WOW, i am shocked, this came from the PORK farm journal...

Chronic Wasting Disease A Time Bomb For Agriculture?

Chris Bennett, Farm Journal Media
January 30, 2018 11:25 AM

“Everyone at least needs to wake up to the potential of CWD to move in crops because it would shake up agriculture as we know it,” says David Clausen. ( © Herbert Lange, WDNR )
Is chronic wasting disease (CWD) a potential time bomb for the agriculture industry? A silent killer stalking deer and elk, CWD continues to move quietly across the U.S., with 22 states currently reporting CWD presence in free-ranging cervids.

CWD is a neural malady with devastating final-stage symptoms akin to mad cow disease. There is no direct proof of transmission via contaminated grain or feedstuffs, but researchers say accumulating evidence warrants a closer look at the possibility for potential disruption of multiple facets of the agriculture industry.

CWD is a guarantee of protracted death. Without exception, host deer slowly enter a zombie-like state characterized by extreme thirst, lack of mobility, loss of balance and near-total disorientation. CWD plays by a unique set of disease rules and does not spread by the common modes of infection (bacteria or virus), but is transmitted by a corrupted prion, essentially a misfolded protein. The corrupted prions multiply until the infection reaches the brain, destroying cells and attacking the central nervous system. Brain cells die in response to the presence of prions, creating holes in the brain.

“It’s a bad way to die. The animals are emaciated and waste away, and ultimately die from aspiration pneumonia because the swallowing reflex is affected and saliva gets into the lungs, or they freeze to death because they have no more body fat,” says Tracy Nichols, a molecular biologist and staff officer with USDA’s Veterinary Services Cervid Health Program in Fort Collins, Co.

On average whitetail deer have an approximate two-year CWD incubation period from infection to death. Although deer appear and act healthy for the vast majority of the disease duration, they can transmit CWD during nearly the entire span. (It is detectable in bodily fluids from infected animals as early as three months.) Deer directly contract CWD through infectious saliva, feces and urine, or indirectly via soil ingestion, foraging or a water source contaminated with prion proteins.

After initial detection in 1967 at a Colorado captive mule deer facility, CWD spread with a slow, but sure pace. Fifty years later, CWD has infected cervid populations in 181 counties across 22 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The geographic footprint of CWD continues to swell, likely through two different functions. One, slow diffusion from deer to deer in the wild. Two, faster movement through human-assisted spread by captive cervid farms or hunter-transported carcasses.

LANGE
Deer appear and act healthy for the vast majority of CWD duration, but can transmit the disease during nearly the entire span.

© HERBERT LANGE, WDNR

There are no known cases of natural transmission of CWD to domestic livestock. However, in laboratory conditions, CWD has been reproduced experimentally in cattle and swine, and research studies continue to examine crossover possibilities. There is no evidence of human crossover of CWD, although a 2017 studydocumented oral transmission of CWD to macaque monkeys. (Conducted in Canada, the study awaits peer review and publication.) Since 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for the exclusion of all prion disease material from the human and animal food chains.

“Mad cow disease crossed the species barrier to humans, but we haven’t seen evidence of CWD crossover. We can’t say crossover won’t happen in time, and as a precautionary measure WHO doesn’t want infected prions in the human or animal food chains,” says Bryan Richards, chronic wasting disease project leader for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis.

The possibility of CWD transmission beyond cervid populations remains an unanswered question, partly because different strains of CWD behave distinctly. “There is so much about CWD transmission we don’t know and so much yet to be studied. There are so many CWD unknowns related to brain matter, infectivity, prion stage, lymph nodes and more,” says David Clausen, a retired Wisconsin veterinarian, farmer, and former chair of the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board. Clausen presently serves as board president of Midwest Environmental Advocates.

The infectivity range of CWD is another significant unknown. When one species door is closed, another may serve as a Trojan horse. Hamsters were originally thought to be immune to CWD, while ferrets were easily infected. “Take deer CWD and infect the ferret. Take the ferret CWD and infect the hamster. Boom. The hamster can’t be infected by the deer, but is susceptible to the ferret. These prions are constantly evolving and changing,” Clausen explains.

“The question is sitting there: If CWD is able to get into livestock or swine, could it be transmitted in feedstuffs?” he adds.

Echoing Clausen’s query, is CWD passed along in agricultural plant matter exposed to urine, feces or carcass material? Prions form a chemical bond with plant surfaces and also bind to some soil particles, according to Richards. “After dipping plant leaves in prion proteins, researchers haven’t been able to wash off the prions. There isn’t enough science yet, but it’s been shown that plants can pick up proteins in the soil matrix through their roots and deposit those proteins in shoots and leaves, likely in flowers as well,” he explains. “Is the infectivity still there and is the concentration enough to transmit disease?”

