen passaged into Tg bovine mice. The recovered TSE agent had biological and biochemical characteristics similar to those of atypical BSE L in the same mouse model. Moreover, whereas no other TSE agent than BSE were shown to transmit into Tg porcine mice, atypical scrapie was able to develop into this model, albeit with low attack rate on first passage.

 

Furthermore, after adaptation in the porcine mouse model this prion showed similar biological and biochemical characteristics than BSE adapted to this porcine mouse model. Altogether these data indicate.

 

(i) the unsuspected potential abilities of atypical scrapie to cross species barriers

 

(ii) the possible capacity of this agent to acquire new characteristics when crossing species barrier

 

These findings raise some interrogation on the concept of TSE strain and on the origin of the diversity of the TSE agents and could have consequences on field TSE control measures.

 


 

RESEARCH

 

Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 17, No. 5, May 2011

 

Experimental Oral Transmission of Atypical Scrapie to Sheep

 

Marion M. Simmons, S. Jo Moore,1 Timm Konold, Lisa Thurston, Linda A. Terry, Leigh Thorne, Richard Lockey, Chris Vickery, Stephen A.C. Hawkins, Melanie J. Chaplin, and John Spiropoulos

 

To investigate the possibility of oral transmission of atypical scrapie in sheep and determine the distribution of infectivity in the animals’ peripheral tissues, we challenged neonatal lambs orally with atypical scrapie; they were then killed at 12 or 24 months. Screening test results were negative for disease-specifi c prion protein in all but 2 recipients; they had positive results for examination of brain, but negative for peripheral tissues. Infectivity of brain, distal ileum, and spleen from all animals was assessed in mouse bioassays; positive results were obtained from tissues that had negative results on screening. These fi ndings demonstrate that atypical scrapie can be transmitted orally and indicate that it has the potential for natural transmission and iatrogenic spread through animal feed. Detection of infectivity in tissues negative by current surveillance methods indicates that diagnostic sensitivity is suboptimal for atypical scrapie, and potentially infectious material may be able to pass into the human food chain.

 

SNIP...

 

Although we do not have epidemiologic evidence that supports the effi cient spread of disease in the fi eld, these data imply that disease is potentially transmissible under fi eld situations and that spread through animal feed may be possible if the current feed restrictions were to be relaxed. Additionally, almost no data are available on the potential for atypical scrapie to transmit to other food animal species, certainly by the oral route. However, work with transgenic mice has demonstrated the potential susceptibility of pigs, with the disturbing fi nding that the biochemical properties of the resulting PrPSc have changed on transmission (40). The implications of this observation for subsequent transmission and host target range are currently unknown.

 

How reassuring is this absence of detectable PrPSc from a public health perspective? The bioassays performed in this study are not titrations, so the infectious load of the positive gut tissues cannot be quantifi ed, although infectivity has been shown unequivocally. No experimental data are currently available on the zoonotic potential of atypical scrapie, either through experimental challenge of humanized mice or any meaningful epidemiologic correlation with human forms of TSE. However, the detection of infectivity in the distal ileum of animals as young as 12 months, in which all the tissues tested were negative for PrPSc by the currently available screening and confi rmatory diagnostic tests, indicates that the diagnostic sensitivity of current surveillance methods is suboptimal for detecting atypical scrapie and that potentially infectious material may be able to pass into the human food chain undetected.

 

Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 17, No. 5, May 2011

 


 

Monday, April 25, 2011

 

Experimental Oral Transmission of Atypical Scrapie to Sheep

 

Volume 17, Number 5-May 2011

 


 

Friday, February 11, 2011

 

Atypical/Nor98 Scrapie Infectivity in Sheep Peripheral Tissues

 


 

*** Grant Agreement number: 222887 ***

 

*** Project acronym: PRIORITY ***

 

*** Project title: Protecting the food chain from prions: shaping European priorities through basic and applied research Funding ***

 

Scheme: Large-scale integrating project Period covered: from Oct. 1, 2009 to Sept. 30, 2014

 

Name of the scientific representative of the project's co-ordinator1, Title and Organisation: Jesús R. Requena, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spàin. Tel: 34-881815464 Fax: 34-881815403 E-mail: jesus.requena@usc.es

 

Project website¡Error! Marcador no definido. address: www.prionpriority.eu

 

PRIORITY, PROJECT FINAL REPORT

 

*** 14) Concluding that atypical scrapie can transmit to Humans and that its strain properties change as it transmits between species ***

 

snip...

 

Block D: Prion epidemiology

 

Studies on atypical scrapie were identified as a key element of this block, given the potential risk associated to this agent. We studied the permeability of Human, bovine and porcine species barriers to atypical scrapie agent transmission. Experiments in transgenic mice expressing bovine, porcine or human PrPC suggest that this TSE agent has the intrinsic ability to propagate across these species barriers including the Human one. Upon species barrier passage the biological properties and phenotype of atypical scrapie seem to be altered. Further experiments are currently ongoing (in the framework of this project but also in other projects) in order to: (i) characterize the properties of the prion that emerged from the propagation of atypical scrapie in tg Hu; (ii) to confirm that the phenomena we observed are also true for atypical scrapie isolates other than the ones we have studied.

 

In parallel, studies in shep have concluded that: 

 

*** Atypical scrapie can be transmitted by both oral and intracerebral route in sheep with various PRP genotypes 

 

*** Low but consistent amount of infectivity accumulates in peripheral tissue (mammary gland, lymph nodes, placenta, skeletal muscles, nerves) of sheep incubating atypical scrapie.

 

*** The combination of data from all our studies leads us to conclude that: 

 

*** Atypical scrapie passage through species barriers can lead to the emergence of various prions including classical BSE (following propagation in porcine PRP transgenic mice). 

 

*** Atypical scrapie can propagate, with a low efficacy, in human PrP expressing mice. This suggests the existence of a zoonotic potential for this TSE agent.

 

 snip...

 

We advance our main conclusions and recommendations, in particular as they might affect public policy, including a detailed elaboration of the evidence that led to them. Our main recommendations are:

 

a. The issue of re-introducing ruminant protein into the food-chain The opinion of the members of Priority is that sustaining an absolute feed ban for ruminant protein to ruminants is the essential requirement, especially since the impact of non-classical forms of scrapie in sheep and goats is not fully understood and cannot be fully estimated. Therefore, the consortium strongly recommends prohibiting re-introduction of processed ruminant protein into the food-chain. Arguments in support of this opinion are:

 

• the large (and still uncharacterized) diversity of prion agents that circulate in animal populations;

 

• the uncertainties related to prion epidemiology in animal populations;

 

• the unknown efficacy of industrial processes applied to reduce microbiological risk during processed animal protein (PAP) production on most prion agents; • the intrinsic capacity of prions to cross interspecies transmission barriers; • the lack of sensitive methodology for identifying cross contamination in food.

 

• the evolution of natural food chains in nature (i.e. who eats whom or what) has generated an efficient barrier preventing, to some extent, novel prion epidemies and that this naturally evolved ecology should be respected.

 

The consortium is also hesitant to introduce processed ruminant proteins into fish food considering the paucity of data on prion infections in fishes and sea animals including those of mammalian origin, and the risk of establishing an environmental contamination of the oceans that cannot be controlled.

 

b. Atypical prion agents and surveillance

 

Atypical prion agents (see below) will probably continue to represent the dominant form of prion diseases in the near future, particularly in Europe.

 

*** Atypical L-type BSE has clear zoonotic potential, as demonstrated in experimental models.

 

*** Similarly, there are now some data that seem to indicate that the atypical scrapie agent can cross various species barriers.

 

*** Moreover, the current EU policy for eradicating scrapie (genetic selection in affected flocks) is ineffective for preventing atypical scrapie.

 

*** The recent identification of cell-to-cell propagation and the protein-encoded strain properties of human neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, suggest that they bear the potential to be transmissible even if not with the same efficiency as CJD. More epidemiological data from large cohorts are necessary to reach any conclusion on the impact of their transmissibility on public health. Re-evaluations of safety precautions may become necessary depending on the outcome of these studies. In that context it would appear valuable

 

• to develop knowledge related to the pathogenesis and inter-individual transmission of atypical prion agents in ruminants (both intra- and inter-species)

 

• to improve the sensitivity of detection assays that are applied in the field towards this type of agent

 

• to maintain a robust surveillance of both animal and human populations

 

c. The need for extended research on prions

 

Intensified searching for a molecular determinants of the species barrier is recommended, since this barrier is a key for many important policy areas - risk assessment, proportional policies, the need for screening of human products and food. In this respect, prion strain structural language also remains an important issue for public health for the foreseeable future. Understanding the structural basis for strains and the basis for adaptation of a strain to a new host will require continued fundamental research. Prions maintain a complex two-way relationship with the host cell and fundamental research is needed on mechanisms for their transmission, replication and cause of nervous system dysfunction and death.

 

Early detection of prion infection, ideally at preclinical stage, also remains crucial for development of effective treatment strategies in humans affected by the disease.

 

Position of the Priority consortium

 

Nearly 30 years ago, the appearance in the UK of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) quickly brought the previously obscure “prion diseases” to the spotlight. The ensuing health and food crises that spread throughout Europe had devastating consequences. In the UK alone, there were more than 36,000 farms directly affected by BSE and the transmission of BSE prions to humans via the food chain has caused over 200 people in Europe to die from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) (http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk

 

Origins of prion epidemies

 

Classical BSE now appears to be under control, with 18 EU Member States having achieved the World Organisation for Animal Health (Office International Epizooties) „negligible risk‟ status (May 2014; http://www.oie.int/en/animal-health-in-the-world/official-disease-status/bse/list-of-bse-risk-status/), and the remaining MS assessed as „controlled‟ risk. Of note, research, including EU-funded research, has played a key role in this success: while the origin of the infection was never defined, the principle driver of the epidemic was identified as prions in Meat and Bone Meal (MBM). Tests based on prion protein-specific antibodies were developed, allowing detection of infected animals, and a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and the distribution of infectivity in edible tissues; experimental investigation of transmission barriers between different species allowed a rational estimation of risks, etc. All of this led to the implementation of rational and effective policies, such as the MBM ban to protect the animal feed chain, and the Specified Risk Material (SRM) regulations to protect the human food chain.

 

In spite of this progress, prions are still a threat. Epidemiological re-assessment indicates that the ∼10 year incubation period separating the peaks of the BSE and the vCJD epidemics is probably too short. In addition, results from a large number of human tonsil and appendix analyses in the UK suggest that there may be a high number of asymptomatic individuals who are positive for the disease-associated conformer prion protein PrPSc. While vCJD is the only form of human prion disease that has been consistently demonstrated to have lymphoreticular involvement, there has been no systematic investigation of lymphoid tissue in cases with other prion diseases.

 

The human prion problem

 

The clinical cases of vCJD identified to date have all shared a common PrP genotype (M129M), although one pre-clinical case was confirmed as an M129V heterozygote, and it has been mooted that perhaps only the M129M proportion of the population is susceptible. However, in the UK appendix study, PrP accumulation was described in samples representing every codon 129 genotype, raising the possibility that genotype does not confer resistance but instead modulates incubation period. Apart from the two UK studies, the lymphoid tissues of non-CJD patients have not been examined for the presence of PrPSc, so, these cases may not solely represent pre-clinical vCJD, but also other forms of prion disease.

 

Recent experiments in highly susceptible mouse models indicate the presence of infectivity in blood or blood components at late disease stages in sporadic CJD. The significance of this experimental finding for humans has to be explored in more detail and, at the present time, there is no evidence for the transmission of prions via blood in sporadic CJD. However a likely scenario is that all those with signs of infection or abnormal PrP accumulation in peripheral tissue could have infective blood, posing the risk for transmission via blood products, which has been clearly demonstrated in experimental models, and confirmed in several cases of vCJD in man. Altogether, these data clearly demonstrate the potential risk of a second wave of vCJD, particularly when the number people identified with lymphoid accumulation of PrPSc (16/32,411) gives a prevalence estimate in the UK of 493 per million, much higher than the number of clinical cases seen to date.

 

The animal prion problem

 

An increasing number of reports on cases of “atypical” BSE in cattle throughout the EU and beyond may lead to a new epidemic, particularly since we still do not understand all factors determining the species barrier. Ovine scrapie is another concern, because it could mask ovine BSE, presumably transmissible to humans. Scrapie is endemic and not likely to be eradicated soon, although current control measures are effective at greatly reducing disease incidence. Atypical forms, which may be spontaneous, are not affected by these control measures and these forms of disease will persist in the global animal population. The low prevalence of these disease forms makes effective surveillance very challenging. However, there is a clear risk attendant on ignoring these cases without an understanding of their possible zoonotic potential, particularly when most forms of human disease have no established aetiology. In summary, atypical cases of BSE and scrapie presently clearly outnumber classical cases in cattle and sheep in all member states.

 

We will highlight the state-of-the-art knowledge and point out scientific challenges and the major questions for research. Strategic objectives and priorities in Europe in the future for research that aims to control, eliminate or eradicate the threat posed by prions to our food and health are also indicated.

 

The Priority project has focused on 4 themes, namely the structure, function, conversion and toxicity of prions; detection of prions; mechanisms of prion transmission and spreading and epidemiology of prion diseases. This paper summarizes the opinions/positions reached within these themes at the end of the project.

 


 

WS-01: Prion diseases in animals and zoonotic potential 2016

 

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

 

Taylor & Francis

 

Prion 2016 Animal Prion Disease Workshop Abstracts

 

WS-01: Prion diseases in animals and zoonotic potential

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 


 


 


 


 

P.86: Estimating the risk of transmission of BSE and scrapie to ruminants and humans by protein misfolding cyclic amplification

 

Morikazu Imamura, Naoko Tabeta, Yoshifumi Iwamaru, and Yuichi Murayama National Institute of Animal Health; Tsukuba, Japan

 

To assess the risk of the transmission of ruminant prions to ruminants and humans at the molecular level, we investigated the ability of abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) of typical and atypical BSEs (L-type and H-type) and typical scrapie to convert normal prion protein (PrPC) from bovine, ovine, and human to proteinase K-resistant PrPSc-like form (PrPres) using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA).

 

Six rounds of serial PMCA was performed using 10% brain homogenates from transgenic mice expressing bovine, ovine or human PrPC in combination with PrPSc seed from typical and atypical BSE- or typical scrapie-infected brain homogenates from native host species. In the conventional PMCA, the conversion of PrPC to PrPres was observed only when the species of PrPC source and PrPSc seed matched. However, in the PMCA with supplements (digitonin, synthetic polyA and heparin), both bovine and ovine PrPC were converted by PrPSc from all tested prion strains. On the other hand, human PrPC was converted by PrPSc from typical and H-type BSE in this PMCA condition.

 

*** Although these results were not compatible with the previous reports describing the lack of transmissibility of H-type BSE to ovine and human transgenic mice, our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to sheep and human. Bioassay will be required to determine whether the PMCA products are infectious to these animals. ***

 

O.08: H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy associated with E211K prion protein polymorphism: Clinical and pathologic features in wild-type and E211K cattle following intracranial inoculation

 

S Jo Moore, M Heather West Greenlee, Jodi Smith, Eric Nicholson, Cathy Vrentas, and Justin Greenlee United States Department of Agriculture; Ames, IA USA

 

In 2006 an H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case was reported in an animal with an unusual polymorphism (E211K) in the prion protein gene. Although the prevalence of this polymorphism is low, cattle carrying the K211 allele are predisposed to rapid onset of H-type BSE when exposed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenotype of this BSE strain in wild-type (E211E) and E211K heterozygous cattle. One calf carrying the wild-type allele and one E211K calf were inoculated intracranially with H-type BSE brain homogenate from the US 2006 case that also carried one K211 allelle. In addition, one wild-type calf and one E211K calf were inoculated intracranially with brain homogenate from a US 2003 classical BSE case. All animals succumbed to clinical disease. Survival times for E211K H-type BSE inoculated catttle (10 and 18 months) were shorter than the classical BSE inoculated cattle (both 26 months). Significant changes in retinal function were observed in H-type BSE challenged cattle only. Animals challenged with the same inoculum showed similar severity and neuroanatomical distribution of vacuolation and disease-associated prion protein deposition in the brain, though differences in neuropathology were observed between E211K H-type BSE and classical BSE inoculated animals. Western blot results for brain tissue from challenged animals were consistent with the inoculum strains.

 

This study demonstrates that the phenotype of E211K H-type BSE remains stable when transmitted to cattle without the E211K polymorphism, and exhibits a number of features that differ from classical BSE in both wild-type and E211K cattle.

 

 O.05: Transmission of prions to primates after extended silent incubation periods: Implications for BSE and scrapie risk assessment in human populations

 

Emmanuel Comoy, Jacqueline Mikol, Val erie Durand, Sophie Luccantoni, Evelyne Correia, Nathalie Lescoutra, Capucine Dehen, and Jean-Philippe Deslys Atomic Energy Commission; Fontenay-aux-Roses, France

 

Prion diseases (PD) are the unique neurodegenerative proteinopathies reputed to be transmissible under field conditions since decades. The transmission of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) to humans evidenced that an animal PD might be zoonotic under appropriate conditions. Contrarily, in the absence of obvious (epidemiological or experimental) elements supporting a transmission or genetic predispositions, PD, like the other proteinopathies, are reputed to occur spontaneously (atpical animal prion strains, sporadic CJD summing 80% of human prion cases).

