Additional BSE TSE prion testing detects pathologic lesion in unusual brain
location and PrPsc by PMCA only, how many cases have we missed?
how many have been consumed?
how many are exposed?
how many more will die?
iatrogenic, what if?
P.108: Successful oral challenge of adult cattle with classical BSE
Sandor Dudas1,*, Kristina Santiago-Mateo1, Tammy Pickles1, Catherine
Graham2, and Stefanie Czub1 1Canadian Food Inspection Agency; NCAD Lethbridge;
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; 2Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture; Pathology
Laboratory; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Classical Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (C-type BSE) is a feed- and
food-borne fatal neurological disease which can be orally transmitted to cattle
and humans. Due to the presence of contaminated milk replacer, it is generally
assumed that cattle become infected early in life as calves and then succumb to
disease as adults.
Here we challenged three 14 months old cattle per-orally with 100 grams of
C-type BSE brain to investigate age-related susceptibility or resistance. During
incubation, the animals were sampled monthly for blood and feces and subjected
to standardized testing to identify changes related to neurological
disease.
At 53 months post exposure, progressive signs of central nervous system
disease were observed in these 3 animals, and they were euthanized. Two of the
C-BSE animals tested strongly positive using standard BSE rapid tests,
***however in 1 C-type challenged animal, Prion 2015 Poster Abstracts S67
PrPsc was not detected using rapid tests for BSE.
***Subsequent testing resulted in the detection of pathologic lesion in
unusual brain location and PrPsc detection by PMCA only.
Our study demonstrates susceptibility of adult cattle to oral transmission
of classical BSE. We are further examining explanations for the unusual disease
presentation in the third challenged animal.
========================
HOUND STUDY
*** AS implied in the Inset 25 we must not _ASSUME_ that transmission of
BSE to other species will invariably present pathology typical of a scrapie-like
disease. ***
snip...
========================
IBNC Tauopathy or TSE Prion disease, it appears, no one is sure
Posted by flounder on 03 Jul 2015 at 16:53 GMT
BSE prions propagate as either variant CJD-like or sporadic CJD-like prion
strains in transgenic mice expressing human prion protein
*** Surprisingly, however, BSE transmission to these transgenic mice, in
addition to producing a vCJD-like phenotype, can also result in a distinct
molecular phenotype that is indistinguishable from that of sporadic CJD with
PrPSc type 2.
These data suggest that more than one BSEderived prion strain might infect
humans;
***it is therefore possible that some patients with a phenotype consistent
with sporadic CJD may have a disease arising from BSE exposure.
snip...
These studies further strengthen the evidence that vCJD is caused by a
BSE-like prion strain.
Also, remarkably, the key neuropathological hallmark of vCJD, the presence
of abundant florid PrP plaques, can be recapitulated on BSE or vCJD transmission
to these mice.
***However, the most surprising aspect of the studies was the finding that
an alternate pattern of disease can be induced in 129MM Tg35 mice from primary
transmission of BSE, with a molecular phenotype indistinguishable from that of a
subtype of sporadic CJD. This finding has important potential implications as it
raises the possibility that some humans infected with BSE prions may develop a
clinical disease indistinguishable from classical CJD associated with type 2
PrPSc. This is, in our experience, the commonest molecular sub-type of sporadic
CJD. In this regard, it is of interest that the reported incidence of sporadic
CJD has risen in the UK since the 1970s (Cousens et al., 1997)...
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: re-BSE prions propagate as either variant CJD-like or sporadic CJD
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2002 10:23:43 -0000
From: "Asante, Emmanuel A" e.asante@ic.ac.uk
To: "'flounder@wt.net'" flounder@wt.net
Dear Terry,
I have been asked by Professor Collinge to respond to your request. I am a
Senior Scientist in the MRC Prion Unit and the lead author on the paper. I have
attached a pdf copy of the paper for your attention.
Thank you for your interest in the paper.
In respect of your first question, the simple answer is, ***yes. As you
will find in the paper, we have managed to associate the alternate phenotype to
type 2 PrPSc, the commonest sporadic CJD. It is too early to be able to claim
any further sub-classification in respect of Heidenhain variant CJD or Vicky
Rimmer's version. It will take further studies, which are on-going, to establish
if there are sub-types to our initial finding which we are now reporting. The
main point of the paper is that, as well as leading to the expected new variant
CJD phenotype, BSE transmission to the 129-methionine genotype can lead to an
alternate phenotype which is indistinguishable from type 2 PrPSc.
I hope reading the paper will enlighten you more on the subject. If I can
be of any further assistance please to not hesitate to ask. Best wishes.
Emmanuel Asante
<>
____________________________________
Dr. Emmanuel A Asante MRC Prion Unit & Neurogenetics Dept. Imperial
College School of Medicine (St. Mary's) Norfolk Place, LONDON W2 1PG Tel: +44
(0)20 7594 3794 Fax: +44 (0)20 7706 3272 email: e.asante@ic.ac.uk (until
9/12/02) New e-mail: e.asante@prion.ucl.ac.uk (active from now)
____________________________________
***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.
================
***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.
===============
***however in 1 C-type challenged animal, Prion 2015 Poster Abstracts S67
PrPsc was not detected using rapid tests for BSE.
***Subsequent testing resulted in the detection of pathologic lesion in
unusual brain location and PrPsc detection by PMCA only.
IBNC Tauopathy or TSE Prion disease, it appears, no one is sure
Posted by flounder on 03 Jul 2015 at 16:53 GMT
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
*** BSE - ATYPICAL LESION DISTRIBUTION (RBSE 92-21367) statutory (obex
only) diagnostic criteria CVL 1992 ***
Greetings BSE-L members et al,
THIS seems to be another lesson on 'how not to find BSE' via the 'statutory
(obex only) diagnostic criteria'. However, this was some 10 years before Dr.
Detwiler was warning of this very practice, and how they would be 'MISSING'
cases of BSE if USED, which the USDA et al seemed to use as the 'GOLD STANDARD'.
NOW we see the UK used it. This seems to put a different light on the true
numbers of BSE mad cow cases that were documented, or, better yet, how many were
NOT documented $$$ IN THE USA AND ABROAD ???
============
ATYPICAL LESION DISTRIBUTION (RBSE 92/21367)
A 6 year old, home bred (HB), Friesian x Holstein cow in a dairy herd in
Aberdeenshirer submitted as a suspect BSE case in the negative study (SE0203),
has been diagnosed as BSE negative on standard, statutory (obex only),
diagnostic criteria at CVL.