USGS
CWD has infected cervid populations in 181 counties across 22 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

© USGS

Uptake in a laboratory isn’t real-world confirmation, but Richards finds the implications disturbing. In addition, CWD expansion across the U.S. compounds the infectivity issue. “With the geographic footprint of CWD greatly expanded, we have to ask if plant material really moves infectious material. We have to contemplate the question because agriculture would be such a huge mechanism for disease movement,” he says.

In theory, take a county with a 40% CWD rate in a whitetail population. If 20 whitetail typically feed in-and-out of a given wheat field, eight of those deer are CWD-positive. An adult deer defecates roughly 12 times per day and urinates at a higher frequency. After harvest, if the wheat straw is rolled, statistical probability places a good deal of fecal material in the bales. “It’s not a far-fetched idea for infectious material to move in agricultural commodities,” Richards says. “This is not really on the ag industry radar, but it comes up regularly in conversations among scientists. We don’t know if transmission happens, but it must be kept on the radar screen.”

“There was once a time when people said mad cow disease could never cross the species barrier. Almost 300 human deaths and an industry disaster later, it’s pretty simple to see why we keep on conducting the science and relying strictly on what the evidence shows,” he adds.

Nichols cites several studies where plant roots grown in hydroponic or spiked soil solutions were exposed to CWD material. The stem and leaf tissue subsequently tested positive for infected prions, despite no contact with the CWD material. However, high levels of laboratory exposure don’t necessarily equate with field environments. “The results are disconcerting, but what really matters is what happens in the real world. The next level of inquiry is to find out if there is any threat via agriculture crops,” Nichols says.

“There is no scientific conclusion, but the questions raised could impact international trade. Right now, we don’t know what, if any, threat exists,” she continues.

Clausen takes a dim view of CWD containment and believes the disease will continue to creep into additional states: “I’m a country boy. Basic epidemiology of disease control is to contain and quarantine. Deer farm or deer carcass, we have to prevent the movement of all CWD material, dead or alive.”

LANGE
“With the geographic footprint of CWD greatly expanded, we have to ask if plant material really moves infectious material. We have to contemplate the question because agriculture would be such a huge mechanism for disease movement,” says Bryan Richards, USGS.

© HERBERT LANGE, WDNR

It is incumbent on the agriculture industry to consider the ramifications of CWD spread through agricultural commodities, according to Clausen. “Sometimes we just seem to bounce from crisis to crisis without enough preparation or foresight. Corn or alfalfa, CWD uptake has been demonstrated in plants. Whether the uptake is infectious, that research hasn’t been done.”

“Everyone at least needs to wake up to the potential of CWD to move in crops because it would shake up agriculture as we know it,” Clausen says. “We’re all responsible to take a precautionary approach and consider what could happen.”


https://www.porkbusiness.com/article/chronic-wasting-disease-time-bomb-agriculture


kind regards, terry

Here we go again.

Hey this guy isn't afraid to cite from wikipedia. Just saying.

Can I get cliff notes?

Why are you surprised it came from a pork farm journal? They care about their crops, and they're becoming informed. Pork are fed grains, so it makes sense.



I find it interesting they are conducting this research. When I was working for TPWD this was a question I got regularly. It is a question people ask...how long does it stay infectious in nature, and can their animals get it if it is on a plant or on the ground? Its not that far of a step to ask if a plant can absorb and then spread the disease after being eaten, because of how long it persists in nature.

Zoonotic diseases can be a real threat. Better to know this now, than when its too late. Do you really want alfalfa or other grains to come from Montana or Idaho or Colorado or midwest with high rates of CWD, knowing that plants can be a carrier for cwd, or there is fecal matter from an animal with CWD, then feed it to your livestock? Or it being fed in feedlots to the beef you buy at the store?

Or don't even discuss it going from cervids to hogs or beef or goats- what about CWD fecal matter on deer corn that you put in your feeder, and infect your deer herd from fecal matter from other states? Does that spark a concern?

Economically and behaviorally, it is important to know this. I don't think regulations will stop the spread of CWD, but knowing it can be transferred this way may slow it.

The sky is falling.

TL;DR

They can’t MAKE it infect most cervids even implanting the prions directly into their brains. And you want me to believe it’s an issue to be concerned with in swine?? Lol

You’d have to be ignorant or short bussed to believe that.

hey mods, just curious... how many CWD panic attack threads does any one member get?


asking for a friend.

Careful...

No concern whatsoever and I don't want my tax dollars going toward this research.