 

Non-human primate models provided the first evidences supporting the transmissibiity of human prion strains and the zoonotic potential of BSE. Among them, cynomolgus macaques brought major information for BSE risk assessment for human health (Chen, 2014), according to their phylogenetic proximity to humans and extended lifetime. We used this model to assess the zoonotic potential of other animal PD from bovine, ovine and cervid origins even after very long silent incubation periods.

 

*** We recently observed the direct transmission of a natural classical scrapie isolate to macaque after a 10-year silent incubation period, with features similar to some reported for human cases of sporadic CJD, albeit requiring fourfold longe incubation than BSE. Scrapie, as recently evoked in humanized mice (Cassard, 2014), is the third potentially zoonotic PD (with BSE and L-type BSE), thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases.

 

*** We will present an updated panorama of our different transmission studies and discuss the implications of such extended incubation periods on risk assessment of animal PD for human health.

 

 P.73: Oral challenge of goats with atypical scrapie

 

Silvia Colussi1, Maria Mazza1, Francesca Martucci1, Simone Peletto1, Cristiano Corona1, Marina Gallo1, Cristina Bona1, Romolo Nonno2, Michele Di Bari2, Claudia D’Agostino2, Nicola Martinelli3, Guerino Lombardi3, and Pier Luigi Acutis1 1Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte; Liguria e Valle d’Aosta; Turin, Italy; 2Istituto Superiore di Sanit a; Rome, Italy; 3Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna; Brescia, Italy

 

Atypical scrapie transmission has been demonstrated in sheep by intracerebral and oral route (Simmons et al., Andreoletti et al., 2011) but data about goats are not available yet. In 2006 we orally challenged four goats, five months old, with genotype R/H and R/R at codon 154. Animals died starting from 24 to 77 months p.i. without clinical signs. They all resulted negative for scrapie in CNS and peripheral tissues using Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Nevertheless these goats could still represent carriers. This hypothesis was investigated through bioassay in tg338 mice, a sensitive animal model for atypical scrapie infectivity. By end-point dilution titration, the starting inoculum contained 106.8 ID50/g. In contrast, all tissues from challenged goats were negative by bioassay. These negative results could be explained with the low infectivity of the starting inoculum, which could have been unable to induce Prion 2015 Poster Abstracts S49 disease or infectivity within our period of observation. However the challenge conditions could have been a bias too: as the matter of the fact, while the oral challenge of classical scrapie is still effective in sheep 6–10 months old (Andreoletti et al., 2011), Simmons et al. (2011) demonstrated a very short efficacy period for atypical scrapie (24 hours after birth), hypothesizing that natural transmission could occur mainly via milk. Our work suggests that this could be true also for goats and it should be taken into account in oral challenges. However a low susceptibility of goats to atypical scrapie transmission via oral route cannot be excluded.

 


 

>>> These results suggest that (i) at the level of protein-protein interactions, CWD adapts to a new species more readily than does BSE and (ii) the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans may be less robust than estimated.

 

Accepted manuscript posted online 8 July 2015.

 

Insights into Chronic Wasting Disease and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Species Barriers by Use of Real-Time Conversion

 

Kristen A. Davenport, Davin M. Henderson, Jifeng Bian, Glenn C. Telling, Candace K. Mathiason and Edward A. Hoover Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA K. L. Beemon, Editor + Author Affiliations

 

 Next Section ABSTRACT The propensity for transspecies prion transmission is related to the structural characteristics of the enciphering and new host PrP, although the exact mechanism remains incompletely understood. The effects of variability in prion protein on cross-species prion transmission have been studied with animal bioassays, but the influence of prion protein structure versus that of host cofactors (e.g., cellular constituents, trafficking, and innate immune interactions) remains difficult to dissect. To isolate the effects of protein-protein interactions on transspecies conversion, we used recombinant PrPC and real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and compared chronic wasting disease (CWD) and classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (cBSE) prions. To assess the impact of transmission to a new species, we studied feline CWD (fCWD) and feline BSE (i.e., feline spongiform encephalopathy [FSE]). We cross-seeded fCWD and FSE into each species' full-length, recombinant PrPC and measured the time required for conversion to the amyloid (PrPRes) form, which we describe here as the rate of amyloid conversion. These studies revealed the following: (i) CWD and BSE seeded their homologous species' PrP best; (ii) fCWD was a more efficient seed for feline rPrP than for white-tailed deer rPrP; (iii) conversely, FSE more efficiently converted bovine than feline rPrP; (iv) and CWD, fCWD, BSE, and FSE all converted human rPrP, although not as efficiently as homologous sCJD prions. These results suggest that (i) at the level of protein-protein interactions, CWD adapts to a new species more readily than does BSE and (ii) the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans may be less robust than estimated.

 

IMPORTANCE We demonstrate that bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions maintain their transspecies conversion characteristics upon passage to cats but that chronic wasting disease prions adapt to the cat and are distinguishable from the original prion. Additionally, we showed that chronic wasting disease prions are effective at seeding the conversion of normal human prion protein to an amyloid conformation, perhaps the first step in crossing the species barrier.

 

snip...

 

Enciphering characteristics of cBSE and cBSE-derived prions are conserved after transspecies transmission.cBSE and CWD are prion diseases that have been naturally passaged in their respective species (cattle and deer), whereas feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) and feline chronic wasting disease (fCWD) are first-passage infections in a new host species (cat). To investigate the biochemical properties of cBSE and CWD after transspecies transmission to felines, we compared the amyloidogenicity of fCWD and FSE in the original host and in feline substrate. We found fCWD to be a more efficient seed for its new (feline) host, suggesting that adaptation to the new host had occurred (Fig. 4A). In contrast, FSE remained a more efficient seed for its enciphering (bovine) host, despite its derivation from feline brain PrPC (Fig. 4B). Thereby, these cross-species seeding experiments in RT-QuIC indicated that the characteristics of cBSE were maintained upon passage to a new species whereas CWD had adapted to its new host. These findings in felids suggest that cBSE may retain its ability to cross species barriers even after transmission to a new host species and that CWD may change substantially upon transspecies transmission.

 

Human rPrPC can be converted by bovine, feline, and cervid prions.The threat of zoonotic transmission of prion disease is evident and well documented, yet such transmission is uncommonly observed and incompletely understood. We thereby explored the propensity of heterologous prions to convert human rPrP. In these human rPrPC experiments, we used sporadic CJD brain as a positive control and normal bovine, white-tailed deer, and feline brain as negative controls. sCJD, as expected, seeded human rPrPC most efficiently, so all other seeds were normalized to the rate of conversion of sCJD. We found human rPrPC to be a competent substrate in RT-QuIC for CWD, fCWD, cBSE, and FSE (Fig. 5A). Interestingly, CWD and fCWD converted human rPrPC more efficiently than did cBSE and FSE. These data suggest that at the level of PrPC-PrP seed interaction, CWD has the ability to template the conversion of human rPrPC to ThT-positive amyloid. In order to assess whether CWD was faster than cBSE due to an increased concentration of prion seed, we performed Western blotting on the seed inocula. Western blots indicated that the cBSE sample had a higher concentration of PrPRes than the CWD sample, indicating that CWD was not a better seed than cBSE due to PrPRes content (Fig. 5B). Finally, we assessed the behavior of 8 CWD field isolates, brain samples from white-tailed deer infected naturally and verified to be positive using full-length white-tailed deer RT-QuIC (Fig. 5C). All 8 of these isolates converted human rPrPC, confirming that our observations were not due to the use of experimentally CWD (Fig. 5D). In all, these experiments suggest that the CWD prions naturally circulating in the western United States have the capacity to convert human rPrPC in this assay of protein-protein interactions.

 

snip...

 

In summary, real-time conversion demonstrates that CWD and BSE prions differ in their enciphering rigidity and plasticity across species barriers. One illustration is the conservation versus adaptation of enciphering prion characteristics upon passage to cats. These experiments also demonstrate that human rPrP can be converted to amyloid by both cBSE and CWD prions. These data point to the importance of deciphering the mechanisms by which prions infect and adapt to a new species and of prompt continued vigilance regarding indirect pathways that may facilitate transspecies prion transmission.

 


 

Monday, September 19, 2016

 

Evidence of scrapie transmission to sheep via goat milk

 


 

Research Project: TRANSMISSION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND PATHOBIOLOGY OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES Location: Virus and Prion Research

 

2015 Annual Report

 

1a. Objectives (from AD-416): 1. Investigate the pathobiology of atypical transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in natural hosts. A. Investigate the pathobiology of atypical scrapie. B. Investigate the pathobiology of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). 2. Investigate the horizontal transmission of TSEs. A. Assess the horizontal transmission of sheep scrapie in the absence of lambing. B. Determine routes of transmission in chronic wasting disease (CWD) infected premises. C. Assess oral transmission of CWD in reindeer. 3. Investigate determinants of CWD persistence. A. Determine CWD host range using natural routes of transmission. B. Investigate the pathobiology of CWD.

 

1b. Approach (from AD-416): The studies will focus on three animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agents found in the United States: bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE); scrapie of sheep and goats; and chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer, elk, and moose. The research will address sites of accumulation, routes of infection, environmental persistence, and ante mortem diagnostics with an emphasis on controlled conditions and natural routes of infection. Techniques used will include clinical exams, histopathology, immunohistochemistry and biochemical analysis of proteins. The enhanced knowledge gained from this work will help mitigate the potential for unrecognized epidemic expansions of these diseases in populations of animals that could either directly or indirectly affect food animals.

 

3. Progress Report: Research efforts directed toward meeting objective 1 of our project plan include work in previous years starting with the inoculation of animals for studies designed to address the pathobiology of atypical scrapie, atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), as well as a genetic version of BSE. Post-mortem examination of the animals inoculated with atypical scrapie has been initiated and laboratory analysis of the tissues is ongoing. Atypical BSE animals have developed disease and evaluation of the samples is currently underway. Animals inoculated with a genetic version of BSE have developed disease with a manuscript reporting these results was published (2012), and additional laboratory comparisons of genetic BSE to atypical and classical BSE are ongoing. In addition, we have investigated the possibility that atypical scrapie was present earlier than previously detected in the national flock by analyzing archived field isolates using methods that were unavailable at the time of original diagnosis. Sample quality was sufficiently degraded that modern methods, beyond those applied to the tissues at the time the tissues were archived, were not suitable for evaluation. In research pertaining to objective 2, "Investigate the horizontal transmission of TSEs", we have initiated a study to determine if cohousing non-lambing scrapie inoculated sheep is sufficient to transmit scrapie to neonatal lambs. At this time, scrapie free ewes have lambed in the presence of scrapie inoculated animals and the lambs are cohoused with these inoculated animals.

 

4. Accomplishments 1. Changes in retinal function in cattle can be used to identify different types of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). BSE belongs to a group of fatal, transmissible protein misfolding diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Like other protein misfolding diseases including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, TSEs are generally not diagnosed until the onset of disease after the appearance of unequivocal clinical signs. As such, identification of the earliest clinical signs of disease may facilitate diagnosis. The retina is the most accessible part of the central nervous system. ARS scientist in Ames IA described antemortem changes in retinal function and thickness that are detectable in BSE inoculated animals up to 11 months prior to the appearance of any other signs of clinical disease. Differences in the severity of these clinical signs reflect the amount of PrPSc accumulation in the retina and the resulting inflammatory response of the tissue. These results are the earliest reported clinical signs associated with TSE infection and provide a basis for understanding the pathology and evaluating therapeutic interventions. Further, this work shows that High-type BSE and classical BSE can be differentiated by eye examination alone, the first time BSE strains have been differentiable in a live animal.

 

2. Sheep genetics influences the susceptibility of sheep to scrapie. Sheep scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that can be transmitted between affected animals resulting in significant economic losses in affected flocks. The prion protein gene (PRNP) profoundly influences the susceptibility of sheep to the scrapie agent and the tissue levels and distribution of PrPSc in affected sheep. In this study, sheep of 3 different prion genetic types (denoted VRQ/VRQ, VRQ/ARR and ARQ/ARR) were inoculated and subsequently euthanized upon onset of disease. Disease aspects were uniform across genotypes and consistent with manifestations of classical scrapie. Mean survival time differences were associated with the genetic type such that VRQ/VRQ sheep survived 18 months, whereas VRQ/ARR and ARQ/ARR sheep survived 60 and 56 months, respectively. Microscopic evaluation revealed similar accumulations in central nervous system tissues regardless of host genetic type. PrPSc in lymphoid tissue was consistently abundant in VRQ/VRQ, present but confined to tonsil or retropharyngeal lymph node in 4/5 VRQ/ARR, and totally absent in ARQ/ARR sheep. The results of this study demonstrate the susceptibility of sheep with the ARQ/ARR genotype to scrapie by the intracranial inoculation route with PrPSc accumulation in CNS tissues, but prolonged incubation times and lack of PrPSc in lymphoid tissue. These results are important for science based policy with regard to testing of sheep for scrapie where some live animal testing is conducted using lymphoid tissues which would not detect scrapie in some specific genetic types which could limit the national scrapie eradication program.

 

Review Publications Greenlee J.J. 2014. The prion diseases of animals. In: McManus, L.M., Mitchell, R.N., editors. Pathobiology of Human Disease. San Diego: Elsevier. p. 1124-1133. Greenlee, J.J., Kunkle, R.A., Richt, J.A., Nicholson, E.M., Hamir, A.N. 2014. Lack of prion accumulation in lymphoid tissues of PRNP ARQ/ARR sheep intracranially inoculated with the agent of scrapie. PLoS One. 9(9):e108029. Greenlee, J.J., West Greenlee, M.,H. 2015. The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies of livestock. ILAR Journal. 56(1):7-25. Munoz-Gutierrez, J.F., Schneider, D.A., Baszler, T.V., Dinkel, K.D., Greenlee, J.J., Nicholson, E.M., Stanton, J.J. 2015. hTERT-immortalized ovine microglia propagate natural scrapie isolates. Virus Research. 198:35-43. Nicholson, E.M. 2015. Detection of the disease-associated form of the prion protein in biological samples. Bioanalysis. 7(2):253-261. West Greenlee, M.H., Smith, J.D., Platt, E.M., Juarez, J.R., Timms, L.L, Greenlee, J.J. 2015. Changes in retinal function and morphology are early clinical signs of disease in cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy. PLoS ONE. 10(3):e0119431. Comoy, E.E., Mikol, J., Luccantoni-Freire, S., Correia, E., Lescoutra-Etchegaray, N., Durand, V., Dehen, C., Andreoletti, O., Casalone, C., Richt, J.A., Greenlee, J.J., Baron, T., Benestad, S., Brown, P., Deslys, J. 2015. Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent incubation period. Scientific Reports. 5:11573.

 


 

***Our study demonstrates susceptibility of adult cattle to oral transmission of classical BSE. ***

 

***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to sheep and human. ***

 

P.86: Estimating the risk of transmission of BSE and scrapie to ruminants and humans by protein misfolding cyclic amplification

 

Morikazu Imamura, Naoko Tabeta, Yoshifumi Iwamaru, and Yuichi Murayama National Institute of Animal Health; Tsukuba, Japan

 

To assess the risk of the transmission of ruminant prions to ruminants and humans at the molecular level, we investigated the ability of abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) of typical and atypical BSEs (L-type and H-type) and typical scrapie to convert normal prion protein (PrPC) from bovine, ovine, and human to proteinase K-resistant PrPSc-like form (PrPres) using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA).

 

Six rounds of serial PMCA was performed using 10% brain homogenates from transgenic mice expressing bovine, ovine or human PrPC in combination with PrPSc seed from typical and atypical BSE- or typical scrapie-infected brain homogenates from native host species. In the conventional PMCA, the conversion of PrPC to PrPres was observed only when the species of PrPC source and PrPSc seed matched. However, in the PMCA with supplements (digitonin, synthetic polyA and heparin), both bovine and ovine PrPC were converted by PrPSc from all tested prion strains. On the other hand, human PrPC was converted by PrPSc from typical and H-type BSE in this PMCA condition.

 

Although these results were not compatible with the previous reports describing the lack of transmissibility of H-type BSE to ovine and human transgenic mice, ***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to sheep and human. Bioassay will be required to determine whether the PMCA products are infectious to these animals.