Further examination by Dr Jeffrey at Lasswade, as required by the project
design, has revealed vacuolar change in the septal nucleus and putamen which
co-localised with PrP immunoreactivity. No significant lesions were found in any
other part of the brain, neither was PrP found in the medulla.
It is important to note that examination of four brain blocks used earlier
in the epidemic would not have detected the lesion but a 16 block study (as used
in the very days of BSE) would.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The herd of origin has had 15, HB, suspect cases of BSE since July 1989 and
a further case is still alive.
2. Of the 15, eight have been confirmed by standard histopathology and
seven diagnosed negative (including the above case).
3. Fixed brain tissue from the negative cases exists at Lasswade (because
they always collect whole brain in Scotland) but has not so far been examined
further. No frozen tissue was collected so neither SAF nor PrP detection (by
immunoblotting) has been attempted.
4. Mr Wells agrees with Dr Jeffrey's and Dr Simmons' findings.
FURTHER ACTION IN PROGRESS
1. The brain tissue from the negative cases will be examined in detail by
conventional histopathology and ICC.
2. Kevin Taylor and his veterinary colleagues have been alerted to the
situation.
OTHER RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
1. TRANSMISSION Attempt transmission from the 'case' to standard mice
strains. (Note: In regard to strain typing, formalin may have modified strain
phenotype - we need to discuss with NPU). Further transmission studies (eg in
cattle) might be suggested if primary transmission in mice fails. These
proposals have funding implications.
CODE 18-77
93/2.17/1.1
2. PrP GENOTYPING - Although only fixed brain tissue is available we are
considering genotyping from parents/offspring/fixed brain. As a first step we
are attempting to extract DNA from the fixed brain and to amplify the PrP gene
by PCR.
3. John Wilesmith has interrogated the data base for the herd history.
Other than the high proportion of negative cases nothing significant is
apparent.
4. Familial relationships between suspect (including positive and negative)
cases in this herd could be examined and tracings of breeding animals
initiated.
5. Consideration might be given to collecting frozen spinal cord from new
cases in this herd or in dispersals from it for (SAF/PrP examination).
CONCLUSIONS
1. At present it is unclear whether or not this is a singleton incident or
whether the other negative cases in this herd show a similar lesion.
2. The discovery might indicate the existence of a different strain of BSE
from that present in the general epidemic or an unusual response by an
individual host.
3. If further atypical lesion distribution cases are revealed in this herd
then implications of misdiagnosis of 'negative' cases in other herds may not be
insignificant.
4. If this is a new strain all the implications need to be considered
including whether or not to proceed with the further investigation of future
cases negative for BSE on obex examination alone and from which whole brains are
available (as in Scotland) or collected in the future. Also perhaps
investigation of the tissue distribution of infectivity in these animals might
be considered.
5. Animal and public health controls in place should be sufficient since
all tissues (other than brain for diagnosis) are incinerated.
We observe that Dr Tyrrell would wish to be informed of this at an early
opportunity and that the SEAC would wish to discuss it at their meeting in
April.
R BRADLEY
M DAWSON
17 February 1993
CVO - for information and comment on further action please
cc Mr K C Taylor
Dr B J Shreeve
93/2.17/1.2
This minute is re-issued with a wider distribution.
The information contained herein should not be disseminated further except
on the basis of "NEED TO KNOW".
Mr Scudamore
Mr R C Lowson
Dr D Matthews
Mr I Robertson
Dr K MacOwan
Mr C Randall
Mr J W Wilesmith
Mr G A H Wells
Dr M Jeffrey
Dr M Simmons
93/2.17/1.3
IN CONFIDENCE
BSE - ATYPICAL LESION DISTRIBUTION (RBSE 92-21367)
1992
NEW BRAIN DISORDER
3. WHAT ABOUT REPORTS OF NEW FORM OF BSE ?
THE VETERINARY RECORD HAS PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE ON A NEW BRAIN DISORDER OF
CATTLE DISCOVERED THROUGH OUR CONTROL MEASURES FOR BSE. ALTHOUGH IT PRESENTS
SIMILAR CLINICAL SIGNS TO BSE THERE ARE MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN HISTOPATHOLOGY AND
INCUBATION PERIODS BETWEEN THE TWO. MUST EMPHASISE THAT THIS IS _NOT_ BSE.
4. IS THIS NEW BRAIN DISORDER A THREAT ?
WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHETHER THE AGENT OF THIS DISEASE IS TRANSMISSIBLE. IN
ANY CASE, CASES SO FAR IDENTIFIED HAD SHOWN SIMILAR SYMPTOMS TO THOSE OF BSE,
AND THEREFORE HAVE BEEN SLAUGHTERED AND INCINERATED, SO THAT IF A TRANSMISSIBLE
AGENT WERE INVOLVED IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED. ...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
SEAC NEW RESULTS ON IDIOPATHIC BRAINSTEM NEURONAL CHROMATOLYSIS (IBNC) FROM
THE VETERINARY LABORATORIES AGENCY (VLA) SEAC 103/1
NEW RESULTS ON IDIOPATHIC BRAINSTEM NEURONAL CHROMATOLYSIS "All of the 15
cattle tested showed that the brains had abnormally accumulated PrP" 2009
NOW, read the following please, and then ask yourself, WHY the USDA et al
were ONLY TESTING THE OBEX PART OF THE BRAIN in USA cattle for BSE $$$
BECAUSE they knew that would be the least likely way to find BSE/TSE in USA
cattle $$$...TSS
=========
Discussion
In the five cats in this study with a spongiform encephalopathy, fibrils
were observed by electron microscopy and their major protein, Prpsc, was
identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. The fibrils were similar to those
described in sheep with scrapie (Rubenstein and others 1987, Gibson and others
1987, Scott and others 1987, Dawson and others 1987), cattle with bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (Wells and others 1987, Hope and others 1988, Scott
and others 1990) and humans with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (Merz and others
1984).
In sheep with scrapie, fibrils can be readily detected in several areas of
the brain, including cerebral cortex (Stack and others 1991).