Flounder says become a vegan, but don’t eat alfalfa sprouts may have deer and elk pee and poop on it

from the article:
"However, in laboratory conditions, CWD has been reproduced experimentally in cattle and swine, and research studies continue to examine crossover possibilities."

So...it can be developed in swine. I'm not saying it will cross over, i'm just saying there could be a chance......so, am I ignorant, or do I ride the short bus because I read the article?

Just because it can be produced experimentally doesn't mean it will occur naturally...but it means there is a probability that it can.

I don't know about your source for it not being able to MAKE it infect cervids with prions directly into the brain, but i'd be willing to give it a read if you'd be willing to share.

What i found with a quick google search, and directed to this website:
http://cwd-info.org/cwd-overview/

"Susceptibility of other cervids to CWD is not known. Cattle appear to be resistant to natural infection; to date, only three of 13 cattle have become infected with the CWD agent following experimental intracerebral inoculation, although this and other experimental studies begun in 1997 are not yet completed. Susceptibility to the CWD agent has been documented in sheep through intracerebral inoculation, but no studies have been conducted to show that CWD can be transmitted to sheep through oral exposure or other vectors "

So chances are low, but my calculations (3/13 * 100)= 23% of cattle were infected with prions to the brain, and it is susceptible in sheep via prions to the brain.

I'm just saying what I've seen. Keep too many animals in too close a proximity eating and drinking from the same sources, diseases pop up sooner or later. Its the natural way of reducing densities.

I'm a skeptic too about whether or not fecal matter on vegetation contain enough prions, or vegetation itself can spread the disease. And I personally don't have the knowledge, desire, or ability to study it myself. But if it does, it would be nice to know, And enough people that care about their livestock, game animals, etc spoke up about wanting to know and are obviously concerned about this, or funding likely would not have been granted.

My source was TPWD. They cited the research in a public forum I attended. Axis, fallow and sika were inoculated and only sika developed the disease. Although there’s never been a natural infection found in sika, the state in its infinite wisdom have place them under cwd protocol just like deer and elk.

And justifying your opinion by saying the funding wouldn’t have been approved if a large part of the industry wasn’t concerned is weak at best.

I don’t know anyone in the industry who’s as concerned about cwd as much as they are a govt agency applying their collective ignorance to solve a non issue.

I'm curious as to why so many people feel threatened by CWD literature. As hunters wouldn't we want to know all possible information regarding an issue that could potentially effect something we all love so much, regardless of whether or not it actually will happen.

Granted, I'm certainly not "the sky is falling type" and CWD isn't something I'm overly concerned with (and I hunt in the Medina county CWD containment area) I just don't see the issue here with the original post, I found it interesting personally.

Just the opposite, I don't feel threatened at all by this. Personally, I think the OP's that make these posts are disappointed by that. What I find amusing but not interesting is how they throw out facts that are not facts at all. Like in this article they talk like they know for a fact where CWD started and where it's spread to since. That's 100% with no facts to prove it to be correct.

Maybe the OP is trying to stir the pot and I'm simply being naive

I do not wish to argue, I just aim to educate. Both myself, and others. And your stated results are ones I had not dug into, as I have not had a reason to look into exotics. So, I am learning more through this discussion and my associated searches. I did a google scholar search and found a couple likely sources where they got that information. And in some studies, they have the results you discuss and I do not doubt TPWD reported what you say. And for the most part it is correct. But some other research and studies reported some rates of transmission in exotics.

This one was in 2012: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.4161/pri.19640

"Many exotic cervid species have Prnp genes largely homologous with North American species, suggesting that Prnp divergence
would not be sufficient to avoid disease. This is born out by successful experimental infection of fallow deer and red deer.
However, cross-species infection may still be unlikely via natural routes. For example, despite susceptibility to experimental intracerebral
infection, fallow deer are relatively resistant to CWD infection when housed with infected mule deer. Still, potential for cross-species infection from other cervid species needs further investigation and suggests caution in the movement and management of exotic species."

So they were able to contract it cerebrally, but normal transmission is unknown. But suggest caution i movement of exotics.

In Korea, cases of CWD in red deer, sika deer, and elk had been found in farmed populations (Sohn HJ, Roh IS, Kim HJ, Suh TY, Park KJ, Park HC, Kim BH. Epidemiology of chronic wasting disease in Korea. Prion. 2016; 10:S16–S17.)

At the time or your public forum Sika may not have been found with CWD, and may still be the case in wild populations. But it has now been found in farmed populations. So you are correct from my short search about Sika deer not naturally occurring with CWD, but they can contract a form of it.