 

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***Our study demonstrates susceptibility of adult cattle to oral transmission of classical BSE. ***

 

P.86: Estimating the risk of transmission of BSE and scrapie to ruminants and humans by protein misfolding cyclic amplification

 

Morikazu Imamura, Naoko Tabeta, Yoshifumi Iwamaru, and Yuichi Murayama National Institute of Animal Health; Tsukuba, Japan

 

To assess the risk of the transmission of ruminant prions to ruminants and humans at the molecular level, we investigated the ability of abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) of typical and atypical BSEs (L-type and H-type) and typical scrapie to convert normal prion protein (PrPC) from bovine, ovine, and human to proteinase K-resistant PrPSc-like form (PrPres) using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA).

 

Six rounds of serial PMCA was performed using 10% brain homogenates from transgenic mice expressing bovine, ovine or human PrPC in combination with PrPSc seed from typical and atypical BSE- or typical scrapie-infected brain homogenates from native host species. In the conventional PMCA, the conversion of PrPC to PrPres was observed only when the species of PrPC source and PrPSc seed matched. However, in the PMCA with supplements (digitonin, synthetic polyA and heparin), both bovine and ovine PrPC were converted by PrPSc from all tested prion strains. On the other hand, human PrPC was converted by PrPSc from typical and H-type BSE in this PMCA condition.

 

Although these results were not compatible with the previous reports describing the lack of transmissibility of H-type BSE to ovine and human transgenic mice, ***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to sheep and human. Bioassay will be required to determine whether the PMCA products are infectious to these animals.

 

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Saturday, May 30, 2015

 

PRION 2015 ORAL AND POSTER CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS

 


 


 

PRION 2015 CONFERENCE FT. COLLINS CWD RISK FACTORS TO HUMANS

 

*** LATE-BREAKING ABSTRACTS PRION 2015 CONFERENCE ***

 

O18

 

Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions

 

Liuting Qing1, Ignazio Cali1,2, Jue Yuan1, Shenghai Huang3, Diane Kofskey1, Pierluigi Gambetti1, Wenquan Zou1, Qingzhong Kong1 1Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 2Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy, 3Encore Health Resources, Houston, Texas, USA

 

*** These results indicate that the CWD prion has the potential to infect human CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues and that there might be asymptomatic human carriers of CWD infection.

 

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***These results indicate that the CWD prion has the potential to infect human CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues and that there might be asymptomatic human carriers of CWD infection.***

 

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P.105: RT-QuIC models trans-species prion transmission

 

Kristen Davenport, Davin Henderson, Candace Mathiason, and Edward Hoover Prion Research Center; Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA

 

Conversely, FSE maintained sufficient BSE characteristics to more efficiently convert bovine rPrP than feline rPrP. Additionally, human rPrP was competent for conversion by CWD and fCWD.

 

***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously estimated.

 

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***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously estimated.***

 

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***P.170: Potential detection of oral transmission of H type atypical BSE in cattle using in vitro conversion

 

Sandor Dudas, John G Gray, Renee Clark, and Stefanie Czub Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Lethbridge, AB Canada

 

Keywords: Atypical BSE, oral transmission, RT-QuIC

 

The detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has had a significant negative impact on the cattle industry worldwide. In response, governments took actions to prevent transmission and additional threats to animal health and food safety. While these measures seem to be effective for controlling classical BSE, the more recently discovered atypical BSE has presented a new challenge. To generate data for risk assessment and control measures, we have challenged cattle orally with atypical BSE to determine transmissibility and mis-folded prion (PrPSc) tissue distribution. Upon presentation of clinical symptoms, animals were euthanized and tested for characteristic histopathological changes as well as PrPSc deposition.

 

The H-type challenged animal displayed vacuolation exclusively in rostral brain areas but the L-type challenged animal showed no evidence thereof. To our surprise, neither of the animals euthanized, which were displaying clinical signs indicative of BSE, showed conclusive mis-folded prion accumulation in the brain or gut using standard molecular or immunohistochemical assays. To confirm presence or absence of prion infectivity, we employed an optimized real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay developed at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Hamilton, USA.

 

Detection of PrPSc was unsuccessful for brain samples tests from the orally inoculated L type animal using the RT-QuIC. It is possible that these negative results were related to the tissue sampling locations or that type specific optimization is needed to detect PrPSc in this animal. We were however able to consistently detect the presence of mis-folded prions in the brain of the H-type inoculated animal. Considering the negative and inconclusive results with other PrPSc detection methods, positive results using the optimized RT-QuIC suggests the method is extremely sensitive for H-type BSE detection. This may be evidence of the first successful oral transmission of H type atypical BSE in cattle and additional investigation of samples from these animals are ongoing.

 

P.169: PrPSc distribution in brain areas of a natural German H-type BSE case

 

Anne Balkema-Buschmann, Grit Priemer, Markus Keller, and Martin H Groschup Friedrich Loeffler Institut, Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases; Greifswald, Insel Riems, Germany

 

Keywords: BSE H-type, brain, muscle

 

Ten years after the initial description of atypical BSE cases of the H-type and L-type, the distribution of PrPSc in different brain areas and peripheral tissues of natural cases of these BSE forms is still not fully understood. Intracerebral challenge experiments have been performed with both atypical BSE forms in cattle, and the distribution of the abnormal prion protein and infectivity has been analysed in a variety of tissues, confirming the general restriction to the central nervous system as it was already generally acknowledged for classical BSE, but showing a slightly earlier and stronger involvement of the peripheral nervous system and the skeletal muscle. www.landesbioscience.com Prion 105

 

However, data from cattle orally challenged with atypical BSE, which might mimic the natural situation, are not yet available. Unfortunately, for most natural cases of atypical BSE, only the obex region is available for further analysis. The PrPSc distribution in the brains of natural L-type BSE cases in Italy has been described in some detail, but comparably few such data are yet available for natural H-type cases. Here we describe the analysis of different brain areas and muscle samples of a natural H-type BSE case diagnosed in Germany in 2014, and compare these data with those obtained from the respective samples collected from cattle challenged intracerebrally with H-type BSE.

 

*** P.159: Transgenic mice overexpressing rabbit prion protein are susceptible to BSE, BASE and scrapie prion strains but resistant to CWD and atypical scrapie

 

Natalia Fernández-Borges,1 Enric Vidal,2 Belén Pintado,4 Hasier Eraña,1 Montserrat Ordóñez,3 Mercedes Márquez,5 Francesca Chianini,6 Dolors Fondevila,5 Manuel A Sánchez-Martín,7 Olivier Andréoletti,8 Mark P Dagleish,6 Martí Pumarola,5 and Joaquín Castilla1,3 1CIC bioGUNE; Parque tecnológico de Bizkaia; Derio; Bizkaia, Spain; 2Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA); UAB-IR TA, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Bellaterra; Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; 3IKERBASQUE; Basque Foundation for Science; Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain; 4Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Campus de Cantoblanco; Cantoblanco; Madrid, Spain; 5Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery; Veterinary faculty; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB); Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès); Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; 6Moredun Research Institute; Bush Loan, Penicuik, Scotland, UK; 7Unidad de Generación de OMGs. S.E.A. Department of Medicine; University of Salamanca; Salamanca, Spain; 8Ecole Nationale du Veterinaire; Service de Pathologie du Bétail; Toulouse, France

 

Interspecies transmission of prions is a well established phenomenon, both experimentally and in field conditions. Upon passage through new hosts prion strains have proven their capacity to change their properties. It is, in fact, a source of strain diversity which needs to be considered when assessing the potential risks associated with consumption of prion contaminated protein sources.

 

Rabbits were considered for decades a prion resistant species until proven recently otherwise. To determine the extent of rabbit susceptibility to prions and to assess their effects on the passage of different prion strains through this species, a transgenic mouse model overexpressing rabbit PrPC was developed (TgRab). Intracerebral challenges with prion strains originating from a variety of species including field isolates (SSBP1 scrapie, Nor98-like scrapie, BSE, BASE and CWD), experimental murine strains (ME7 and RML), experimentally obtained strains (sheepBSE) and strains obtained by in vitro crossing of the species barrier using saPMCA (BSE-RabPrPres, SSBP1-RabPrPres and CWD-RabPrPres) have been performed.

 

Interestingly, on first passage, TgRab were susceptible to the majority of prions tested with the exception of SSBP1 scrapie, CWD and Nor98 scrapie. Furthermore TgRab were capable of propagating strain-specific features such as differences in incubation periods, brain lesion and PrPd deposition profiles and PK resistant western blotting band patterns. Our results confirm previous studies shattering the myth that rabbits are resistant to prion infection and this should be taken into account when choosing protein sources to feed rabbits.

 

P.168: Evolution of the biological properties of L-BSE after passage in sheep with susceptible and resistant PrP genotypes

 

Michele A Di Bari, Umberto Agrimi, Claudia D’Agostino, Geraldina Riccardi, Stefano Marcon, Elena Esposito, Paolo Frassanito, Flavio Torriani, Shimon Simson, and Romolo Nonno Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety; Rome, Italy

 

Background. Cattle L-BSE was efficiently transmitted to sheep with susceptible (QQ171) and resistant (QR171) PrP genotypes. 1 Notably, the PrPSc signature of L-BSE was preserved in QQ171 sheep but not in QR171 sheep.2 Notwithstanding, bioassay in transgenic mice expressing bovine or ovine (ARQ) PrPC showed that L-BSE strain was preserved in both, QQ171 and QR171 sheep-passaged L-BSE.3

 

Here we studied the biological properties of sheep-passaged L-BSE by bioassay in bank voles and transgenic mice expressing the ovine VRQ PrP (tg338), both characterized by a comparatively low susceptibility to cattle L-BSE.

 

Material and Methods. Voles and tg338 mice were intracerebrally inoculated with cattle L-BSE and sheep-passaged (QQ171 and QR171) L-BSE isolates. Survival time, lesion profiles, Pet-blot and WB analysis were used for strain typing. Results. Cattle L-BSE transmitted quite inefficiently to tg338 mice, with survival time >400 days post-infection (d.p.i.), while sheep-passaged inocula were much more efficient and all gave terminal disease by ~140 d.p.i. However, after sub-passage all inocula converged to a survival time of ~145 d.p.i.. and showed overlapping pathological phenotypes.

 

In voles, cattle L-BSE transmitted with very long survival times (~800 d.p.i.) and was accompanied by an upward shift of the PrPSc type. Again, all sheep-passaged L-BSE isolates transmitted much more efficiently, with similar survival times of ~360 d.p.i.. Upon second passage, three different strains were isolated in vole, characterized by distinct pathological phenotypes. This divergence is epitomized by the different survival times of vole-adapted L-BSE strains, which were ~400 d.p.i. for cattle L-BSE, ~130 d.p.i. for QQ171-passaged L-BSE and ~225 d.p.i. for QR171-passaged L-BSE.

 

Conclusions. These findings, along with previously published data,3 show that the original L-BSE strain was recovered after passage in sheep when bioassay was performed in animal models expressing bovine or ovine PrPC. In contrast, strain changes were observed in both, QQ171- and QR171-passaged L-BSE by bioassay in vole, a species with divergent PrP sequence compared to ruminants. Importantly, QQ171- and QR171-passaged L-BSE were characterised by different PrPSc types and, accordingly, showed different biological properties when transmitted to voles, but not when transmitted to other animal models.

 

Overall, our work support the hypothesis that prion isolates are likely composed of multiple prion components, emphasizes the role of host PrP polymorphisms on strain selection and mutation, and highlights the risk for new potentially zoonotic strains that could emerge from prion evolution in animal reservoirs.

 

P.172: BSE exposure risk from bovine intestine and mesentery

 

Fulvio Barizzone,1 Herbert Budka,2 Christine Fast,3 John N Griffin,4 Giuseppe Ru,5 Pietro Stella1 and Olivier Andréoletti6 1European Food Safety Authority; Parma, Italy; 2Institute of Neuropathology; University Hospital Zurich; Zurich, Switzerland; 3Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut; Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases; Isle of Riems, Germany; 4Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Backweston, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland; 5Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte; Liguria e Valle d’Aosta; Biostatistics Epidemiology and Analysis of Risk (BEAR) unit; Turin, Italy; 6UMR Interactions Hôtes Agents Pathogènes; Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire INR A; ENVT; Toulouse, France

 

Keywords: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), cattle, intestine, mesentery, specified risk material (SRM), quantitative risk assessment (QRA)

 

Bovine intestines and mesenteries in the European Union (EU) are considered among the tissues potentially containing the highest level of BSE infectivity and have to be removed from the food and feed chain. A quantitative assessment of the BSE infectious load potentially entering the food and feed chain yearly in the European Union (EU) was developed. The evolution of the BSE infectious titre and of the weight of the structures accumulating infectivity was considered. The number of BSE infected cattle entering undetected in the food and feed chain yearly was estimated. A model (TSEi) was developed to estimates the evolution of the BSE infectious load in animals and the total yearly infectious load that could enter the food and feed chain. In a BSE infected bovine, the distribution of infectivity in intestines and mesentery varies with the age. Up to 36 months of age the infectivity is mainly associated (on average more than 90%) with the last 4 metres of small intestine and the caecum, over 36 and under 60 months of age, there is an inter-individual variability, from 60 months of age the infectivity is mainly associated (on average more than 90%) with the mesenteric nerves and the celiac and mesenteric ganglion complex. The total amount of infectivity peaks, about 15 BoID50, in animals younger than 18 months, it declines to 8-9 BoID50 (24–48 months of age) and it drops to 0.7 BoID50 in animals older than 60 months. The ileocaecal plate is the most infectious part of the intestine and it can be used to estimate the potential maximum level of exposure for an individual consumer.

 

In the EU, between 2007 and 2012, the yearly amount of BSE infectivity associated with intestine and mesentery from animals entering the food and feed chain was reduced by a factor of 10 (from about 23,000 to about 2,000 BoID50).

 

However, the maximum level of exposure to the BSE agent from intestine remained stable (on average about 1.5-1.6 BoID50 per meter).

 

In case of re-emergence of BSE in the EU there would be an increase of the potential maximum level of exposure to BSE from intestine. According to the TSEi model the removal of the last four metres of the small intestine and of the caecum from the food and feed chain would result in a major reduction of the BSE exposure risk associated with intestine and mesentery in cattle.

 

P.131: Transmission of sheep-bovine spongiform encephalopathy in pigs

 

Carlos Hedman,1 Belén Marín,1 Fabian Corbière,3 Hicham Filali,1 Francisco Vázquez, José Luis Pitarch,1 William Jirón,1 Rodrigo S Hernandez,1 Bernardino Moreno,1 Martí Pumarola,2 Olivier Andréoletti,3 Juan José Badiola,1 and Rosa Bolea1 1University of Zaragoza; Zaragoza, Spain; 2University of Barcelona; Barcelona, Spain; 3Institut National de la Recherche (INR A); Toulouse, France

 

Introduction. The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) don´t occur in swine in natural conditions. However, the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent, inoculated by 3 simultaneous routes in pigs, is able to reproduce a neurological disease in these animals. On the other hand, the BSE agent after passage in sheep under experimental conditions (sheep- BSE) exhibits altered pathobiologic properties. This new agent is able to cross the cattle-pig transmission barrier more efficiently than BSE. The potential propagation of TSE in animals from the human food chain, including pigs, needs to be assessed regarding the risk for human infection by animals other than TSE-infected ruminants. The aim of this work was to determine the susceptibility of pigs to the Sheep-BSE agent and describe the pathological findings and PrPSc deposition in different tissues.

 

Material and Methods. Seven minipigs were challenged intracerebrally with sheep-BSE agent. Clinical observation and postmortem histopathology, immunohistochemistry (antibody 2G11) and Western blotting were performed on central nervous system (CNS), peripheral nervous system (PNS) and other tissues.

 

Results. One pig was culled in an early incubation stage, and remaining six were culled at the presence of clinical sings. Pigs developed a clinical disease with locomotor disorders in an average time of 23 months post inoculation, showing clinical findings in most of them earlier than those described in the BSE in pigs experimental infection. TSE wasn´t confirmed in the preclinical pig. In clinical pigs, the entire cerebral cortex showed severe neuropil vacuolation, extensive and severe vacuolar changes affecting the thalamus, hippocampus and cerebellum. PrPSc was found in CNS of all clinical pigs (6/6). Intracellular (intraneuronal and intraglial) and neuropil-associated PrPSc deposition was consistently observed in the brainstem, thalamus, and deeper layers of the cerebral cortex. Also, PrPSc was observed in PNS, mainly in the myenteric plexus and also in nerves belonging to the skeleton muscle. Moreover, the glycosylation profile showed a 3 band pattern with a predominant monoglycosylated band in positive pig samples.

 

This features concern on the potential risk of utilization of meat and bound meal of small ruminants in feeding pigs.