By contrast, the frequency with which fibrils were detected in cattle with
BSE, DEPENDED ON THE REGION OF THE BRAIN SAMPLED; THE HIGHEST YIELD BEING
OBTAINED FROM MEDULLA, MIDBRAIN, THALAMUS AND BASAL NUCLEI WHERE VACUOLA CHANGES
ARE PRESENT (Scott and others 1990). This correlation between PrPsc accumulation
and vacuolar pathology is also well established in laboratory animal models of
scrapie (Bruce and others 1989). Because of the widespread distribution of
changes in FSE (Whatt and others 1991) and the requirement, in the present
study, not to compromise the histopathological examination of the brain, the
frontal region of the cerebrum was therefore selected for fibril and PrPsc
examinations. However, studies of the sensitivity of fibril detection in
different parts of the brain in cats with FSE are required to determine whether
detection can be made as readliy in other regions as in the frontal cerebral
cortex.
IT IS OF INTEREST, that fibrils were detected in the brains of 3 cats
(cases 9, 13, & 18) WITHOUT histopathological evidence of spongiform
encephalopathy, and that in only one of them, (case 9), a Western blot for
modified PrP was positive. There are precedents for the occurrence of abnormal
PrP in the organs of animals incubation scrapie prior to clinical signs and/or
spongiform encephalopathy...
snip...
(please see full text (and one might start downloading these documents for
future use, as some disappear never to re-appear, as in some of the FDA's.
...TSS)
PLEASE NOTE *
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...
AND THE USDA ET AL KNEW IT TOO ;
"These 9,200 cases were different because brain tissue samples were
preserved with formalin, which makes them suitable for only one type of
test--immunohistochemistry, or IHC."
THIS WAS DONE FOR A REASON!
THE IHC test has been proven to be the LEAST LIKELY to detect BSE/TSE in
the bovine, and these were probably from the most high risk cattle pool, the
ones the USDA et al, SHOULD have been testing. ...TSS
USDA 2003
We have to be careful that we don't get so set in the way we do things that
we forget to look for different emerging variations of disease. We've gotten
away from collecting the whole brain in our systems. We're using the brain stem
and we're looking in only one area. In Norway, they were doing a project and
looking at cases of Scrapie, and they found this where they did not find lesions
or PRP in the area of the obex. They found it in the cerebellum and the
cerebrum. It's a good lesson for us. Ames had to go back and change the
procedure for looking at Scrapie samples. In the USDA, we had routinely looked
at all the sections of the brain, and then we got away from it. They've recently
gone back. Dr. Keller: Tissues are routinely tested, based on which tissue
provides an 'official' test result as recognized by APHIS.
Dr. Detwiler: That's on the slaughter. But on the clinical cases, aren't
they still asking for the brain? But even on the slaughter, they're looking only
at the brainstem. We may be missing certain things if we confine ourselves to
one area.
snip.............
Dr. Detwiler: It seems a good idea, but I'm not aware of it. Another
important thing to get across to the public is that the negatives do not
guarantee absence of infectivity. The animal could be early in the disease and
the incubation period. Even sample collection is so important. If you're not
collecting the right area of the brain in sheep, or if collecting
lymphoreticular tissue, and you don't get a good biopsy, you could miss the area
with the PRP in it and come up with a negative test. There's a new, unusual form
of Scrapie that's been detected in Norway. We have to be careful that we don't
get so set in the way we do things that we forget to look for different emerging
variations of disease. We've gotten away from collecting the whole brain in our
systems. We're using the brain stem and we're looking in only one area. In
Norway, they were doing a project and looking at cases of Scrapie, and they
found this where they did not find lesions or PRP in the area of the obex. They
found it in the cerebellum and the cerebrum. It's a good lesson for us. Ames had
to go back and change the procedure for looking at Scrapie samples. In the USDA,
we had routinely looked at all the sections of the brain, and then we got away
from it. They've recently gone back.
Dr. Keller: Tissues are routinely tested, based on which tissue provides an
'official' test result as recognized by APHIS .
Dr. Detwiler: That's on the slaughter. But on the clinical cases, aren't
they still asking for the brain? But even on the slaughter, they're looking only
at the brainstem. We may be missing certain things if we confine ourselves to
one area.
snip...
FULL TEXT;
Completely Edited Version PRION ROUNDTABLE
Accomplished this day, Wednesday, December 11, 2003, Denver, Colorado
END...TSS
==========
Subject: USDA OIG SEMIANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS FY 2007 1st Half (bogus BSE
sampling FROM HEALTHY USDA CATTLE)
Date: June 21, 2007 at 2:49 pm PST
Owner and Corporation Plead Guilty to Defrauding Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program
An Arizona meat processing company and its owner pled guilty in February
2007 to charges of theft of Government funds, mail fraud, and wire fraud. The
owner and his company defrauded the BSE Surveillance Program when they falsified
BSE Surveillance Data Collection Forms and then submitted payment requests to
USDA for the services. In addition to the targeted sample population (those
cattle that were more than 30 months old or had other risk factors for BSE), the
owner submitted to USDA, or caused to be submitted, BSE obex (brain stem)
samples from healthy USDA-inspected cattle. As a result, the owner fraudulently
received approximately $390,000. Sentencing is scheduled for May 2007.
snip...
Topics that will be covered in ongoing or planned reviews under Goal 1
include:
soundness of BSE maintenance sampling (APHIS),
implementation of Performance-Based Inspection System enhancements for
specified risk material (SRM) violations and improved inspection controls over
SRMs (FSIS and APHIS),
snip...
The findings and recommendations from these efforts will be covered in
future semiannual reports as the relevant audits and investigations are
completed.
4 USDA OIG SEMIANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS FY 2007 1st Half
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Statement May 4, 2004 Media Inquiries: 301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
Statement on Texas Cow With Central Nervous System Symptoms
On Friday, April 30 th , the Food and Drug Administration learned that a
cow with central nervous system symptoms had been killed and shipped to a
processor for rendering into animal protein for use in animal feed.
FDA, which is responsible for the safety of animal feed, immediately began
an investigation. On Friday and throughout the weekend, FDA investigators
inspected the slaughterhouse, the rendering facility, the farm where the animal
came from, and the processor that initially received the cow from the
slaughterhouse.
FDA's investigation showed that the animal in question had already been
rendered into "meat and bone meal" (a type of protein animal feed). Over the
weekend FDA was able to track down all the implicated material. That material is
being held by the firm, which is cooperating fully with FDA.