Out of curiosity, Why do you think CWD is a non-issue? And what industry are you referring to? animal husbandry, agriculture, or wildlife?



Anyways,

The funding for the following sources comes from NIH and Canada agriculture organizations.

I did a quick search on plant transmission of CWD. Forgive me, but i have shorthanded the results to save space and time. I will gladly copy and paste exact quotes if you deem necessary, and have cited the sources I got them from.

This study (Jay Rasmussen, Brandon H Gilroyed, Tim Reuter, Sandor Dudas, Norman F Neumann, Aru Balachandran, Nat NV Kav, Catherine Graham, Stefanie Czub & Tim A McAllister (2014) Can plants serve as a vector for prions causing chronic wasting disease?, Prion, 8:1,
136-142) showed that the Prnp attach to roots, but is not transported into the stems of wheat in large enough quantities to be detected with their methods. But if Prnp were on the outside of the plant, it was detected.

A follow up study (Pritzkow et al. 2015, Grass plants bind, retain, uptake, and transport infectious prions, Cell Reports volume 11: pages 1168-1175) used barley grass to test the uptake. With their methods, they were able to detect infectious amounts of Prnp in the stems of all 4 plants, and at the top of the plant in the leaves (in 1 of 4 plants) after 3 weeks of growth.

Caveat: This study used brain material to infect the soil. They did not use feces or urine, so transmission and uptake levels likely vary.

So as to the original topic, there may be merit to studying if agriculture can spread CWD, even if it doesn't spread to humans or hogs. If it can be transferred inside plant material in infectious levels to other cervids, it may increase rates of transmission.

I know of Zero cattle lost to CWD within 20 miles of Sybille Wildlife Research Center, Tom Thorne/Beth Williams research center where CWD originated in Wyoming. We are the epicenter in Wyoming and the sky is not falling.
We manage a ranch directly behind the high fence where elk die almost yearly from the disease. The same creek runs through the research facility and the ranch then downstream for miles. Zero cattle lost to CWD and no positive tests. It's been decades since it was brought to Sybille to study, only elk and deer have tested positive. They have bighorn sheep and moose in their pens exposed daily , all of their lives, no positives in moose or sheep. No workers at the facility, spouse worked there too, have test positive or have contracted variant CJD.
Why stir up hysteria. Come on up, I can get you into a conversation with some of the scientists who have been studying it for years.
The very ones who have a papers written and published on the subject.

Threatened, no. Disappointed, yes.

You're right, they don't know exactly where it started. When diseases are in such low occurrences, its tough to nail down one place. And with a long period in an animal before the symptoms present themselves, its tough to follow the spread. That doesn't mean the effects aren't real.

I dont think D'hanis is all that far off. The sky isn't falling, but it will likely affect you, or the next generation. CWD is found in free-ranging deer in Texas. In low prevalence, but it is there. Sooner or later it will spread further into Texas with a higher prevalence through natural means. It will reduce the number of deer in those areas. Possibly to the point of no hunting. Sky won't completely fall, but the clouds may hang low. I say this because that is what has happened in other states.

In which states has the wild deer herd been decimated by CWD?

Do you remember the "mad cow" scare in the '90's? The Y2K scare?

Those things never happened either, despite a bunch of false information & innuendo.

Kinda like Trump/Russia or Global Warming.

Out of all the [censored] to worry about, CWD is way down on the list.

I posted some death in the US stats the other day but it got locked down. I suppose wild eyed paranoia posts are fine, but realistic posts involving actual facts are shunned?

no one has ever been infected with CWD. so no one has ever died from it. millions of people die every year from heart disease and diabetes. stop worrying about being infected with CWD, and lay off the friggen mcdonalds. That's what's killing people. you're probably about a thousand times more likely to get killed in a car wreck, than for your deer to get CWD. and since there has never been a case of CWD being transmitted to a human, you guys do the math on that.

if we cared about deer dying, then maybe a post every once in a while about EHD could be warranted, but since it's passed around by flies, and the anti high fence/deer breeding people can't isolate flies to those types of ranches, no one gives a [censored] about it.

CWD is a political scare tactic being propagated by the anti deer breeding people in this state. I've said it dozens of times, but if places like the king ranch who are right in the middle of this fight were so worried about it, then why aren't they testing their deer? The real answer is everyone wants to stop it, but NO ONE wants to find it on their place.

Please post facts to support your statement. You can start by answering Rustler's question.

Cancer and heart disease have a much greater chance of affecting me and you. I want to see time, money and research devoted to solving these diseases before solving CWD. But there are people that work in labs and in the outdoors that want to hijack this disease for their monetary and political gain. They operate like the media, in that their strategy is to panic the public.