 

P.177: Elements modulating the prion species barrier and its passage consequences

 

Juan-Carlos Espinosa,1 Patricia Aguilar-Calvo,1 Ana Villa-Diaz,1 Olivier Andréoletti,2 and Juan María Torres1 1Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INI A); Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain; 2UMR INR A-ENVT 1225; Interactions Hôte Agent Pathogène; École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse; Toulouse, France

 

The phenotypic features of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) strains may be modified during passage across a species barrier. In this study we investigated the biochemical and biological characteristics of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) infectious agent after transmission in both natural host species (cattle, sheep, pigs, and mice) and in transgenic mice overexpressing the corresponding cellular prion protein (PrPC) in comparison with other non-BSE related prions from the same species. After these passages, most characteristics of the BSE agent remained unchanged. BSE-derived agents only showed slight modifications in the biochemical properties of the accumulated PrPSc, which were demonstrated to be reversible upon re-inoculation into transgenic mice expressing bovine-PrPC. Transmission experiments in transgenic mice expressing bovine, porcine or human-PrP revealed that all BSE-derived agents were transmitted with no or a weak transmission barrier. In contrast, a high species barrier was observed for the non-BSE related prions that harboured an identical PrP amino acid sequence such as sheep-scrapie, mouse RML or human sCJD isolates, supporting the theory that the prion transmission barrier is modulated by strain properties (presumably conformation-dependent) rather than by PrP amino acid sequence differences between host and donor.

 

As identical results were observed with prions propagated either in natural hosts or in transgenic mouse models, we postulate that the species barrier and its passage consequences are uniquely governed by the host PrPC sequence and not influenced by the PrPC expression level or genetic factors other than the PrPC amino acid sequence. All these findings unequivocally demonstrate that the species barrier and its passage consequences are uniquely driven by the PrPC sequence, and not by other host genetic factors, demonstrating the validity of transgenic PrP animals as models for studies of the species barrier.

 

The results presented herein reinforce the idea that the BSE agent is highly promiscuous, infecting other species, maintaining its properties in the new species, and even increasing its capabilities to jump to other species including humans. These data are essential for the development of an accurate risk assessment for BSE.

 

SNIP...SEE FULL TEXT ;

 

Monday, June 23, 2014

 

*** PRION 2014 TYPICAL AND ATYPICAL BSE AND CJD REPORT UPDATES

 


 

Sunday, June 29, 2014

 

*** Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease North America 2014

 


 

snip...see full report here ;

 


 

 *** Calling Canadian beef unsafe is like calling your twin sister ugly," Dopp said.

 

Thursday, August 25, 2016

 

*** FSIS Green Bay Dressed Beef Recalls Beef Products Due To Possible Specified Risk Materials Contamination the most high risk materials for BSE TSE PRION AKA MAD COW TYPE DISEASE ***

 


 

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

 

*** Concurrence with OIE Risk Designations for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy [Docket No. APHIS-2015-0055]

 


 

Saturday, July 23, 2016

 

*** BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE TSE PRION SURVEILLANCE, TESTING, AND SRM REMOVAL UNITED STATE OF AMERICA UPDATE JULY 2016

 


 

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

 

*** Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE TSE Prion UPDATE JULY 2016

 


 

SPECIFIED RISK MATERIALS SRMs

 


 

USDA BSE TSE PRION SURVEILLANCE, FEED, TESTING, SRM FIREWALLS...LMAO!

 

THE USDA FDA TRIPLE MAD COW DISEASE FIREWALL, WERE NOTHING MORE THAN INK ON PAPER !

 

infamous august 4, 1997 BSE TSE prion mad cow feed ban, part of usda fda et al TRIPLE MAD COW FIREWALL, 10 YEARS AFTER ;

 

10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. BLOOD LACED MBM IN COMMERCE USA 2007

 

Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II PRODUCT Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling's 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried, Recall # V-024-2007 CODE Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007 RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.

 

Firm initiated recall is ongoing. REASON Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was cross- contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.

 

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE 42,090 lbs. DISTRIBUTION WI

 

___________________________________

 

PRODUCT Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL Prot- Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal, TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI - 8# SPECIAL DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J - PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY, A- BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007 CODE The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with commodity and weights identified. RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007.

 

Firm initiated recall is complete. REASON Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.

 

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE 9,997,976 lbs. DISTRIBUTION ID and NV

 

END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007

 


 

16 years post mad cow feed ban August 1997

 

2013

 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

 

FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OIA UPDATE DECEMBER 2013 UPDATE

 


 

17 years post mad cow feed ban August 1997

 

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

 

FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OAI UPDATE DECEMBER 2014 BSE TSE PRION

 


 

*** Monday, October 26, 2015 ***

 

*** FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OIA UPDATE October 2015 ***

 


 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

 

*** Protocol for further laboratory investigations into the distribution of infectivity of Atypical BSE SCIENTIFIC REPORT OF EFSA New protocol for Atypical BSE investigations

 


 

*** Singeltary reply ; Molecular, Biochemical and Genetic Characteristics of BSE in Canada Singeltary reply ;

 


 

SPECIFIED RISK MATERIAL SRM

 


 

DID YOUR CHILD CONSUME SOME OF THESE DEAD STOCK DOWNER COWS, THE MOST HIGH RISK FOR MAD COW DISEASE ??? this recall was not for the welfare of the animals. ...tss

 


 

you can check and see here ; (link now dead, does not work...tss)

 


 

see listings of schools from state to state, county to county, was your child exposed ;

 

try this link ;

 


 


 

*** Calling Canadian beef unsafe is like calling your twin sister ugly," Dopp said.

 

Thursday, August 25, 2016

 

*** FSIS Green Bay Dressed Beef Recalls Beef Products Due To Possible Specified Risk Materials Contamination the most high risk materials for BSE TSE PRION AKA MAD COW TYPE DISEASE ***

 


 

Saturday, July 16, 2016

 

*** Importation of Sheep, Goats, and Certain Other Ruminants [Docket No. APHIS-2009-0095]RIN 0579-AD10

 

WITH great disgust and concern, I report to you that the OIE, USDA, APHIS, are working to further legalize the trading of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Pion disease around the globe.

 

THIS is absolutely insane. it’s USDA INC.

 


 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

 

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

 


 

Monday, June 20, 2016

 

*** Specified Risk Materials SRMs BSE TSE Prion Program ***

 


 

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

 

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

 


 

***Moreover, sporadic disease has never been observed in breeding colonies or primate research laboratories, most notably among hundreds of animals over several decades of study at the National Institutes of Health25, and in nearly twenty older animals continuously housed in our own facility.***

 


 

ATYPICAL BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE TSE PRION DISEASE

 

>>> Both of the atypical BSE subtypes are believed to occur spontaneously,<<<

 

LMAO!

 

LOL!

 

this is a myth, never proven, based on the myth of sporadic cjd, which we now know is either iatrogenic or zoonotic. it’s also why France wanted or did stop testing for madcow disease, because France and Poland had an epidemic of atypical BSE cases, thus proving imo, it was NOT spontaneous...we know now that the zoonotic potential is very real for scrapie, bse, and cwd, and it may have already happened, and is being masked as sporadic cjd cases...

 

SPONTANEOUS ATYPICAL BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY

 

***Moreover, sporadic disease has never been observed in breeding colonies or primate research laboratories, most notably among hundreds of animals over several decades of study at the National Institutes of Health25, and in nearly twenty older animals continuously housed in our own facility.***

 


 

Discussion: The C, L and H type BSE cases in Canada exhibit molecular characteristics similar to those described for classical and atypical BSE cases from Europe and Japan. This supports the theory that the importation of BSE contaminated feedstuff is the source of C-type BSE in Canada.

 

*** It also suggests a similar cause or source for atypical BSE in these countries.

 


 

Maximizing profits is all that is going on now, thanks to the OIE BSE MRR policy, the legal trading of all strains of TSE prion disease globally. ...Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

 

atypical BSE spontaneous sporadic ???

 

Saturday, May 26, 2012

 

Are USDA assurances on mad cow case 'gross oversimplification'?

 

SNIP...

 

*** What irks many scientists is the USDA’s April 25 statement that the rare disease is “not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed.”

 

*** The USDA’s conclusion is a “gross oversimplification,” said Dr. Paul Brown, one of the world’s experts on this type of disease who retired recently from the National Institutes of Health.

 

*** "(The agency) has no foundation on which to base that statement.”

 

*** “We can’t say it’s not feed related,” agreed Dr. Linda Detwiler, an official with the USDA during the Clinton Administration now at Mississippi State.

 

*** In the May 1 email to me, USDA’s Cole backed off a bit. “No one knows the origins of atypical cases of BSE,” she said

 

*** The argument about feed is critical because if feed is the cause, not a spontaneous mutation, the California cow could be part of a larger outbreak.

 

SNIP...

 


 

Atypical BSE...Spontaneous...LOL

 

BSE identified in France

 

​Posted May 2, 2016

 

A cow in northern France has been confirmed to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

 

The cow had developed partial paralysis and was euthanized March 1, a March 25 OIE report states.

 

BSE is a fatal neurologic prion disease with a typical incubation period of four to five years. The cow in France was almost 5 years old.

 

The affected cow had the classic form of BSE, which is most often associated with feed containing neurologic tissue from infected animals. It is distinct from atypical BSE, which may develop spontaneously, according to information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

Investigators were trying to identify the source of infection and other animals at risk for BSE at the time the report was published.

 


 

The affected bovine, a Salers female born on April, 8th 2011, showed paresis and was euthanized on March, 1st 2016. Samples made on March, 4th 2016 during rendering were analyzed at the Department Laboratory of La Somme. The rapid test proved positive on March, 8th 2016 and the samples were then sent for further analysis to the National Reference Laboratory, ANSES, which confirmed a case of classical BSE on March, 21st 2016. The European Union Reference Laboratory confirmed those results on the basis of documentation on March, 23rd 2016.

 


 

>>> It is distinct from atypical BSE, which may develop spontaneously, according to information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

THIS IS A MYTH $$$

 

***atypical spontaneous BSE in France LOL***

 

FRANCE STOPS TESTING FOR MAD COW DISEASE BSE, and here’s why, to many spontaneous events of mad cow disease $$$

 

***so 20 cases of atypical BSE in France, compared to the remaining 40 cases in the remaining 12 Countries, divided by the remaining 12 Countries, about 3+ cases per country, besides Frances 20 cases. you cannot explain this away with any spontaneous BSe. ...TSS

 

Sunday, October 5, 2014

 

France stops BSE testing for Mad Cow Disease

 


 

Thursday, March 24, 2016

 

FRANCE CONFIRMS BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE MAD COW (ESB) chez une vache dans les Ardennes

 


 

***atypical spontaneous BSE in France LOL***

 

FRANCE STOPS TESTING FOR MAD COW DISEASE BSE, and here’s why, to many spontaneous events of mad cow disease $$$

 

If you Compare France to other Countries with atypical BSE, in my opinion, you cannot explain this with ‘spontaneous’.

 

Table 1: Number of Atypical BSE cases reported by EU Member States in the period 2001–2014 by country and by type (L- and H-BSE) (extracted from EU BSE databases on 1 July 2014). By 2015, these data might be more comprehensive following a request from the European Commission to Member States for re-testing and retrospective classification of all positive bovine isolates in the EU in the years 2003–2009

 

BSE type

 

Country 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013(a) 2014(a) Total

 

H-BSE Austria 1 1

 

France(b) 1 2 3 1 2 2 2 2 15

 

Germany 1 1 2

 

Ireland 1 1 2 1 5

 

The Netherlands 1 1

 

Poland 1 1 2

 

Portugal 1 1

 

Spain 1 1 2

 

Sweden 1 1

 

United Kingdom 1 1 1 1 1 5

 

Total 2 3 3 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 5 1 4 1 35

 

L-BSE Austria 1 1 2

 

Denmark 1 1

 

France(b) 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 1 14

 

Germany 1 1 2

 

Italy 1 1 1 1 1 5

 

The Netherlands 1 1 1 3

 

Poland 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 12

 

Spain 2 2

 

United Kingdom 1 1 1 1 4

 

Total 0 5 3 4 3 3 6 3 3 4 3 6 1 1 45

 

Total Atypical cases (H + L)

 

2 8 6 5 4 5 8 5 7 8 8 7 5 2 80

 

(a): Data for 2013-2014 are incomplete and may not include all cases/countries reported.

 

(b): France has performed extensive retrospective testing to classify BSE cases, which is probably the explanation for the higher number of Atypical BSE cases reported in this country.

 

The number of Atypical BSE cases detected in countries that have already identified them seems to be similar from year to year. In France, a retrospective study of all TSE-positive cattle identified through the compulsory EU surveillance between 2001 and 2007 indicated that the prevalence of H-BSE and L-BSE was 0.35 and 0.41 cases per million adult cattle tested, respectively, which increased to 1.9 and 1.7 cases per million, respectively, in tested animals over eight years old (Biacabe et al., 2008). No comprehensive study on the prevalence of Atypical BSE cases has yet been carried out in other EU Member States. All cases of Atypical BSE reported in the EU BSE databases have been identified by active surveillance testing (59 % in fallen stock, 38 % in healthy slaughtered cattle and 4 % in emergency slaughtered cattle). Cases were reported in animals over eight years of age, with the exception of two cases (one H-BSE and one L-BSE) detected in Spain in 2011/2012. One additional case of H-BSE was detected in Switzerland in 2012 in a cow born in Germany in 2005 (Guldimann et al., 2012).

 


 


 

Atypical BSE study protocol

 

EFSA Journal 2014;12(7):3798 8

 

Table 1: Number of Atypical BSE cases reported by EU Member States in the period 2001–2014 by country and by type (L- and H-BSE) (extracted from EU BSE databases on 1 July 2014). By 2015, these data might be more comprehensive following a request from the European Commission to Member States for re-testing and retrospective classification of all positive bovine isolates in the EU in the years 2003–2009

 

BSE type Country 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013(a) 2014(a) Total

 

H-BSE

 

Austria 1 1

 

France(b) 1 2 3 1 2 2 2 2 15

 

Germany 1 1 2 Ireland 1 1 2 1 5

 

The Netherlands 1 1

 

Poland 1 1 2

 

Portugal 1 1

 

Spain 1 1 2

 

Sweden 1 1

 

United Kingdom 1 1 1 1 1 5

 

Total 2 3 3 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 5 1 4 1 35

 

L-BSE

 

Austria 1 1 2

 

Denmark 1 1

 

France(b) 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 1 14

 

Germany 1 1 2 Italy 1 1 1 1 1 5

 

The Netherlands 1 1 1 3

 

Poland 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 12

 

Spain 2 2

 

United Kingdom 1 1 1 1 4

 

Total 0 5 3 4 3 3 6 3 3 4 3 6 1 1 45

 

Total Atypical cases (H + L) 2 8 6 5 4 5 8 5 7 8 8 7 5 2 80

 

(a): Data for 2013-2014 are incomplete and may not include all cases/countries reported.

 

(b): France has performed extensive retrospective testing to classify BSE cases, which is probably the explanation for the higher number of Atypical BSE cases reported in this country.

 

snip...

 


 

> (b): France has performed extensive retrospective testing to classify BSE cases, which is probably the explanation for the higher number of Atypical BSE cases reported in this country.

 

LOL!!!

 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

 

*** Protocol for further laboratory investigations into the distribution of infectivity of Atypical BSE SCIENTIFIC REPORT OF EFSA New protocol for Atypical BSE investigations

 


 

Sunday, October 5, 2014

 

*** France stops BSE testing for Mad Cow Disease

 


 

we have seen the spontaneous BSE epidemic in France, what about the other HIGH INCIDENCE ATYPICAL BSE COUNTRY OF POLAND, another atypical spontaneous event of high incidence. how can this be blamed on a happenstance of nothing, i.e. old age? goes against all junk science to date on the spontaneous atypical BSE i.e.

 

> In 2015, the OIE determined that atypical BSE occurred spontaneously at a low rate in all cattle populations and would be excluded for BSE risk. ...

 

>Atypical BSE occurs in older cattle, usually 8 years of age or greater, and does not appear to be associated with contaminated feed. Like classic or sporadic CJD in humans, it seems to arise rarely and spontaneously.

 

and if you believe that lie, myth, junk science, then you will believe this i.e.

 

> Regulations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have prohibited the inclusion of mammalian protein in feed for cattle and other ruminants since 1997 and have also prohibited high risk tissue materials in all animal feed since 2009.

 


 

LAUGH OUT LOUD ! LOL!

 

POLAND ATYPICAL BSE AND SPORADIC CJD

 

Issue 2 Journal for Veterinary Medicine, Biotechnology and Biosafety

 

Volume 1, Issue 2, June 2015, Pages 12–14

 

ISSN 2411-3174 (print version) ISSN 2411-0388 (online version)

 

EPIDEmIOLOGY Of BOVINE SPONGIfORm ENCEPHALOPATHY IN CATTLE IN POLAND

 

Polak M. P., Zmudzinski J. F.

 

National Veterinary Research Institute, Pulawy, Poland e-mail: ppolak@piwet.pulawy.pl

 

Download PDF (print version)

 

Citation for print version: Polak M. P. and Zmudzinski J. F. (2015) ‘Epidemiology of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle in Poland’, Journal for Veterinary Medicine, Biotechnology and Biosafety, 1(2), pp. 12–14.