THE USDA JUNE 2004 ENHANCED BSE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM WAS TERRIBLY FLAWED ;
CDC DR. PAUL BROWN TSE EXPERT COMMENTS 2006
In an article today for United Press International, science reporter Steve
Mitchell writes:
Analysis: What that mad cow means
By STEVE MITCHELL UPI Senior Medical Correspondent
WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture was quick
to assure the public earlier this week that the third case of mad cow disease
did not pose a risk to them, but what federal officials have not acknowledged is
that this latest case indicates the deadly disease has been circulating in U.S.
herds for at least a decade.
The second case, which was detected last year in a Texas cow and which USDA
officials were reluctant to verify, was approximately 12 years old.
These two cases (the latest was detected in an Alabama cow) present a
picture of the disease having been here for 10 years or so, since it is thought
that cows usually contract the disease from contaminated feed they consume as
calves. The concern is that humans can contract a fatal, incurable,
brain-wasting illness from consuming beef products contaminated with the mad cow
pathogen.
"The fact the Texas cow showed up fairly clearly implied the existence of
other undetected cases," Dr. Paul Brown, former medical director of the National
Institutes of Health's Laboratory for Central Nervous System Studies and an
expert on mad cow-like diseases, told United Press International. "The question
was, 'How many?' and we still can't answer that."
Brown, who is preparing a scientific paper based on the latest two mad cow
cases to estimate the maximum number of infected cows that occurred in the
United States, said he has "absolutely no confidence in USDA tests before one
year ago" because of the agency's reluctance to retest the Texas cow that
initially tested positive.
USDA officials finally retested the cow and confirmed it was infected seven
months later, but only at the insistence of the agency's inspector
general.
"Everything they did on the Texas cow makes everything they did before 2005
suspect," Brown said.
Despite this, Brown said the U.S. prevalence of mad cow, formally known as
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, did not significantly threaten human
or cattle health.
"Overall, my view is BSE is highly unlikely to pose any important risk
either in cattle feed or human feed," he said.
However, Jean Halloran of Consumers Union in Yonkers, N.Y., said consumers
should be troubled by the USDA's secrecy and its apparent plan to dramatically
cut back the number of mad cow tests it conducts.
"Consumers should be very concerned about how little we know about the
USDA's surveillance program and the failure of the USDA to reveal really
important details," Halloran told UPI. "Consumers have to be really concerned if
they're going to cut back the program," she added.
Last year the USDA tested more than 300,000 animals for the disease, but it
has proposed, even in light of a third case, scaling back the program to 40,000
tests annually.
"They seem to be, in terms of actions and policies, taking a lot more
seriously the concerns of the cattle industry than the concerns of consumers,"
Halloran said. "It's really hard to know what it takes to get this
administration to take action to protect the public."
The USDA has insisted that the safeguards of a ban on incorporating cow
tissue into cattle feed (which is thought to spread the disease) and removal of
the most infectious parts of cows, such as the brain and spinal cord, protect
consumers. But the agency glosses over the fact that both of these systems have
been revealed to be inadequately implemented.
The feed ban, which is enforced by the Food and Drug Administration, has
been criticized by the Government Accountability Office in two reports, the most
recent coming just last year. The GAO said the FDA's enforcement of the ban
continues to have weaknesses that "undermine the nation's firewall against
BSE."
USDA documents released last year showed more than 1,000 violations of the
regulations requiring the removal of brains and spinal cords in at least 35
states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with some plants being cited
repeatedly for infractions. In addition, a violation of similar regulations that
apply to beef exported to Japan is the reason why Japan closed its borders to
U.S. beef in January six weeks after reopening them.
Other experts also question the adequacy of the USDA's surveillance system.
The USDA insists the prevalence of mad cow disease is low, but the agency has
provided few details of its surveillance program, making it difficult for
outside experts to know if the agency's monitoring plan is sufficient.
"It's impossible to judge the adequacy of the surveillance system without
having a breakdown of the tested population by age and risk status," Elizabeth
Mumford, a veterinarian and BSE expert at Safe Food Solutions in Bern,
Switzerland, a company that provides advice on reducing mad cow risk to industry
and governments, told UPI.
"Everybody would be happier and more confident and in a sense it might be
able to go away a little bit for (the USDA) if they would just publish a
breakdown on the tests," Mumford added.
UPI requested detailed records about animals tested under the USDA's
surveillance plan via the Freedom of Information Act in May 2004 but nearly two
years later has not received any corresponding documents from the agency,
despite a federal law requiring agencies to comply within 30 days. This leaves
open the question of whether the USDA is withholding the information, does not
have the information or is so haphazardly organized that it cannot locate
it.
Mumford said the prevalence of the disease in U.S. herds is probably quite
low, but there have probably been other cases that have so far gone undetected.
"They're only finding a very small fraction of that low prevalence," she
said.
Mumford expressed surprise at the lack of concern about the deadly disease
from American consumers. "I would expect the U.S. public to be more concerned,"
she said.
Markus Moser, a molecular biologist and chief executive officer of
Prionics, a Swiss firm that manufactures BSE test kits, told UPI one concern is
that if people are infected, the mad cow pathogen could become "humanized" or
more easily transmitted from person to person.
"Transmission would be much easier, through all kinds of medical
procedures" and even through the blood supply, Moser said.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
CDC - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt ... Dr. Paul
Brown is Senior Research Scientist in the Laboratory of Central Nervous System
... Address for correspondence: Paul Brown, Building 36, Room 4A-05, ...
PAUL BROWN COMMENT TO ME ON THIS ISSUE
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 11:10 AM
"Actually, Terry, I have been critical of the USDA handling of the mad cow
issue for some years, and with Linda Detwiler and others sent lengthy detailed
critiques and recommendations to both the USDA and the Canadian Food Agency."
........TSS
OR, what the Honorable Phyllis Fong of the OIG found ;
Audit Report Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program  Phase II and Food Safety and
Inspection Service
Controls Over BSE Sampling, Specified Risk Materials, and Advanced Meat
Recovery Products - Phase III
Report No. 50601-10-KC January 2006
Finding 2 Inherent Challenges in Identifying and Testing High-Risk Cattle
Still Remain
THIS is just ONE month report, of TWO recalls of prohibited banned MBM,
which is illegal, mixed with 85% blood meal, which is still legal, but yet we
know the TSE/BSE agent will transmit blood. we have this l-BSE in North America
that is much more virulent and there is much concern with blood issue and l-BSE
as there is with nvCJD in humans. some are even starting to be concerned with
sporadic CJD and blood, and there are studies showing transmission there as
well. ... this is one month recall page, where 10 MILLION POUNDS OF BANNED MAD
COW FEED WENT OUT INTO COMMERCE, TO BE FED OUT. very little of the product that
reaches commerce is ever returned via recall, very, very little. this was 2007,
TEN YEARS AFTER THE AUGUST 4, 1997, PARTIAL AND VOLUNTARY MAD COW FEED BAN IN
THE USA, that was nothing but ink on paper. i have listed the tonnage of mad cow
feed that was in ALABAMA in one of the links too, this is where the infamous
g-h-BSEalabama case was, a genetic relation matching the new sporadic CJD in the
USA. seems this saga just keeps getting better and better.......$$$
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. BLOOD LACED MBM IN
COMMERCE USA 2007
snip...see full text ;
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
IN CONFIDENCE
The information contained herein should not be disseminated further except
on the basis of "NEED TO KNOW".
