Location: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research
Title: Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an evolving prion diseaseAuthor
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 4/16/2022 Publication Date: 4/23/2022 Citation: Silva, C.J. 2022. Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an evolving prion disease. Meeting Abstract. Speaker 10. Page 1. https://events-prod2.stanford.edu/events/942/94241/. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Chronic wasting disease (CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of deer and elk and wild moose. TSEs are caused by prions and characterized by a long asymptomatic incubation period followed by a short clinical course that ends in the death of the animal. CWD is the only prion disease spread among wild animals by their natural behaviors. CWD is readily transmitted among cervids and from prion-contaminated environments. CWD, like other prion diseases, propagates by inducing a natively expressed prion protein (PrPC) to adopt the prion conformation. Prions transmit their pathological information through their distinct conformations. CWD has been found in 30 states, four Canadian provinces, South Korea, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. CWD prions can arise spontaneously and respond to selection pressures, resulting in new strains. CWD has the¬ potential to adversely impact the 11.5 million Americans hunters who harvest nearly 6 million deer. These hunters supply approximately 2.5% of the meat consumed in the US. CWD is not zoonotic, but this may not be true for emerging strains. |