 

Download PDF (online version)

 

Citation for online version: Polak M. P. and Zmudzinski J. F. (2015) ‘Epidemiology of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle in Poland’, Journal for Veterinary Medicine, Biotechnology and Biosafety. [Online] 1(2), pp. 12–14. Available at:

 


 

Summary. The aim of the paper was to present the epidemiological situation regarding BSE epidemic in Poland with respect to cattle population, active surveillance and the control measures. Epidemiological data from the archives of the national reference laboratory for animal TSEs at the National Veterinary Research Institute and from the archives of the General Veterinary Inspectorate in Warsaw were used in the study. Between 2001 and the end of April 2015 BSE was diagnosed in 75 animals. Sixty one cases were classical BSE and 14 were atypical BSE (12 of L-type and 2 of H-type). Almost 6 million animals were tested using rapid tests. Dynamics of C-type BSE shows constant rise until 2005 when the highest number of cases (20) was recorded with sharp drop in the following years. Prevalence of atypical BSE shows stable trend with slight fluctuations. Traditional feeding was used in 65 and 90% of classical and atypical BSE cases, respectively. On the other hand, traditional feed was supplemented with MBM and milk replacers in 46 and 10% of classical and atypical BSE cases, respectively. Despite the high infectious load introduced into Poland especially with MBM, the number of cases was relatively low. In Poland, relatively high number of atypical BSE cases was recorded, comprising 19% of all BSE-positive animals. Mean age of classical BSE cases diagnosed annually does not show a decreasing trend which may reflect the late introduction of feed ban in Poland.

 

Keywords: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Poland, prevalence, prion protein, control measures

 


 

O.08: H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy associated with E211K prion protein polymorphism: Clinical and pathologic features in wild-type and E211K cattle following intracranial inoculation

 

S Jo Moore, M Heather West Greenlee, Jodi Smith, Eric Nicholson, Cathy Vrentas, and Justin Greenlee

 

United States Department of Agriculture; Ames, IA USA

 

In 2006 an H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case was reported in an animal with an unusual polymorphism (E211K) in the prion protein gene. Although the prevalence of this polymorphism is low, cattle carrying the K211 allele are predisposed to rapid onset of H-type BSE when exposed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenotype of this BSE strain in wild-type (E211E) and E211K heterozygous cattle.

 

One calf carrying the wild-type allele and one E211K calf were inoculated intracranially with H-type BSE brain homogenate from the US 2006 case that also carried one K211 allelle. In addition, one wild-type calf and one E211K calf were inoculated intracranially with brain homogenate from a US 2003 classical BSE case. All animals succumbed to clinical disease. Survival times for E211K H-type BSE inoculated catttle (10 and 18 months) were shorter than the classical BSE inoculated cattle (both 26 months). Significant changes in retinal function were observed in H-type BSE challenged cattle only. Animals challenged with the same inoculum showed similar severity and neuroanatomical distribution of vacuolation and disease-associated prion protein deposition in the brain, though differences in neuropathology were observed between E211K H-type BSE and classical BSE inoculated animals. Western blot results for brain tissue from challenged animals were consistent with the inoculum strains.

 

This study demonstrates that the phenotype of E211K H-type BSE remains stable when transmitted to cattle without the E211K polymorphism, and exhibits a number of features that differ from classical BSE in both wild-type and E211K cattle.

 

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

 

P.86: Estimating the risk of transmission of BSE and scrapie to ruminants and humans by protein misfolding cyclic amplification

 

Morikazu Imamura, Naoko Tabeta, Yoshifumi Iwamaru, and Yuichi Murayama

 

National Institute of Animal Health; Tsukuba, Japan

 

To assess the risk of the transmission of ruminant prions to ruminants and humans at the molecular level, we investigated the ability of abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) of typical and atypical BSEs (L-type and H-type) and typical scrapie to convert normal prion protein (PrPC) from bovine, ovine, and human to proteinase K-resistant PrPSc-like form (PrPres) using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA).

 

Six rounds of serial PMCA was performed using 10% brain homogenates from transgenic mice expressing bovine, ovine or human PrPC in combination with PrPSc seed from typical and atypical BSE- or typical scrapie-infected brain homogenates from native host species. In the conventional PMCA, the conversion of PrPC to PrPres was observed only when the species of PrPC source and PrPSc seed matched. However, in the PMCA with supplements (digitonin, synthetic polyA and heparin), both bovine and ovine PrPC were converted by PrPSc from all tested prion strains. On the other hand, human PrPC was converted by PrPSc from typical and H-type BSE in this PMCA condition.

 

Although these results were not compatible with the previous reports describing the lack of transmissibility of H-type BSE to ovine and human transgenic mice, our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to sheep and human. Bioassay will be required to determine whether the PMCA products are infectious to these animals.

 


 

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

 

***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to sheep and human. Bioassay will be required to determine whether the PMCA products are infectious to these animals.

 

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

 

Monday, May 09, 2016

 

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

 


 

I ask Professor Kong ;

 

Thursday, December 04, 2008 3:37 PM Subject: RE: re--Chronic Wating Disease (CWD) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathies (BSE): Public Health Risk Assessment

 

''IS the h-BSE more virulent than typical BSE as well, or the same as cBSE, or less virulent than cBSE? just curious.....''

 

Professor Kong reply ;

 

.....snip

 

''As to the H-BSE, we do not have sufficient data to say one way or another, but we have found that H-BSE can infect humans. I hope we could publish these data once the study is complete. Thanks for your interest.''

 

Best regards, Qingzhong Kong, PhD Associate Professor Department of Pathology Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH 44106 USA

 

END...TSS

 

Thursday, December 04, 2008 2:37 PM

 

"we have found that H-BSE can infect humans."

 

personal communication with Professor Kong. ...TSS

 

BSE-H is also transmissible in our humanized Tg mice.

 

The possibility of more than two atypical BSE strains will be discussed.

 

Supported by NINDS NS052319, NIA AG14359, and NIH AI 77774.

 


 


 

Monday, March 19, 2012

 

Infectivity in Skeletal Muscle of Cattle with Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy PLoS One. 2012; 7(2): e31449.

 


 

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

 

*** Concurrence with OIE Risk Designations for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy [Docket No. APHIS-2015-0055]

 


 

Saturday, July 23, 2016

 

*** BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY BSE TSE PRION SURVEILLANCE, TESTING, AND SRM REMOVAL UNITED STATE OF AMERICA UPDATE JULY 2016

 


 

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

 

*** Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE TSE Prion UPDATE JULY 2016

 


 

Saturday, July 16, 2016

 

*** Importation of Sheep, Goats, and Certain Other Ruminants [Docket No. APHIS-2009-0095]RIN 0579-AD10

 

WITH great disgust and concern, I report to you that the OIE, USDA, APHIS, are working to further legalize the trading of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Pion disease around the globe.

 

THIS is absolutely insane. it’s USDA INC.

 


 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

 

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

 


 

Monday, June 20, 2016

 

*** Specified Risk Materials SRMs BSE TSE Prion Program ***

 


 

2016 PIGS TSE PRION UPDATE

 

WS-02

 

Scrapie in swine: A diagnostic challenge

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Curriculum Vitae

 

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

 


 

Prion

 

Volume 9, Issue 4, 2015

 

Porcine prion protein amyloid

 

DOI:10.1080/19336896.2015.1065373Per Hammarströma & Sofie Nyströma*

 

pages 266-277

 

Received: 1 Jun 2015 Accepted: 17 Jun 2015 Accepted author version posted online: 28 Jul 2015

 

© 2015 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Additional license information

 

ABSTRACT

 

Mammalian prions are composed of misfolded aggregated prion protein (PrP) with amyloid-like features. Prions are zoonotic disease agents that infect a wide variety of mammalian species including humans. Mammals and by-products thereof which are frequently encountered in daily life are most important for human health. It is established that bovine prions (BSE) can infect humans while there is no such evidence for any other prion susceptible species in the human food chain (sheep, goat, elk, deer) and largely prion resistant species (pig) or susceptible and resistant pets (cat and dogs, respectively). PrPs from these species have been characterized using biochemistry, biophysics and neurobiology. Recently we studied PrPs from several mammals in vitro and found evidence for generic amyloidogenicity as well as cross-seeding fibril formation activity of all PrPs on the human PrP sequence regardless if the original species was resistant or susceptible to prion disease. Porcine PrP amyloidogenicity was among the studied. Experimentally inoculated pigs as well as transgenic mouse lines overexpressing porcine PrP have, in the past, been used to investigate the possibility of prion transmission in pigs. The pig is a species with extraordinarily wide use within human daily life with over a billion pigs harvested for human consumption each year. Here we discuss the possibility that the largely prion disease resistant pig can be a clinically silent carrier of replicating prions.

 

SNIP...

 

CONCLUDING REMARKS Should the topic of porcine PrP amyloid be more of a worry than of mere academic interest? Well perhaps. Prions are particularly insidious pathogens. A recent outbreak of peripheral neuropathy in human, suggests that exposure to aerosolized porcine brain is deleterious for human health.43,44 Aerosolization is a known vector for prions at least under experimental conditions.45-47 where a mere single exposure was enough for transmission in transgenic mice. HuPrP is seedable with BoPrP seeds and even more so with PoPrP seed (Fig. 1), indicating that humans could be infected by porcine APrP prions while neurotoxicity associated with spongiform encephalopathy if such a disease existed is even less clear. Importantly transgenic mice over-expressing PoPrP are susceptible to BSE and BSE passaged through domestic pigs implicating that efficient downstream neurotoxicity pathways in the mouse, a susceptible host for prion disease neurotoxicity is augmenting the TSE phenotype.25,26 Prions in silent carrier hosts can be infectious to a third species. Data from Collinge and coworkers.21 propose that species considered to be prion free may be carriers of replicating prions. Especially this may be of concern for promiscuous prion strains such as BSE.19,48 It is rather established that prions can exist in both replicating and neurotoxic conformations.49,50 and this can alter the way in which new host organisms can react upon cross-species transmission.51 The na€ıve host can either be totally resistant to prion infection as well as remain non-infectious, become a silent non-symptomatic but infectious carrier of disease or be afflicted by disease with short or long incubation time. The host can harbor and/or propagate the donor strain or convert the strain conformation to adapt it to the na€ıve host species. The latter would facilitate infection and shorten the incubation time in a consecutive event of intra-species transmission. It may be advisable to avoid procedures and exposure without proper biosafety precautions as the knowledge of silence carrier species is poor. One case of iatrogenic CJD in recipient of porcine dura mater graft has been reported in the literature.52 The significance of this finding is still unknown. The low public awareness in this matter is exemplified by the practice of using proteolytic peptide mixtures prepared from porcine brains (Cerebrolysin) as a nootropic drug. While Cerebrolysin may be beneficial for treatment of severe diseases such as vascular dementia,53 a long term follow-up of such a product for recreational use is recommended.

 


 

Friday, August 21, 2015

 

Porcine prion protein amyloid or mad pig disease PSE Porcine Spongiform Encephalopathy ?

 


 


 


 

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

 

Evidence for zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions

 

Hervé Cassard,1, n1 Juan-Maria Torres,2, n1 Caroline Lacroux,1, Jean-Yves Douet,1, Sylvie L. Benestad,3, Frédéric Lantier,4, Séverine Lugan,1, Isabelle Lantier,4, Pierrette Costes,1, Naima Aron,1, Fabienne Reine,5, Laetitia Herzog,5, Juan-Carlos Espinosa,2, Vincent Beringue5, & Olivier Andréoletti1, Affiliations Contributions Corresponding author Journal name: Nature Communications Volume: 5, Article number: 5821 DOI: doi:10.1038/ncomms6821 Received 07 August 2014 Accepted 10 November 2014 Published 16 December 2014 Article tools Citation Reprints Rights & permissions Article metrics

 

Abstract

 

Although Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is the cause of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans, the zoonotic potential of scrapie prions remains unknown. Mice genetically engineered to overexpress the human ​prion protein (tgHu) have emerged as highly relevant models for gauging the capacity of prions to transmit to humans. These models can propagate human prions without any apparent transmission barrier and have been used used to confirm the zoonotic ability of BSE. Here we show that a panel of sheep scrapie prions transmit to several tgHu mice models with an efficiency comparable to that of cattle BSE. The serial transmission of different scrapie isolates in these mice led to the propagation of prions that are phenotypically identical to those causing sporadic CJD (sCJD) in humans. These results demonstrate that scrapie prions have a zoonotic potential and raise new questions about the possible link between animal and human prions.

 

Subject terms: Biological sciences• Medical research At a glance

 


 

*** In complement to the recent demonstration that humanized mice are susceptible to scrapie, we report here the first observation of direct transmission of a natural classical scrapie isolate to a macaque after a 10-year incubation period. Neuropathologic examination revealed all of the features of a prion disease: spongiform change, neuronal loss, and accumulation of PrPres throughout the CNS.

 

*** This observation strengthens the questioning of the harmlessness of scrapie to humans, at a time when protective measures for human and animal health are being dismantled and reduced as c-BSE is considered controlled and being eradicated.

 

*** Our results underscore the importance of precautionary and protective measures and the necessity for long-term experimental transmission studies to assess the zoonotic potential of other animal prion strains.

 


 

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

 

Taylor & Francis

 

Prion 2016 Animal Prion Disease Workshop Abstracts

 

WS-01: Prion diseases in animals and zoonotic potential

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 


 


 

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

 

Nor98-like Scrapie in the United States of America

 


 


 

Thursday, March 29, 2012

 

atypical Nor-98 Scrapie has spread from coast to coast in the USA 2012

 

NIAA Annual Conference April 11-14, 2011San Antonio, Texas

 


 

*** Canada Increased Atypical Scrapie Detections

 

Press reports indicate that increased surveillance is catching what otherwise would have been unreported findings of atypical scrapie in sheep. In 2009, five new cases have been reported in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. With the exception of Quebec, all cases have been diagnosed as being the atypical form found in older animals. Canada encourages producers to join its voluntary surveillance program in order to gain scrapie-free status. The World Animal Health will not classify Canada as scrapie-free until no new cases are reported for seven years. The Canadian Sheep Federation is calling on the government to fund a wider surveillance program in order to establish the level of prevalence prior to setting an eradication date. Besides long-term testing, industry is calling for a compensation program for farmers who report unusual deaths in their flocks.

 


 


 

why do we not want to do TSE transmission studies on chimpanzees $

 

5. A positive result from a chimpanzee challenged severly would likely create alarm in some circles even if the result could not be interpreted for man. I have a view that all these agents could be transmitted provided a large enough dose by appropriate routes was given and the animals kept long enough. Until the mechanisms of the species barrier are more clearly understood it might be best to retain that hypothesis.

 

snip...

 

R. BRADLEY

 


 

1978 SCRAPIE IN CONFIDENCE SCJD

 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

1979

 

SILENCE ON CJD AND SCRAPIE

 

1980

 

SILENCE ON CJD AND SCRAPIE

 

*** 1981 NOVEMBER

 


 


 

Thursday, August 04, 2016

 

*** MEETING ON THE FEASIBILITY OF CARRYING OUT EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE 1978 THE SCRAPIE FILES IN CONFIDENCE CONFIDENTIAL SCJD

 


 

Experimental transmission of atypical scrapie to sheep

 

Marion M Simmons1Email author, Timm Konold1, Hugh A Simmons3, Yvonne I Spencer1, Richard Lockey1, John Spiropoulos1, Sharon Everitt2 and Derek Clifford3 BMC Veterinary Research20073:20 DOI: 10.1186/1746-6148-3-20

 

© Crown copyright; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2007

 

Received: 26 March 2007

 

Accepted: 28 August 2007

 

Published: 28 August 2007

 

Abstract Background Active surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in small ruminants has been an EU regulatory requirement since 2002. A number of European countries have subsequently reported cases of atypical scrapie, similar to previously published cases from Norway, which have pathological and molecular features distinct from classical scrapie. Most cases have occurred singly in flocks, associated with genotypes considered to be more resistant to classical disease. Experimental transmissibility of such isolates has been reported in certain ovinised transgenic mice, but has not previously been reported in the natural host. Information on the transmissibility of this agent is vital to ensuring that disease control measures are effective and proportionate.

 

Results This report presents the successful experimental transmission, in 378 days, of atypical scrapie to a recipient sheep of homologous genotype with preservation of the pathological and molecular characteristics of the donor. This isolate also transmitted to ovinised transgenic mice (Tg338) with a murine phenotype indistinguishable from that of Nor 98.

 

Conclusion This result strengthens the opinion that these cases result from a distinct strain of scrapie agent, which is potentially transmissible in the natural host under field conditions.

 

snip...

 

Conclusion At present the significance of this result, in terms of the transmissibility or pathogenicity under 'field conditions' of this agent strain in any species remains speculative, but it supports the need for appropriate control measures protecting both the animal and the human food chain to encompass atypical scrapie cases specifically.