BSE - ATYPICAL LESION DISTRIBUTION (RBSE 92-21367) statutory (obex only)
diagnostic criteria CVL 1992
2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006
Comments on technical aspects of the risk assessment were then submitted to
FSIS.
Comments were received from Food and Water Watch, Food Animal Concerns
Trust (FACT), Farm Sanctuary, R-CALF USA, Linda A Detwiler, and Terry S.
Singeltary.
This document provides itemized replies to the public comments received on
the 2005 updated Harvard BSE risk assessment. Please bear the following points
in mind:
Owens, Julie
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [flounder9@verizon.net]
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 1:09 PM
To: FSIS RegulationsComments
Subject: [Docket No. FSIS-2006-0011] FSIS Harvard Risk Assessment of Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
Page 1 of 98
FSIS, USDA, REPLY TO SINGELTARY
Friday, April 19, 2013
APHIS 2013 Stakeholder Meeting (March 2013) BSE TSE PRION
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy: the effect of oral exposure dose on
attack rate and incubation period in cattle -- an update 5 December 2012
========
Thursday, May 02, 2013
$$$ Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Texas Important Update on OBEX ONLY
TESTING $$$
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
TEXAS Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Medina County Captive Deer
Thursday, July 09, 2015
TEXAS Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Herd Plan for Trace-Forward Exposed
Herd with Testing of Exposed Animals
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission Special Meeting Thursday on Chronic
Wasting Disease CWD
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Confirmed Texas Trans Pecos March 18,
2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Cases Confirmed In New Mexico 2013 and 2014
UPDATE 2015
Thursday, May 02, 2013
*** Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Texas Important Update on OBEX ONLY
TEXTING
Monday, February 11, 2013
TEXAS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD Four New Positives Found in Trans Pecos
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Chronic Wasting Disease Detected in Far West Texas
Monday, March 26, 2012
Texas Prepares for Chronic Wasting Disease CWD Possibility in Far West
Texas
***for anyone interested, here is some history of CWD along the Texas, New
Mexico border, and my attempt to keep up with it...terry
snip...
see history CWD Texas, New Mexico Border ;
Monday, March 26, 2012
3 CASES OF CWD FOUND NEW MEXICO MULE DEER SEVERAL MILES FROM TEXAS BORDER
Sunday, October 04, 2009
CWD NEW MEXICO SPREADING SOUTH TO TEXAS 2009 2009 Summary of Chronic
Wasting Disease in New Mexico New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Friday, May 22, 2015
*** Chronic Wasting Disease and Program Updates - 2014 NEUSAHA Annual
Meeting 12-14 May 2014
Sunday, July 12, 2015
*** Insights into CWD and BSE species barriers using real-time conversion
DEFRA Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Area 307, London, SW1P 4PQ Telephone: 0207 904 6000 Direct line: 0207 904
6287 E-mail: h.mcdonagh.defra.gsi.gov.uk
GTN: FAX:
Mr T S Singeltary P.O. Box 42 Bacliff Texas USA 77518
21 November 2001
Dear Mr Singeltary
TSE IN HOUNDS
Thank you for e-mail regarding the hounds survey. I am sorry for the long
delay in responding.
As you note, the hound survey remains unpublished. However the Spongiform
Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), the UK Government's independent
Advisory Committee on all aspects related to BSE-like disease, gave the hound
study detailed consideration at their meeting in January 1994. As a summary of
this meeting published in the BSE inquiry noted, the Committee were clearly
concerned about the work that had been carried out, concluding that there had
clearly been problems with it, particularly the control on the histology, and
that it was more or less inconclusive. However was agreed that there should be a
re-evaluation of the pathological material in the study.
Later, at their meeting in June 95, The Committee re-evaluated the hound
study to see if any useful results could be gained from it. The Chairman
concluded that there were varying opinions within the Committee on further work.
It did not suggest any further transmission studies and thought that the lack of
clinical data was a major weakness.
Overall, it is clear that SEAC had major concerns about the survey as
conducted. As a result it is likely that the authors felt that it would not
stand up to r~eer review and hence it was never published. As noted above, and
in the detailed minutes of the SEAC meeting in June 95, SEAC considered whether
additional work should be performed to examine dogs for evidence of TSE
infection. Although the Committee had mixed views about the merits of conducting
further work, the Chairman noted that when the Southwood Committee made their
recommendation to complete an assessment of possible spongiform disease in dogs,
no TSEs had been identified in other species and hence dogs were perceived as a
high risk population and worthy of study. However subsequent to the original
recommendation, made in 1990, a number of other species had been identified with
TSE ( e.g. cats) so a study in hounds was less
critical. For more details see- http://www.bseinquiry,
gov.uk/files/yb/1995/06/21005001 .pdf
As this study remains unpublished, my understanding is that the ownership
of the data essentially remains with the original researchers. Thus
unfortunately, I am unable to help with your request to supply information on
the hound survey directly. My only suggestion is that you contact one of the
researchers originally involved in the project, such as Gerald Wells. He can be
contacted at the following address.
Dr Gerald Wells, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone,
Surrey, KT 15 3NB, UK
You may also wish to be aware that since November 1994 all suspected cases
of spongiform encephalopathy in animals and poultry were made notifiable. Hence
since that date there has been a requirement for vets to report any suspect SE
in dogs for further investigation. To date there has never been positive
identification of a TSE in a dog.
I hope this is helpful
Yours sincerely 4
HUGH MCDONAGH BSE CORRESPONDENCE SECTION
======================================
HOUND SURVEY
I am sorry, but I really could have been a co-signatory of Gerald's
minute.