 


 

Atypical/Nor98 scrapie in the Basque Country: a case report of eight outbreaks

 

BMC Veterinary Research 2010, 6:17 doi:10.1186/1746-6148-6-17

 


 

Sunday, March 28, 2010

 

Atypical/Nor98 scrapie in the Basque Country: a case report of eight outbreaks

 


 

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

 

NOR-98 ATYPICAL SCRAPIE USA 4 CASES DETECTED JANUARY 2010

 

Greetings,

 

Unusual event if you consider the officials hypothisis that Nor-98 atypical scrapie is a spontaneous event. seems there was a great deal of spontaneous mutations for this time period ;-)...TSS

 


 

Thursday, March 11, 2010

 

CANADA TYPICAL AND ATYPICAL SCRAPIE REPORT TO MARCH 2010

 


 

Monday, December 14, 2009

 

Similarities between Forms of Sheep Scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Are Encoded by Distinct Prion Types

 

hmmm, this is getting interesting now...

 

Sporadic CJD type 1 and atypical/ Nor98 scrapie are characterized by fine (reticular) deposits,

 

see also ;

 

All of the Heidenhain variants were of the methionine/ methionine type 1 molecular subtype.

 


 

see full text ;

 

Monday, December 14, 2009

 

Similarities between Forms of Sheep Scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Are Encoded by Distinct Prion Types

 


 

Saturday, May 2, 2009

 

APHIS AND WHO PLAN TO EXEMPT THE ATYPICAL SCRAPIE NOR-98 FROM REGULATIONS AT MEETING THIS MONTH

 


 

Monday, November 30, 2009

 

USDA AND OIE COLLABORATE TO EXCLUDE ATYPICAL SCRAPIE NOR-98 ANIMAL HEALTH CODE

 


 

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

 

Classical Scrapie Diagnosis in ARR/ARR Sheep in Brazil Acta Scientiae Veterinariae, 2015. 43(Suppl 1): 69.

 


 

 Friday, September 23, 2016

 

North Iceland reporting more cases of Scrapie (Rida)

 


 

Monday, September 19, 2016

 

Identification of the first case of atypical scrapie in Japan

 


 

Assessment of the PrPc amino-terminal domain in prion species barriers

 

Kristen A. Davenporta, Davin M. Hendersona, Candace K. Mathiasona and Edward A. Hoovera# + Author Affiliations

 

Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523a ABSTRACT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle are prion diseases that are caused by the same protein-misfolding mechanism, but appear to pose different risks to humans. We are interested in understanding the differences between the species barriers of CWD and BSE. We used real-time, quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) to model the central molecular event in prion disease, the templated misfolding of the normal prion protein, PrPc, to a pathogenic, amyloid isoform, PrPSc. We examined the role of the PrPc amino-terminal domain (NTD, aa23-90) in cross-species conversion by comparing the conversion efficiency of various prion seeds in either full-length (aa23-231) or truncated (aa90-231) PrPc. We demonstrate that the presence of white-tailed deer and bovine NTDs hindered seeded conversion of PrPc, but human and bank vole NTDs did the opposite. Additionally, full-length human and bank vole PrPc were more likely to be converted to amyloid by CWD prions than were their truncated forms. A chimera with replacement of the human NTD by the bovine NTD resembled human PrPc. The requirement for an NTD, but not for the specific human sequence, suggests that the NTD interacts with other regions of the human PrPc to increase promiscuity. These data contribute to the evidence that, in addition to primary sequence, prion species barriers are controlled by interactions of the substrate NTD with the rest of the substrate PrPc molecule.

 

Importance We demonstrate that the amino-terminal domain of the normal prion protein, PrPc, hinders seeded conversion of bovine and white-tailed deer PrPc to the prion form, but it facilitates conversion of the human and bank vole PrPc to the prion form. Additionally, we demonstrate that the amino-terminal domain of human and bank vole PrPc requires interaction with the rest of the molecule to facilitate conversion by CWD prions. These data suggest that interactions of the amino-terminal domain with the rest of the PrPc molecule play an important role in the susceptibility of humans to CWD prions.

 

snip...

 

We found that human rPrPc can be readily converted to an amyloid state by CWD prions, and that the NTD facilitates this conversion. As there is little evidence for the susceptibility of humans to CWD, the biologic significance of our observation remains to be determined. However, the role of the NTD in this in vitro phenomenon may be important to the in vivo mechanism as well. RT-QuIC, transgenic mouse bioassay, and PMCA measure different outcomes. This manuscript compares the efficiency of initial amyloid formation, while bioassay and PMCA reflect total accumulation of protease-resistant PrPSc, which may explain the difference in the apparent susceptibility of full-length human rPrPc in these models. The molecular underpinnings for species barriers and trans-species prion conversion remain a complex, yet important problem in prion biology. We propose that an interaction between the amino terminal

 

FOOTNOTES

 

↵#Address correspondence to Edward A. Hoover, edward.hoover@colostate.edu Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

 


 


 

‘’We demonstrate that the presence of white-tailed deer and bovine NTDs hindered seeded conversion of PrPc, but human and bank vole NTDs did the opposite. Additionally, full-length human and bank vole PrPc were more likely to be converted to amyloid by CWD prions than were their truncated forms. ‘’

 

***Moreover, sporadic disease has never been observed in breeding colonies or primate research laboratories, most notably among hundreds of animals over several decades of study at the National Institutes of Health25, and in nearly twenty older animals continuously housed in our own facility.***

 


 

Monday, May 02, 2016

 

*** Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions: An Update Prion 2016 Tokyo ***

 


 

SCRAPIE AND CWD ZOONOSIS

 

PRION 2016 CONFERENCE TOKYO

 

Saturday, April 23, 2016

 

*** SCRAPIE WS-01: Prion diseases in animals and zoonotic potential 2016 ***

 

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

 


 


 

Saturday, September 24, 2016

 

Assessment of the PrPc amino-terminal domain in prion species barriers

 


 

Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent incubation period

 

***Moreover, sporadic disease has never been observed in breeding colonies or primate research laboratories, most notably among hundreds of animals over several decades of study at the National Institutes of Health25, and in nearly twenty older animals continuously housed in our own facility.***

 


 

Transmission of scrapie prions to primate after an extended silent incubation period

 

Emmanuel E. Comoy , Jacqueline Mikol , Sophie Luccantoni-Freire , Evelyne Correia , Nathalie Lescoutra-Etchegaray , Valérie Durand , Capucine Dehen , Olivier Andreoletti , Cristina Casalone , Juergen A. Richt , Justin J. Greenlee , Thierry Baron , Sylvie L. Benestad , Paul Brown & Jean-Philippe Deslys

 

Abstract

 

Classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (c-BSE) is the only animal prion disease reputed to be zoonotic, causing variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans and having guided protective measures for animal and human health against animal prion diseases. Recently, partial transmissions to humanized mice showed that the zoonotic potential of scrapie might be similar to c-BSE. We here report the direct transmission of a natural classical scrapie isolate to cynomolgus macaque, a highly relevant model for human prion diseases, after a 10-year silent incubation period, with features similar to those reported for human cases of sporadic CJD. Scrapie is thus actually transmissible to primates with incubation periods compatible with their life expectancy, although fourfold longer than BSE. Long-term experimental transmission studies are necessary to better assess the zoonotic potential of other prion diseases with high prevalence, notably Chronic Wasting Disease of deer and elk and atypical/Nor98 scrapie.

 

snip...

 

In addition to previous studies on scrapie transmission to primate1,8,9 and the recently published study on transgenic humanized mice13, our results constitute new evidence for recommending that the potential risk of scrapie for human health should not be dismissed. Indeed, human PrP transgenic mice and primates are the most relevant models for investigating the human transmission barrier. To what extent such models are informative for measuring the zoonotic potential of an animal TSE under field exposure conditions is unknown. During the past decades, many protective measures have been successfully implemented to protect cattle from the spread of c-BSE, and some of these measures have been extended to sheep and goats to protect from scrapie according to the principle of precaution. Since cases of c-BSE have greatly reduced in number, those protective measures are currently being challenged and relaxed in the absence of other known zoonotic animal prion disease. We recommend that risk managers should be aware of the long term potential risk to human health of at least certain scrapie isolates, notably for lymphotropic strains like the classical scrapie strain used in the current study. Relatively high amounts of infectivity in peripheral lymphoid organs in animals infected with these strains could lead to contamination of food products produced for human consumption. Efforts should also be maintained to further assess the zoonotic potential of other animal prion strains in long-term studies, notably lymphotropic strains with high prevalence like CWD, which is spreading across North America, and atypical/Nor98 scrapie (Nor98)50 that was first detected in the past two decades and now represents approximately half of all reported cases of prion diseases in small ruminants worldwide, including territories previously considered as scrapie free. Even if the prevailing view is that sporadic CJD is due to the spontaneous formation of CJD prions, it remains possible that its apparent sporadic nature may, at least in part, result from our limited capacity to identify an environmental origin.

 

***Moreover, sporadic disease has never been observed in breeding colonies or primate research laboratories, most notably among hundreds of animals over several decades of study at the National Institutes of Health25, and in nearly twenty older animals continuously housed in our own facility.***

 


 


 

2015

 

O.05: Transmission of prions to primates after extended silent incubation periods: Implications for BSE and scrapie risk assessment in human populations

 

Emmanuel Comoy, Jacqueline Mikol, Valerie Durand, Sophie Luccantoni, Evelyne Correia, Nathalie Lescoutra, Capucine Dehen, and Jean-Philippe Deslys Atomic Energy Commission; Fontenay-aux-Roses, France

 

Prion diseases (PD) are the unique neurodegenerative proteinopathies reputed to be transmissible under field conditions since decades. The transmission of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) to humans evidenced that an animal PD might be zoonotic under appropriate conditions. Contrarily, in the absence of obvious (epidemiological or experimental) elements supporting a transmission or genetic predispositions, PD, like the other proteinopathies, are reputed to occur spontaneously (atpical animal prion strains, sporadic CJD summing 80% of human prion cases). Non-human primate models provided the first evidences supporting the transmissibiity of human prion strains and the zoonotic potential of BSE. Among them, cynomolgus macaques brought major information for BSE risk assessment for human health (Chen, 2014), according to their phylogenetic proximity to humans and extended lifetime. We used this model to assess the zoonotic potential of other animal PD from bovine, ovine and cervid origins even after very long silent incubation periods.

 

*** We recently observed the direct transmission of a natural classical scrapie isolate to macaque after a 10-year silent incubation period,

 

***with features similar to some reported for human cases of sporadic CJD, albeit requiring fourfold long incubation than BSE. Scrapie, as recently evoked in humanized mice (Cassard, 2014),

 

***is the third potentially zoonotic PD (with BSE and L-type BSE),

 

***thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases. We will present an updated panorama of our different transmission studies and discuss the implications of such extended incubation periods on risk assessment of animal PD for human health.

 

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

 

***thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases***

 

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

 

***our findings suggest that possible transmission risk of H-type BSE to sheep and human. Bioassay will be required to determine whether the PMCA products are infectious to these animals.

 

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

 


 

CWD TSE PRION HUMAN ZOONOSIS POTENTIAL, has it already happened, and being masked as sporadic CJD? and what about iatrogenic, or the pass if forward, friendly fire mode of transmission of cwd to humans, same thing, sporadic cjd ?

 

*** WDA 2016 NEW YORK ***

 

We found that CWD adapts to a new host more readily than BSE and that human PrP was unexpectedly prone to misfolding by CWD prions. In addition, we investigated the role of specific regions of the bovine, deer and human PrP protein in resistance to conversion by prions from another species. We have concluded that the human protein has a region that confers unusual susceptibility to conversion by CWD prions.

 

Student Presentations Session 2

 

The species barriers and public health threat of CWD and BSE prions

 

Ms. Kristen Davenport1, Dr. Davin Henderson1, Dr. Candace Mathiason1, Dr. Edward Hoover1 1Colorado State University

 

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is spreading rapidly through cervid populations in the USA. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, mad cow disease) arose in the 1980s because cattle were fed recycled animal protein. These and other prion diseases are caused by abnormal folding of the normal prion protein (PrP) into a disease causing form (PrPd), which is pathogenic to nervous system cells and can cause subsequent PrP to misfold. CWD spreads among cervids very efficiently, but it has not yet infected humans. On the other hand, BSE was spread only when cattle consumed infected bovine or ovine tissue, but did infect humans and other species. The objective of this research is to understand the role of PrP structure in cross-species infection by CWD and BSE. To study the propensity of each species’ PrP to be induced to misfold by the presence of PrPd from verious species, we have used an in vitro system that permits detection of PrPd in real-time. We measured the conversion efficiency of various combinations of PrPd seeds and PrP substrate combinations. We observed the cross-species behavior of CWD and BSE, in addition to feline-adapted CWD and BSE. We found that CWD adapts to a new host more readily than BSE and that human PrP was unexpectedly prone to misfolding by CWD prions. In addition, we investigated the role of specific regions of the bovine, deer and human PrP protein in resistance to conversion by prions from another species. We have concluded that the human protein has a region that confers unusual susceptibility to conversion by CWD prions. CWD is unique among prion diseases in its rapid spread in natural populations. BSE prions are essentially unaltered upon passage to a new species, while CWD adapts to the new species. This adaptation has consequences for surveillance of humans exposed to CWD.

 

Wildlife Disease Risk Communication Research Contributes to Wildlife Trust Administration Exploring perceptions about chronic wasting disease risks among wildlife and agriculture professionals and stakeholders

 

Ms. Alyssa Wetterau1, Dr. Krysten Schuler1, Dr. Elizabeth Bunting1, Dr. Hussni Mohammed1 1Cornell University

 

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal disease of North American Cervidae. New York State (NYS, USA) successfully managed an outbreak of CWD in 2005 in both captive and wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with no reoccurrence of the disease as of 2015. To attain maximum compliance and efficacy of management actions for prevention of CWD entry, understanding the varied risk perceptions will allow for targeted, proactive communication efforts to address divergences between expert-derived risk assessments and stakeholder risk perceptions. We examined perceived risks associated with CWD introduction and exposure among agricultural and wildlife agency professionals within and outside of NYS, as well as stakeholder groups (e.g., hunters and captive cervid owners). We measured perceived risk using a risk assessment questionnaire online via Qualtrics survey software and evaluated similarities within, as well as differences in, perception among participant groups. New York State biologists employed by the Department of Environmental Conservation and independent non-NYS wildlife and agricultural professionals thought CWD risks associated with captive cervids were high; captive cervid owners thought risks for wild and captive cervids were low. Agriculture and wildlife professional groups agreed on general risk perceptions. We ranked 15 individual risk hazards into high and low medium categories based on all responses. Differences between groups were most evident in hypothetical disease pathways. Any pathway involving inter-state import of live cervids received high ranking for all groups except captive cervid owners. Comparatively low risk perceptions by captive cervid operators may stem from misinformation, lack of understanding of testing programs, and indemnity payments for animal depopulation. Communication and education directed at areas of disagreement may facilitate effective disease prevention and management.

 


 


 

* No evaluation of determination of CWD risk is required for alternative livestock or captive wildlife shipped directly to slaughter or to a biosecure facility approved by the Division and the Dept. of Agriculture.

 


 

*** We found that CWD adapts to a new host more readily than BSE and that human PrP was unexpectedly prone to misfolding by CWD prions. In addition, we investigated the role of specific regions of the bovine, deer and human PrP protein in resistance to conversion by prions from another species. We have concluded that the human protein has a region that confers unusual susceptibility to conversion by CWD prions. CWD is unique among prion diseases in its rapid spread in natural populations. BSE prions are essentially unaltered upon passage to a new species, while CWD adapts to the new species. This adaptation has consequences for surveillance of humans exposed to CWD. ***

 

PRION 2016 TOKYO

 

Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions: An Update

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

PRION 2016 TOKYO

 

In Conjunction with Asia Pacific Prion Symposium 2016

 

PRION 2016 Tokyo

 

Prion 2016

 


 

Prion 2016

 

Purchase options Price * Issue Purchase USD 198.00

 


 

Cervid to human prion transmission

 

Kong, Qingzhong

 

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States

 

Abstract

 

Prion disease is transmissible and invariably fatal. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the prion disease affecting deer, elk and moose, and it is a widespread and expanding epidemic affecting 22 US States and 2 Canadian provinces so far. CWD poses the most serious zoonotic prion transmission risks in North America because of huge venison consumption (>6 million deer/elk hunted and consumed annually in the USA alone), significant prion infectivity in muscles and other tissues/fluids from CWD-affected cervids, and usually high levels of individual exposure to CWD resulting from consumption of the affected animal among often just family and friends. However, we still do not know whether CWD prions can infect humans in the brain or peripheral tissues or whether clinical/asymptomatic CWD zoonosis has already occurred, and we have no essays to reliably detect CWD infection in humans. We hypothesize that:

 

(1) The classic CWD prion strain can infect humans at low levels in the brain and peripheral lymphoid tissues;

 

(2) The cervid-to-human transmission barrier is dependent on the cervid prion strain and influenced by the host (human) prion protein (PrP) primary sequence;

 

(3) Reliable essays can be established to detect CWD infection in humans;and

 

(4) CWD transmission to humans has already occurred. We will test these hypotheses in 4 Aims using transgenic (Tg) mouse models and complementary in vitro approaches.