I do NOT think that we can justify devoting any resources to this study,
especially as larger and more important projects such as the pathogenesis study
will be quite demanding.
If there is a POLITICAL need to continue with the examination of hound
brains then it should be passed entirely to the VI Service.
J W WILESMITH Epidemiology Unit 18 October 1991
Mr. R Bradley
cc: Mr. G A H Wells
3.3. Mr R J Higgins in conjunction with Mr G A Wells and Mr A C Scott would
by the end of the year, indentify the three brains that were from the
''POSITIVE'' end of the lesion spectrum.
TSE in dogs have not been documented simply because OF THE ONLY STUDY,
those brain tissue samples were screwed up too. see my investigation of this
here, and to follow, later follow up, a letter from defra, AND SEE SUSPICIOUS
BRAIN TISSUE SAF's. ...TSS
TSE & HOUNDS
GAH WELLS (very important statement here...TSS)
HOUND STUDY
AS implied in the Inset 25 we must not _ASSUME_ that transmission of BSE to
other species will invariably present pathology typical of a scrapie-like
disease.
snip...
76 pages on hound study;
snip...
The spongiform changes were not pathognomonic (ie. conclusive proof) for
prion disease, as they were atypical, being largely present in white matter
rather than grey matter in the brain and spinal cord. However, Tony Scott, then
head of electron microscopy work on TSEs, had no doubt that these SAFs were
genuine and that these hounds therefore must have had a scrapie-like disease. I
reviewed all the sections myself (original notes appended) and although the
pathology was not typical, I could not exclude the possibility that this was a
scrapie-like disorder, as white matter vacuolation is seen in TSEs and Wallerian
degeneration was also present in the white matter of the hounds, another feature
of scrapie.
38.I reviewed the literature on hound neuropathology, and discovered that
micrographs and descriptive neuropathology from papers on 'hound ataxia'
mirrored those in material from Robert Higgins' hound survey. Dr Tony Palmer
(Cambridge) had done much of this work, and I obtained original sections from
hound ataxia cases from him. This enabled me provisionally to conclude that
Robert Higgins had in all probability detected hound ataxia, but also that hound
ataxia itself was possibly a TSE. Gerald Wells confirmed in 'blind' examination
of single restricted microscopic fields that there was no distinction between
the white matter vacuolation present in BSE and scrapie cases, and that
occurring in hound ataxia and the hound survey cases.
39.Hound ataxia had reportedly been occurring since the 1930's, and a known
risk factor for its development was the feeding to hounds of downer cows, and
particularly bovine offal. Circumstantial evidence suggests that bovine offal
may also be causal in FSE, and TME in mink. Despite the inconclusive nature of
the neuropathology, it was clearly evident that this putative canine spongiform
encephalopathy merited further investigation.
40.The inconclusive results in hounds were never confirmed, nor was the
link with hound ataxia pursued. I telephoned Robert Higgins six years after he
first sent the slides to CVL. I was informed that despite his submitting a
yearly report to the CVO including the suggestion that the hound work be
continued, no further work had been done since 1991. This was surprising, to say
the very least.
41.The hound work could have provided valuable evidence that a scrapie-like
agent may have been present in cattle offal long before the BSE epidemic was
recognised. The MAFF hound survey remains unpublished.
Histopathological support to various other published MAFF experiments
42.These included neuropathological examination of material from
experiments studying the attempted transmission of BSE to chickens and pigs (CVL
1991) and to mice (RVC 1994).
It was thought likely that at least some, and probably all, of the cases in
zoo animals were caused by the BSE agent. Strong support for this hypothesis
came from the findings of Bruce and others (1994) ( Bruce, M.E., Chree, A.,
McConnell, I., Foster, J., Pearson, G. & Fraser, H. (1994) Transmission of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy and scrapie to mice: strain variation and
species barrier. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 343, 405-411:
J/PTRSL/343/405 ), who demonstrated that the pattern of variation in incubation
period and lesion profile in six strains of mice inoculated with brain
homogenates from an affected kudu and the nyala, was similar to that seen when
this panel of mouse strains was inoculated with brain from cattle with BSE. The
affected zoo bovids were all from herds that were exposed to feeds that were
likely to have contained contaminated ruminant-derived protein and the zoo
felids had been exposed, if only occasionally in some cases, to tissues from
cattle unfit for human consumption.
snip...
NEW URL ;
Friday, March 8, 2013
Dogs may have been used to make Petfood and animal feed
OR-09: Canine spongiform encephalopathy—A new form of animal prion disease
Monique David, Mourad Tayebi UT Health; Houston, TX USA
It was also hypothesized that BSE might have originated from an
unrecognized sporadic or genetic case of bovine prion disease incorporated into
cattle feed or even cattle feed contaminated with prion-infected human remains.1
However, strong support for a genetic origin of BSE has recently been
demonstrated in an H-type BSE case exhibiting the novel mutation E211K.2
Furthermore, a specific prion protein strain causing BSE in cattle is believed
to be the etiological agent responsible for the novel human prion disease,
variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).3 Cases of vCJD have been identified in
a number countries, including France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada,
Japan, US and the UK with the largest number of cases. Naturally occurring
feline spongiform encephalopathy of domestic cats4 and spongiform
encephalopathies of a number of zoo animals so-called exotic ungulate
encephalopathies5,6 are also recognized as animal prion diseases, and are
thought to have resulted from the same BSE-contaminated food given to cattle and
humans, although and at least in some of these cases, a sporadic and/or genetic
etiology cannot be ruled out. The canine species seems to display resistance to
prion disease and no single case has so far been reported.7,8 Here, we describe
a case of a 9 week old male Rottweiler puppy presenting neurological deficits;
and histological examination revealed spongiform vacuolation characteristic of
those associated with prion diseases.9 Initial biochemical studies using
anti-PrP antibodies revealed the presence of partially proteinase K-resistant
fragment by western blotting. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry revealed
spongiform degeneration consistent with those found in prion disease and
displayed staining for PrPSc in the cortex.
Of major importance, PrPSc isolated from the Rottweiler was able to cross
the species barrier transmitted to hamster in vitro with PMCA and in vivo (one
hamster out of 5). Futhermore, second in vivo passage to hamsters, led to 100%
attack rate (n = 4) and animals displayed untypical lesional profile and shorter
incubation period.
In this study, we show that the canine species might be sensitive to prion
disease and that PrPSc isolated from a dog can be transmitted to dogs and
hamsters in vitro using PMCA and in vivo to hamsters.