 

Aim 1 will prove that the classical CWD strain may infect humans in brain or peripheral lymphoid tissues at low levels by conducting systemic bioassays in a set of "humanized" Tg mouse lines expressing common human PrP variants using a number of CWD isolates at varying doses and routes. Experimental "human CWD" samples will also be generated for Aim 3.

 

Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that the cervid-to-human prion transmission barrier is dependent on prion strain and influenced by the host (human) PrP sequence by examining and comparing the transmission efficiency and phenotypes of several atypical/unusual CWD isolates/strains as well as a few prion strains from other species that have adapted to cervid PrP sequence, utilizing the same panel of humanized Tg mouse lines as in Aim 1.

 

Aim 3 will establish reliable essays for detection and surveillance of CWD infection in humans by examining in details the clinical, pathological, biochemical and in vitro seeding properties of existing and future experimental "human CWD" samples generated from Aims 1-2 and compare them with those of common sporadic human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) prions.

 

Aim 4 will attempt to detect clinical CWD-affected human cases by examining a significant number of brain samples from prion-affected human subjects in the USA and Canada who have consumed venison from CWD-endemic areas utilizing the criteria and essays established in Aim 3. The findings from this proposal will greatly advance our understandings on the potential and characteristics of cervid prion transmission in humans, establish reliable essays for CWD zoonosis and potentially discover the first case(s) of CWD infection in humans.

 

Public Health Relevance There are significant and increasing human exposure to cervid prions because chronic wasting disease (CWD, a widespread and highly infectious prion disease among deer and elk in North America) continues spreading and consumption of venison remains popular, but our understanding on cervid-to-human prion transmission is still very limited, raising public health concerns. This proposal aims to define the zoonotic risks of cervid prions and set up and apply essays to detect CWD zoonosis using mouse models and in vitro methods. The findings will greatly expand our knowledge on the potentials and characteristics of cervid prion transmission in humans, establish reliable essays for such infections and may discover the first case(s) of CWD infection in humans.

 

Funding Agency Agency National Institute of Health (NIH)

 

Institute National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

 

Type Research Project (R01)

 

Project # 1R01NS088604-01A1

 

Application # 9037884

 

Study Section Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neurodegeneration Study Section (CMND)

 

Program Officer Wong, May

 

Project Start 2015-09-30

 

Project End 2019-07-31

 

Budget Start 2015-09-30

 

Budget End 2016-07-31

 

Support Year 1

 

Fiscal Year 2015

 

Total Cost $337,507

 

Indirect Cost $118,756

 

Institution

 

Name Case Western Reserve University

 

Department Pathology

 

Type Schools of Medicine

 

DUNS # 077758407

 

City Cleveland

 

State OH

 

Country United States

 

Zip Code 44106

 


 

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

 

We hypothesize that:

 

(1) The classic CWD prion strain can infect humans at low levels in the brain and peripheral lymphoid tissues;

 

(2) The cervid-to-human transmission barrier is dependent on the cervid prion strain and influenced by the host (human) prion protein (PrP) primary sequence;

 

(3) Reliable essays can be established to detect CWD infection in humans;and

 

(4) *** CWD transmission to humans has already occurred. *** We will test these hypotheses in 4 Aims using transgenic (Tg) mouse models and complementary in vitro approaches.

 

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

 

Key Molecular Mechanisms of TSEs

 

Zabel, Mark D.

 

Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO, United States Abstract Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are fatal neurodegenerative diseases affecting humans, cervids, bovids, and ovids. The absolute requirement of PrPC expression to generate prion diseases and the lack of instructional nucleic acid define prions as unique infectious agents. Prions exhibit species-specific tropism, inferring that unique prion strains exist that preferentially infct certain host species and confront transmission barriers to heterologous host species. However, transmission barriers are not absolute. Scientific consensus agrees that the sheep TSE scrapie probably breached the transmission barrier to cattle causing bovine spongiform encephalopathy that subsequently breached the human transmission barrier and likely caused several hundred deaths by a new-variant form of the human TSE Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the UK and Europe. The impact to human health, emotion and economies can still be felt in areas like farming, blood and organ donations and the threat of a latent TSE epidemic. This precedent raises the real possibility of other TSEs, like chronic wasting disease of cervids, overcoming similar human transmission barriers. A groundbreaking discovery made last year revealed that mice infected with heterologous prion strains facing significant transmission barriers replicated prions far more readily in spleens than brains6. Furthermore, these splenic prions exhibited weakened transmission barriers and expanded host ranges compared to neurogenic prions. These data question conventional wisdom of avoiding neural tissue to avoid prion xenotransmission, when more promiscuous prions may lurk in extraneural tissues. Data derived from work previously funded by NIH demonstrate that Complement receptors CD21/35 bind prions and high density PrPC and differentially impact prion disease depending on the prion isolate or strain used. Recent advances in live animal and whole organ imaging have led us to generate preliminary data to support novel, innovative approaches to assessing prion capture and transport. We plan to test our unifying hypothesis for this proposal that CD21/35 control the processes of peripheral prion capture, transport, strain selection and xenotransmission in the following specific aims. 1. Assess the role of CD21/35 in splenic prion strain selection and host range expansion. 2. Determine whether CD21/35 and C1q differentially bind distinct prion strains 3. Monitor the effects of CD21/35 on prion trafficking in real time and space 4. Assess the role of CD21/35 in incunabular prion trafficking

 

Public Health Relevance Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or prion diseases, are devastating illnesses that greatly impact public health, agriculture and wildlife in North America and around the world. The impact to human health, emotion and economies can still be felt in areas like farming, blood and organ donations and the threat of a latent TSE epidemic. This precedent raises the real possibility of other TSEs, like chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids, overcoming similar human transmission barriers. Early this year Canada reported its first case of BSE in over a decade audits first case of CWD in farmed elk in three years, underscoring the need for continued vigilance and research. Identifying mechanisms of transmission and zoonoses remains an extremely important and intense area of research that will benefit human and other animal populations.

 

Funding Agency Agency National Institute of Health (NIH)

 

Institute National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

 

Type High Priority, Short Term Project Award (R56)

 

Project # 1R56AI122273-01A1

 

Application # 9211114

 

Study Section Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neurodegeneration Study Section (CMND)

 

Program Officer Beisel, Christopher E

 

Project Start 2016-02-16

 

Project End 2017-01-31

 

Budget Start 2016-02-16

 

Budget End 2017-01-31

 

Support Year 1

 

Fiscal Year 2016

 

Total Cost

 

Indirect Cost Institution Name Colorado State University-Fort Collins

 

Department Microbiology/Immun/Virology

 

Type Schools of Veterinary Medicine

 

DUNS # 785979618 City Fort Collins

 

State CO

 

Country United States

 

Zip Code 80523

 


 

PMCA Detection of CWD Infection in Cervid and Non-Cervid Species

 

Hoover, Edward Arthur

 

Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO, United States Abstract Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk is an emerging highly transmissible prion disease now recognized in 18 States, 2 Canadian provinces, and Korea. We have shown that Infected deer harbor and shed high levels of infectious prions in saliva, blood, urine, and feces, and in the tissues generating those body fluids and excreta, thereby leading to facile transmission by direct contact and environmental contamination. We have also shown that CWD can infect some non-cervid species, thus the potential risk CWD represents to domestic animal species and to humans remains unknown. Whether prions borne in blood, saliva, nasal fluids, milk, or excreta are generated or modified in the proximate peripheral tissue sites, may differ in subtle ways from those generated in brain, or may be adapted for mucosal infection remain open questions. The increasing parallels in the pathogenesis between prion diseases and human neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, add relevance to CWD as a transmissible protein misfolding disease. The overall goal of this work is to elucidate the process of CWD prion transmission from mucosal secretory and excretory tissue sites by addressing these questions: (a) What are the kinetics and magnitude of CWD prion shedding post-exposure? (b) Are excreted prions biochemically distinct, or not, from those in the CNS? (c) Are peripheral epithelial or CNS tissues, or both, the source of excreted prions? and (d) Are excreted prions adapted for horizontal transmission via natural/trans-mucosal routes? The specific aims of this proposal are: (1) To determine the onset and consistency of CWD prion shedding in deer and cervidized mice; (2); To compare the biochemical and biophysical properties of excretory vs. CNS prions; (3) To determine the capacity of peripheral tissues to support replication of CWD prions; (4) To determine the protease- sensitive infectious fraction of excreted vs. CNS prions; and (5) To compare the mucosal infectivity of excretory vs. CNS prions. Understanding the mechanisms that enable efficient prion dissemination and shedding will help elucidate how horizontally transmissible prions evolve and succeed, and is the basis of this proposal. Understanding how infectious misfolded proteins (prions) are generated, trafficked, shed, and transmitted will aid in preventing, treating, and managing the risks associated with these agents and the diseases they cause.

 

Public Health Relevance Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk is an emergent highly transmissible prion disease now recognized throughout the USA as well as in Canada and Korea. We have shown that infected deer harbor and shed high levels of infectious prions in saliva, blood, urine, and feces thereby leading to transmission by direct contact and environmental contamination. In that our studies have also shown that CWD can infect some non-cervid species, the potential risk CWD may represents to domestic animal species and humans remains unknown. The increasing parallels in the development of major human neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and prion diseases add relevance to CWD as a model of a transmissible protein misfolding disease. Understanding how infectious misfolded proteins (prions) are generated and transmitted will aid in interrupting, treating, and managing the risks associated with these agents and the diseases they cause.

 

Funding Agency Agency National Institute of Health (NIH)

 

Institute National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

 

Type Research Project (R01)

 

Project # 4R01NS061902-07

 

Application # 9010980

 

Study Section Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neurodegeneration Study Section (CMND)

 

Program Officer Wong, May Project Start 2009-09-30

 

Project End 2018-02-28

 

Budget Start 2016-03-01

 

Budget End 2017-02-28

 

Support Year 7

 

Fiscal Year 2016

 

Total Cost $409,868

 

Indirect Cost $134,234 Institution Name Colorado State University-Fort Collins

 

Department Microbiology/Immun/Virology

 

Type Schools of Veterinary Medicine

 

DUNS # 785979618 City Fort Collins

 

State CO

 

Country United States

 

Zip Code 80523

 


 

LOOKING FOR CWD IN HUMANS AS nvCJD or as an ATYPICAL CJD, LOOKING IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES $$$

 

*** These results would seem to suggest that CWD does indeed have zoonotic potential, at least as judged by the compatibility of CWD prions and their human PrPC target. Furthermore, extrapolation from this simple in vitro assay suggests that if zoonotic CWD occurred, it would most likely effect those of the PRNP codon 129-MM genotype and that the PrPres type would be similar to that found in the most common subtype of sCJD (MM1).***

 


 

PRION 2015 CONFERENCE FT. COLLINS CWD RISK FACTORS TO HUMANS

 

*** LATE-BREAKING ABSTRACTS PRION 2015 CONFERENCE ***

 

O18

 

Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions

 

Liuting Qing1, Ignazio Cali1,2, Jue Yuan1, Shenghai Huang3, Diane Kofskey1, Pierluigi Gambetti1, Wenquan Zou1, Qingzhong Kong1 1Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 2Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy, 3Encore Health Resources, Houston, Texas, USA

 

*** These results indicate that the CWD prion has the potential to infect human CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues and that there might be asymptomatic human carriers of CWD infection.

 

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

 

***These results indicate that the CWD prion has the potential to infect human CNS and peripheral lymphoid tissues and that there might be asymptomatic human carriers of CWD infection.***

 

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

 

P.105: RT-QuIC models trans-species prion transmission

 

Kristen Davenport, Davin Henderson, Candace Mathiason, and Edward Hoover Prion Research Center; Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA

 

Conversely, FSE maintained sufficient BSE characteristics to more efficiently convert bovine rPrP than feline rPrP. Additionally, human rPrP was competent for conversion by CWD and fCWD.

 

***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously estimated.

 

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

 

***This insinuates that, at the level of protein:protein interactions, the barrier preventing transmission of CWD to humans is less robust than previously estimated.***

 

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

 


 

*** PRICE OF CWD TSE PRION POKER GOES UP 2014 ***

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE PRION update January 2, 2014

 

*** chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of the human prion protein.

 

*** Furthermore, the form of human PrPres produced in this in vitro assay when seeded with CWD, resembles that found in the most common human prion disease, namely sCJD of the MM1 subtype.

 


 


 

*** These results would seem to suggest that CWD does indeed have zoonotic potential, at least as judged by the compatibility of CWD prions and their human PrPC target. Furthermore, extrapolation from this simple in vitro assay suggests that if zoonotic CWD occurred, it would most likely effect those of the PRNP codon 129-MM genotype and that the PrPres type would be similar to that found in the most common subtype of sCJD (MM1).***

 


 

*** The potential impact of prion diseases on human health was greatly magnified by the recognition that interspecies transfer of BSE to humans by beef ingestion resulted in vCJD. While changes in animal feed constituents and slaughter practices appear to have curtailed vCJD, there is concern that CWD of free-ranging deer and elk in the U.S. might also cross the species barrier. Thus, consuming venison could be a source of human prion disease. Whether BSE and CWD represent interspecies scrapie transfer or are newly arisen prion diseases is unknown. Therefore, the possibility of transmission of prion disease through other food animals cannot be ruled out. There is evidence that vCJD can be transmitted through blood transfusion. There is likely a pool of unknown size of asymptomatic individuals infected with vCJD, and there may be asymptomatic individuals infected with the CWD equivalent. These circumstances represent a potential threat to blood, blood products, and plasma supplies.

 


 

***********CJD REPORT 1994 increased risk for consumption of veal and venison and lamb***********

 

CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM THIRD ANNUAL REPORT AUGUST 1994

 

Consumption of venison and veal was much less widespread among both cases and controls. For both of these meats there was evidence of a trend with increasing frequency of consumption being associated with increasing risk of CJD. (not nvCJD, but sporadic CJD...tss)

 

These associations were largely unchanged when attention was restricted to pairs with data obtained from relatives. ...

 

Table 9 presents the results of an analysis of these data.

 

There is STRONG evidence of an association between ‘’regular’’ veal eating and risk of CJD (p = .0.01).

 

Individuals reported to eat veal on average at least once a year appear to be at 13 TIMES THE RISK of individuals who have never eaten veal.

 

There is, however, a very wide confidence interval around this estimate. There is no strong evidence that eating veal less than once per year is associated with increased risk of CJD (p = 0.51).

 

The association between venison eating and risk of CJD shows similar pattern, with regular venison eating associated with a 9 FOLD INCREASE IN RISK OF CJD (p = 0.04).

 

There is some evidence that risk of CJD INCREASES WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY OF LAMB EATING (p = 0.02).

 

The evidence for such an association between beef eating and CJD is weaker (p = 0.14). When only controls for whom a relative was interviewed are included, this evidence becomes a little STRONGER (p = 0.08).

 

snip...

 

It was found that when veal was included in the model with another exposure, the association between veal and CJD remained statistically significant (p = < 0.05 for all exposures), while the other exposures ceased to be statistically significant (p = > 0.05).

 

snip...

 

In conclusion, an analysis of dietary histories revealed statistical associations between various meats/animal products and INCREASED RISK OF CJD. When some account was taken of possible confounding, the association between VEAL EATING AND RISK OF CJD EMERGED AS THE STRONGEST OF THESE ASSOCIATIONS STATISTICALLY. ...

 

snip...

 

In the study in the USA, a range of foodstuffs were associated with an increased risk of CJD, including liver consumption which was associated with an apparent SIX-FOLD INCREASE IN THE RISK OF CJD. By comparing the data from 3 studies in relation to this particular dietary factor, the risk of liver consumption became non-significant with an odds ratio of 1.2 (PERSONAL COMMUNICATION, PROFESSOR A. HOFMAN. ERASMUS UNIVERSITY, ROTTERDAM). (???...TSS)

 

snip...see full report ;

 


 

CJD9/10022

 

October 1994

 

Mr R.N. Elmhirst Chairman British Deer Farmers Association Holly Lodge Spencers Lane BerksWell Coventry CV7 7BZ

 

Dear Mr Elmhirst,

 

CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD) SURVEILLANCE UNIT REPORT

 

Thank you for your recent letter concerning the publication of the third annual report from the CJD Surveillance Unit. I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with the way in which this report was published.

 

The Surveillance Unit is a completely independant outside body and the Department of Health is committed to publishing their reports as soon as they become available. In the circumstances it is not the practice to circulate the report for comment since the findings of the report would not be amended. In future we can ensure that the British Deer Farmers Association receives a copy of the report in advance of publication.

 

The Chief Medical Officer has undertaken to keep the public fully informed of the results of any research in respect of CJD. This report was entirely the work of the unit and was produced completely independantly of the the Department.

 

The statistical results reqarding the consumption of venison was put into perspective in the body of the report and was not mentioned at all in the press release. Media attention regarding this report was low key but gave a realistic presentation of the statistical findings of the Unit. This approach to publication was successful in that consumption of venison was highlighted only once by the media ie. in the News at one television proqramme.

 

I believe that a further statement about the report, or indeed statistical links between CJD and consumption of venison, would increase, and quite possibly give damaging credence, to the whole issue. From the low key media reports of which I am aware it seems unlikely that venison consumption will suffer adversely, if at all.

 


 

Monday, May 02, 2016

 

*** Zoonotic Potential of CWD Prions: An Update Prion 2016 Tokyo ***

 


 

*** PRION 2014 CONFERENCE CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD

 


 

*** PPo3-7: Prion Transmission from Cervids to Humans is Strain-dependent

 

*** Here we report that a human prion strain that had adopted the cervid prion protein (PrP) sequence through passage in cervidized transgenic mice efficiently infected transgenic mice expressing human PrP,

 

*** indicating that the species barrier from cervid to humans is prion strain-dependent and humans can be vulnerable to novel cervid prion strains.

 

PPo2-27:

 

Generation of a Novel form of Human PrPSc by Inter-species Transmission of Cervid Prions

 

*** Our findings suggest that CWD prions have the capability to infect humans, and that this ability depends on CWD strain adaptation, implying that the risk for human health progressively increases with the spread of CWD among cervids.

 

PPo2-7:

 

Biochemical and Biophysical Characterization of Different CWD Isolates

 

*** The data presented here substantiate and expand previous reports on the existence of different CWD strains.

 


 

Envt.07:

 

Pathological Prion Protein (PrPTSE) in Skeletal Muscles of Farmed and Free Ranging White-Tailed Deer Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease

 

***The presence and seeding activity of PrPTSE in skeletal muscle from CWD-infected cervids suggests prevention of such tissue in the human diet as a precautionary measure for food safety, pending on further clarification of whether CWD may be transmissible to humans.

 


 

>>>CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE , THERE WAS NO ABSOLUTE BARRIER TO CONVERSION OF THE HUMAN PRION PROTEIN<<<

 

*** PRICE OF CWD TSE PRION POKER GOES UP 2014 ***

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE PRION update January 2, 2014

 

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

 

Molecular Barriers to Zoonotic Transmission of Prions

 

*** chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of the human prion protein.

 

*** Furthermore, the form of human PrPres produced in this in vitro assay when seeded with CWD, resembles that found in the most common human prion disease, namely sCJD of the MM1 subtype.

 


 


 

Envt.07:

 

Pathological Prion Protein (PrPTSE) in Skeletal Muscles of Farmed and Free Ranging White-Tailed Deer Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease

 

***The presence and seeding activity of PrPTSE in skeletal muscle from CWD-infected cervids suggests prevention of such tissue in the human diet as a precautionary measure for food safety, pending on further clarification of whether CWD may be transmissible to humans.

 

Yet, it has to be noted that our assessments of PrPTSE levels in skeletal muscles were based on findings in presumably pre- or subclinically infected animals. Therefore, the concentration of PrPTSE in skeletal muscles of WTD with clinically manifest CWD may possibly exceed our estimate which refers to clinically inconspicuous animals that are more likely to enter the human food chain. Our tissue blot findings in skeletal muscles from CWD-infected WTD would be consistent with an anterograde spread of CWD prions via motor nerve fibres to muscle tissue (figure 4A). Similar neural spreading pathways of muscle infection were previously found in hamsters orally challenged with scrapie [28] and suggested by the detection of PrPTSE in muscle fibres and muscle-associated nerve fascicles of clinically-ill non-human primates challenged with BSE prions [29]. Whether the absence of detectable PrPTSE in myofibers observed in our study is a specific feature of CWD in WTD, or was due to a pre- or subclinical stage of infection in the examined animals, remains to be established. In any case, our observations support previous findings suggesting the precautionary prevention of muscle tissue from CWD-infected WTD in the human diet, and highlight the need to comprehensively elucidate of whether CWD may be transmissible to humans. While the understanding of TSEs in cervids has made substantial progress during the past few years, the assessment and management of risks possibly emanating from prions in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected cervids requires further research.

 


 


 

Prions in Skeletal Muscles of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease Rachel C. Angers1,*, Shawn R. Browning1,*,†, Tanya S. Seward2, Christina J. Sigurdson4,‡, Michael W. Miller5, Edward A. Hoover4, Glenn C. Telling1,2,3,§ + Author Affiliations

 

1 Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. 2 Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. 3 Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. 4 Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. 5 Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA. ↵§ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gtell2@uky.edu ↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.

 

↵† Present address: Department of Infectology, Scripps Research Institute, 5353 Parkside Drive, RF-2, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA.

 

↵‡ Present address: Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.

 

Abstract The emergence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk in an increasingly wide geographic area, as well as the interspecies transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans in the form of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, have raised concerns about the zoonotic potential of CWD. Because meat consumption is the most likely means of exposure, it is important to determine whether skeletal muscle of diseased cervids contains prion infectivity. Here bioassays in transgenic mice expressing cervid prion protein revealed the presence of infectious prions in skeletal muscles of CWD-infected deer, demonstrating that humans consuming or handling meat from CWD-infected deer are at risk to prion exposure.

 


 

Exotic Meats USA Announces Urgent Statewide Recall of Elk Tenderloin Because It May Contain Meat Derived From An Elk Confirmed To Have Chronic Wasting Disease

 

Contact: Exotic Meats USA 1-800-680-4375

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- February 9, 2009 -- Exotic Meats USA of San Antonio, TX is initiating a voluntary recall of Elk Tenderloin because it may contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The meat with production dates of December 29, 30 and 31, 2008 was purchased from Sierra Meat Company in Reno, NV. The infected elk came from Elk Farm LLC in Pine Island, MN and was among animals slaughtered and processed at USDA facility Noah’s Ark Processors LLC.

 

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal brain and nervous system disease found in elk and deer. The disease is caused by an abnormally shaped protein called a prion, which can damage the brain and nerves of animals in the deer family. Currently, it is believed that the prion responsible for causing CWD in deer and elk is not capable of infecting humans who eat deer or elk contaminated with the prion, but the observation of animal-to-human transmission of other prion-mediated diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has raised a theoretical concern regarding the transmission of CWD from deer or elk to humans. At the present time, FDA believes the risk of becoming ill from eating CWD-positive elk or deer meat is remote. However, FDA strongly advises consumers to return the product to the place of purchase, rather than disposing of it themselves, due to environmental concerns.

 

Exotic Meats USA purchased 1 case of Elk Tenderloins weighing 16.9 lbs. The Elk Tenderloin was sold from January 16 – 27, 2009. The Elk Tenderloins was packaged in individual vacuum packs weighing approximately 3 pounds each. A total of six packs of the Elk Tenderloins were sold to the public at the Exotic Meats USA retail store. Consumers who still have the Elk Tenderloins should return the product to Exotic Meats USA at 1003 NE Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78209. Customers with concerns or questions about the Voluntary Elk Recall can call 1-800-680-4375. The safety of our customer has always been and always will be our number one priority.

 

Exotic Meats USA requests that for those customers who have products with the production dates in question, do not consume or sell them and return them to the point of purchase. Customers should return the product to the vendor. The vendor should return it to the distributor and the distributor should work with the state to decide upon how best to dispose. If the consumer is disposing of the product he/she should consult with the local state EPA office.

 

#

 


 

COLORADO: Farmer's market meat recalled after testing positive for CWD

 

24.dec.08 9News.com Jeffrey Wolf

 

Elk meat that was sold at a farmer's market is being recalled because tests show it was infected with chronic wasting disease. The Boulder County Health Department and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued the recall Wednesday after the meat was sold at the Boulder County Fairgrounds on Dec. 13. Although there isn't any human health risk connected with CWD, the recalled was issued as a precaution. About 15 elk were bought from a commercial ranch in Colorado in early December and processed at a licensed plant. All 15 were tested for CWD and one came up positive. The labeling on the product would have the following information: *Seller: High Wire Ranch *The type of cut: "chuck roast," "arm roast," "flat iron," "ribeye steak," "New York steak," "tenderloin," "sirloin tip roast," "medallions" or "ground meat." *Processor: Cedaredge Processing *The USDA triangle containing the number "34645" People with questions about this meat can contact John Pape, epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment at 303-692-2628.

 


 

COULD NOT FIND any warning or recalls on these two sites confirming their recall of CWD infected meat. ...TSS

 


 


 

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

 

Presence and Seeding Activity of Pathological Prion Protein (PrPTSE) in Skeletal Muscles of White-Tailed Deer Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease

 


 

Prion Infectivity in Fat of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease

 

Brent Race,# Kimberly Meade-White,# Richard Race, and Bruce Chesebro* Rocky Mountain Laboratories, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840

 

Received 2 June 2009/ Accepted 24 June 2009

 

ABSTRACT Top ABSTRACT TEXT REFERENCES

 

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a neurodegenerative prion disease of cervids. Some animal prion diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, can infect humans; however, human susceptibility to CWD is unknown. In ruminants, prion infectivity is found in central nervous system and lymphoid tissues, with smaller amounts in intestine and muscle. In mice, prion infectivity was recently detected in fat. Since ruminant fat is consumed by humans and fed to animals, we determined infectivity titers in fat from two CWD-infected deer. Deer fat devoid of muscle contained low levels of CWD infectivity and might be a risk factor for prion infection of other species.

 

snip...

 

The highest risk of human contact with CWD might be through exposure to high-titer CNS tissue through accidental skin cuts or corneal contact at the time of harvest and butchering. However, the likelihood of a human consuming fat infected with a low titer of the CWD agent is much higher. It is impossible to remove all the fat present within muscle tissue, and fat consumption is inevitable when eating meat. Of additional concern is the fact that meat from an individual deer harvested by a hunter is typically consumed over multiple meals by the same group of people. These individuals would thus have multiple exposures to the CWD agent over time, which might increase the chance for transfer of infection.

 

In the Rocky Mountain region of North America, wild deer are subject to predation by wolves, coyotes, bears, and mountain lions. Although canines such as wolves and coyotes are not known to be susceptible to prion diseases, felines definitely are susceptible to BSE (9) and might also be infected by the CWD agent. Deer infected with the CWD agent are more likely to be killed by predators such as mountain lions (11). Peripheral tissues, including lymph nodes, muscle, and fat, which harbor prion infectivity are more accessible for consumption than CNS tissue, which has the highest level of infectivity late in disease. Therefore, infectivity in these peripheral tissues may be important in potential cross-species CWD transmissions in the wild.

 

The present finding of CWD infectivity in deer fat tissue raises the possibility that prion infectivity might also be found in fat tissue of other infected ruminants, such as sheep and cattle, whose fat and muscle tissues are more widely distributed in both the human and domestic-animal food chains. Although the infectivity in fat tissues is low compared to that in the CNS, there may be significant differences among species and between prion strains. Two fat samples from BSE agent-infected cattle were reported to be negative by bioassay in nontransgenic RIII mice (3, 6). However, RIII mice are 10,000-fold-less sensitive to BSE agent infection than transgenic mice expressing bovine PrP (4). It would be prudent to carry out additional infectivity assays on fat from BSE agent-infected cattle and scrapie agent-infected sheep using appropriate transgenic mice or homologous species to determine the risk from these sources.

 


 

0C7.04

 

North American Cervids Harbor Two Distinct CWD Strains

 

Authors

 

Angers, R. Seward, T, Napier, D., Browning, S., Miller, M., Balachandran A., McKenzie, D., Hoover, E., Telling, G. 'University of Kentucky; Colorado Division of Wildlife, Canadian Food Inspection Agency; University Of Wisconsin; Colorado State University.

 

Content

 

Despite the increasing geographic distribution and host range of CWD, little is known about the prion strain(s) responsible for distinct outbreaks of the disease. To address this we inoculated CWD-susceptible Tg(CerPrP)1536+/· mice with 29 individual prion samples from various geographic locations in North America. Upon serial passage, intrastudy incubation periods consistently diverged and clustered into two main groups with means around 210 and 290 days, with corresponding differences in neuropathology. Prion strain designations were utilized to distinguish between the two groups: Type I CWD mice succumbed to disease in the 200 day range and displayed a symmetrical pattern of vacuolation and PrPSc deposition, whereas Type II CWD mice succumbed to disease near 300 days and displayed a strikingly different pattern characterized by large local accumulations of florid plaques distributed asymmetrically. Type II CWD bears a striking resemblance to unstable parental scrapie strains such as 87A which give rise to stable, short incubation period strains such as ME7 under certain passage conditions. In agreement, the only groups of CWD-inoculated mice with unwavering incubation periods were those with Type I CWD. Additionally, following endpoint titration of a CWD sample, Type I CWD could be recovered only at the lowest dilution tested (10-1), whereas Type II CWD was detected in mice inoculated with all dilutions resulting in disease. Although strain properties are believed to be encoded in the tertiary structure of the infectious prion protein, we found no biochemical differences between Type I and Type II CWD. Our data confirm the co·existence of two distinct prion strains in CWD-infected cervids and suggest that Type II CWD is the parent strain of Type I CWD.

 

see page 29, and see other CWD studies ;

 


 

Sunday, November 23, 2008

 

PRION October 8th - 10th 2008 Book of Abstracts

 


 

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.

 


 

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

 

Gudmundur Georgsson1, Sigurdur Sigurdarson2 and Paul Brown3

 


 

Friday, August 14, 2015

 

*** Susceptibility of cattle to the agent of chronic wasting disease from elk after intracranial inoculation ***

 


 

Saturday, May 28, 2016

 

*** Infection and detection of PrPCWD in soil from CWD infected farm in Korea Prion 2016 Tokyo ***

 


 

SNIP...SEE FULL TEXT ;

 

*** Calling Canadian beef unsafe is like calling your twin sister ugly," Dopp said.

 

Thursday, August 25, 2016

 

*** FSIS Green Bay Dressed Beef Recalls Beef Products Due To Possible Specified Risk Materials Contamination the most high risk materials for BSE TSE PRION AKA MAD COW TYPE DISEASE ***

 


 

Friday, August 26, 2016

 

*** Journal Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A Volume 79, 2016 - Issue 16-17 Prion Research in Perspective IV CANADA BSE CWD SCRAPIE CJD TSE Prion Disease

 


 

Thursday, April 14, 2016

 

Arizona 22 year old diagnosed with Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease CJD

 


 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

 

41-year-old Navy Commander with sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease CJD TSE Prion: Case Report

 


 

Saturday, January 17, 2015

 

*** Becky Lockhart 46, Utah’s first female House speaker, dies diagnosed with the extremely rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

 


 

Saturday, December 12, 2015

 

CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE CJD TSE PRION REPORT DECEMBER 14, 2015

 


 

Sunday, August 21, 2016

 

Kay Ellen Roedl Schwister Deceased August 7, 2016 at the age of 53 with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease CJD TSE Prion spontaneous sporadic, zoonosis, or iatrogenic?

 


 

Monday, August 22, 2016

 

CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE USA 2015 SPORADIC CJD TOTAL FIGURES REACHES HIGHEST ANNUAL COUNT TO DATE AT 239 CONFIRMED CASES

 


 

*** Evidence That Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy Results from Feeding Infected Cattle ***

 

Over the next 8-10 weeks, approximately 40% of all the adult mink on the farm died from TME.

 

snip...

 

The rancher was a ''dead stock'' feeder using mostly (>95%) downer or dead dairy cattle...

 


 


 


 

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

 

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

 


 

”The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the respective wildlife research programmes. Despite it’s subsequent recognition as a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific research funding was forthcoming. The USDA veiwed it as a wildlife problem and consequently not their province!” ...page 26.

 


 

Monday, August 22, 2016

 

CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE USA 2015 SPORADIC CJD TOTAL FIGURES REACHES HIGHEST ANNUAL COUNT TO DATE AT 239 CONFIRMED CASES

 


 

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

 

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

 


 

Monday, September 05, 2016

 

*** Pathological features of chronic wasting disease in reindeer and demonstration of horizontal transmission Major Findings for Norway ***

 


 

see more here ;

 

Monday, September 05, 2016

 

*** Pathological features of chronic wasting disease in reindeer and demonstration of horizontal transmission Major Findings for Norway ***

 


 

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

 

*** An assessment of the long-term persistence of prion infectivity in aquatic environments

 


 

Friday, September 02, 2016

 

*** Chronic Wasting Disease Drives Population Decline of White-Tailed Deer

 


 

Monday, August 29, 2016

 

*** NWHC USGS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION UPDATE

 


 

Thursday, August 18, 2016

 

*** PROCEEDINGS ONE HUNDRED AND Nineteenth ANNUAL MEETING of the USAHA BSE, CWD, SCRAPIE, PORCINE TSE PRION October 22 28, 2015 ***

 


 

Sunday, August 28, 2016

 

CONFIDENTIAL

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion and how Politics and Greed by the Industry spread madcow type diseases from species to species and around the globe

 

TSE PRIONS AKA MAD COW TYPE DISEASE, LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!

 


 


 

 

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

Bacliff, Texas USA 77518