If our preliminary results are confirmed, the proposal will have a major
impact on animal and public health and would certainly lead to implementing new
control measures for ‘canine spongiform encephalopathy’ (CSE).
References 1. Colchester AC, Colchester NT. The origin of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy: the human prion disease hypothesis. Lancet 2005; 366:856-61;
PMID:16139661; http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67218-2.
2. Richt JA, Hall SM. BSE case associated with prion protein gene mutation.
PLoS Pathog 2008; 4:e1000156; PMID:18787697; http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.
ppat.1000156.
3. Collinge J. Human prion diseases and bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE). Hum Mol Genet 1997; 6:1699-705; PMID:9300662; http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/
hmg/6.10.1699.
4. Wyatt JM, Pearson GR, Smerdon TN, Gruffydd-Jones TJ, Wells GA, Wilesmith
JW. Naturally occurring scrapie-like spongiform encephalopathy in five domestic
cats. Vet Rec 1991; 129:233-6; PMID:1957458; http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.129.11.233.
5. Jeffrey M, Wells GA. Spongiform encephalopathy in a nyala (Tragelaphus
angasi). Vet Pathol 1988; 25:398-9; PMID:3232315; http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/030098588802500514.
6. Kirkwood JK, Wells GA, Wilesmith JW, Cunningham AA, Jackson SI.
Spongiform encephalopathy in an arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) and a greater kudu
(Tragelaphus strepsiceros). Vet Rec 1990; 127:418-20; PMID:2264242.
7. Bartz JC, McKenzie DI, Bessen RA, Marsh RF, Aiken JM. Transmissible mink
encephalopathy species barrier effect between ferret and mink: PrP gene and
protein analysis. J Gen Virol 1994; 75:2947-53; PMID:7964604; http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-
75-11-2947.
8. Lysek DA, Schorn C, Nivon LG, Esteve-Moya V, Christen B, Calzolai L, et
al. Prion protein NMR structures of cats, dogs, pigs, and sheep. Proc Natl Acad
Sci U S A 2005; 102:640-5; PMID:15647367; http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0408937102.
9. Budka H. Neuropathology of prion diseases. Br Med Bull 2003; 66:121-30;
PMID:14522854; http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bmb/66.1.121.
Monday, March 26, 2012
CANINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY: A NEW FORM OF ANIMAL PRION DISEASE
http://caninespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2012/03/canine-spongiform-encephalopathy-new.html
Monday, March 8, 2010
Canine Spongiform Encephalopathy aka MAD DOG DISEASE
=======================================
2013
Strain characteristics of the in vitro-adapted rabbit and dog BSE agent
remained invariable with respect to the original cattle BSE prion, suggesting
that the naturally low susceptibility of rabbits and dogs to prion infections
should not alter their zoonotic potential if these animals became infected with
BSE.
=======================================
Neurobiology of Disease
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Induces Misfolding of Alleged
Prion-Resistant Species Cellular Prion Protein without Altering Its
Pathobiological Features
Enric Vidal3, Natalia Fernández-Borges1, Belén Pintado4, Montserrat
Ordóñez3, Mercedes Márquez6, Dolors Fondevila5,6, Juan MarÃa Torres7, MartÃ
Pumarola5,6, and JoaquÃn Castilla1,2 + Author Affiliations
1CIC bioGUNE, 48160 Derio, Bizkaia, Spain,
2IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain,
3Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de
Barcelona (UAB)-IRTA, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain,
4Centro Nacional de BiotecnologÃa, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049
Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain,
5Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, UAB, 08193
Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain,
6Murine Pathology Unit, Centre de Biotecnologia Animal i Terà pia Gènica,
UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain, and
7Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal-Instituto Nacional de
Investigación y TecnologÃa Agraria y Alimentaria, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid,
Spain
Author contributions: E.V., N.F.-B., and J.C. designed research; E.V.,
N.F.-B., B.P., M.O., M.M., D.F., and J.C. performed research; E.V., N.F.-B.,
B.P., and J.C. contributed unpublished reagents/analytic tools; E.V., N.F.-B.,
B.P., M.O., M.M., D.F., J.M.T., M.P., and J.C. analyzed data; E.V. and J.C.
wrote the paper.
Abstract
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions were responsible for an
unforeseen epizootic in cattle which had a vast social, economic, and public
health impact. This was primarily because BSE prions were found to be
transmissible to humans. Other species were also susceptible to BSE either by
natural infection (e.g., felids, caprids) or in experimental settings (e.g.,
sheep, mice). However, certain species closely related to humans, such as canids
and leporids, were apparently resistant to BSE. In vitro prion amplification
techniques (saPMCA) were used to successfully misfold the cellular prion protein
(PrPc) of these allegedly resistant species into a BSE-type prion protein. The
biochemical and biological properties of the new prions generated in vitro after
seeding rabbit and dog brain homogenates with classical BSE were studied.
Pathobiological features of the resultant prion strains were determined after
their inoculation into transgenic mice expressing bovine and human PrPC. Strain
characteristics of the in vitro-adapted rabbit and dog BSE agent remained
invariable with respect to the original cattle BSE prion, suggesting that the
naturally low susceptibility of rabbits and dogs to prion infections should not
alter their zoonotic potential if these animals became infected with BSE. This
study provides a sound basis for risk assessment regarding prion diseases in
purportedly resistant species.
Received January 18, 2013. Revision received March 7, 2013. Accepted March
23, 2013. Copyright © 2013 the authors 0270-6474/13/337778-09$15.00/0
Chronic Wasting Disease Susceptibility of Four North American Rodents
Chad J. Johnson1*, Jay R. Schneider2, Christopher J. Johnson2, Natalie A.
Mickelsen2, Julia A. Langenberg3, Philip N. Bochsler4, Delwyn P. Keane4, Daniel
J. Barr4, and Dennis M. Heisey2 1University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary
Medicine, Department of Comparative Biosciences, 1656 Linden Drive, Madison WI
53706, USA 2US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006
Schroeder Road, Madison WI 53711, USA 3Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources, 101 South Webster Street, Madison WI 53703, USA 4Wisconsin Veterinary
Diagnostic Lab, 445 Easterday Lane, Madison WI 53706, USA *Corresponding author
email: cjohnson@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
We intracerebrally challenged four species of native North American rodents
that inhabit locations undergoing cervid chronic wasting disease (CWD)
epidemics. The species were: deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), white-footed
mice (P. leucopus), meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), and red-backed voles
(Myodes gapperi). The inocula were prepared from the brains of hunter-harvested
white-tailed deer from Wisconsin that tested positive for CWD. Meadow voles
proved to be most susceptible, with a median incubation period of 272 days.
Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of PrPd in the
brains of all challenged meadow voles. Subsequent passages in meadow voles lead
to a significant reduction in incubation period. The disease progression in
red-backed voles, which are very closely related to the European bank vole (M.
glareolus) which have been demonstrated to be sensitive to a number of TSEs, was
slower than in meadow voles with a median incubation period of 351 days. We
sequenced the meadow vole and red-backed vole Prnp genes and found three amino
acid (AA) differences outside of the signal and GPI anchor sequences. Of these
differences (T56-, G90S, S170N; read-backed vole:meadow vole), S170N is
particularly intriguing due its postulated involvement in "rigid loop" structure
and CWD susceptibility. Deer mice did not exhibit disease signs until nearly 1.5
years post-inoculation, but appear to be exhibiting a high degree of disease
penetrance. White-footed mice have an even longer incubation period but are also
showing high penetrance. Second passage experiments show significant shortening
of incubation periods. Meadow voles in particular appear to be interesting lab
models for CWD. These rodents scavenge carrion, and are an important food source
for many predator species. Furthermore, these rodents enter human and domestic
livestock food chains by accidental inclusion in grain and forage. Further
investigation of these species as potential hosts, bridge species, and
reservoirs of CWD is required.
Veterinary Pathology Onlinevet.sagepub.com Published online before print
February 27, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0300985814524798 Veterinary Pathology February
27, 2014 0300985814524798
Lesion Profiling and Subcellular Prion Localization of Cervid Chronic
Wasting Disease in Domestic Cats
D. M. Seelig1⇑ A. V. Nalls1 M. Flasik2 V. Frank1 S. Eaton2 C. K. Mathiason1
E. A. Hoover1 1Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA 2Department of Biomedical Sciences,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA D. M. Seelig, University of
Minnesota, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Room 339 VetMedCtrS,
6192A (Campus Delivery Code), 1352 Boyd Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA. Email
address: dseelig@umn.edu
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an efficiently transmitted, fatal, and
progressive prion disease of cervids with an as yet to be fully clarified host
range. While outbred domestic cats (Felis catus) have recently been shown to be
susceptible to experimental CWD infection, the neuropathologic features of the
infection are lacking. Such information is vital to provide diagnostic power in
the event of natural interspecies transmission and insights into host and strain
interactions in interspecies prion infection. Using light microscopy and
immunohistochemistry, we detail the topographic pattern of neural spongiosis
(the “lesion profile”) and the distribution of misfolded prion protein in the
primary and secondary passage of feline CWD (FelCWD). We also evaluated cellular
and subcellular associations between misfolded prion protein (PrPD) and central
nervous system neurons and glial cell populations. From these studies, we (1)
describe the novel neuropathologic profile of FelCWD, which is distinct from
either cervid CWD or feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE), and (2) provide
evidence of serial passage-associated interspecies prion adaptation. In
addition, we demonstrate through confocal analysis the successful
co-localization of PrPD with neurons, astrocytes, microglia, lysosomes, and
synaptophysin, which, in part, implicates each of these in the neuropathology of
FelCWD. In conclusion, this work illustrates the simultaneous role of both host
and strain in the development of a unique FelCWD neuropathologic profile and
that such a profile can be used to discriminate between FelCWD and FSE.
prion chronic wasting disease immunohistochemistry interspecies cat feline
spongiform encephalopathy transmissible spongiform encephalopathy adaptation
species barrier
Monday, August 8, 2011 Susceptibility of Domestic Cats to CWD Infection
Oral.29: Susceptibility of Domestic Cats to CWD Infection
Amy Nalls, Nicholas J. Haley, Jeanette Hayes-Klug, Kelly Anderson, Davis M.
Seelig, Dan S. Bucy, Susan L. Kraft, Edward A. Hoover and Candace K.
Mathiason†
Colorado State University; Fort Collins, CO USA†Presenting author; Email:
ckm@lamar.colostate.edu
Domestic and non-domestic cats have been shown to be susceptible to one
prion disease, feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE), thought to be transmitted
through consumption of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) contaminated meat.
Because domestic and free ranging felids scavenge cervid carcasses, including
those in CWD affected areas, we evaluated the susceptibility of domestic cats to
CWD infection experimentally. Groups of n = 5 cats each were inoculated either
intracerebrally (IC) or orally (PO) with CWD deer brain homogenate. Between
40–43 months following IC inoculation, two cats developed mild but progressive
symptoms including weight loss, anorexia, polydipsia, patterned motor behaviors
and ataxia—ultimately mandating euthanasia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on
the brain of one of these animals (vs. two age-matched controls) performed just
before euthanasia revealed increased ventricular system volume, more prominent
sulci, and T2 hyperintensity deep in the white matter of the frontal hemisphere
and in cortical grey distributed through the brain, likely representing
inflammation or gliosis. PrPRES and widely distributed peri-neuronal vacuoles
were demonstrated in the brains of both animals by immunodetection assays. No
clinical signs of TSE have been detected in the remaining primary passage cats
after 80 months pi. Feline-adapted CWD was sub-passaged into groups (n=4 or 5)
of cats by IC, PO, and IP/SQ routes. Currently, at 22 months pi, all five IC
inoculated cats are demonstrating abnormal behavior including increasing
aggressiveness, pacing, and hyper responsiveness.
*** Two of these cats have developed rear limb ataxia. Although the limited
data from this ongoing study must be considered preliminary, they raise the
potential for cervid-to-feline transmission in nature.
AD.63:
Susceptibility of domestic cats to chronic wasting disease
Amy V.Nalls,1 Candace Mathiason,1 Davis Seelig,2 Susan Kraft,1 Kevin
Carnes,1 Kelly Anderson,1 Jeanette Hayes-Klug1 and Edward A. Hoover1 1Colorado
State University; Fort Collins, CO USA; 2University of Minnesota; Saint Paul, MN
USA
Domestic and nondomestic cats have been shown to be susceptible to feline
spongiform encephalopathy (FSE), almost certainly caused by consumption of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-contaminated meat. Because domestic and
free-ranging nondomestic felids scavenge cervid carcasses, including those in
areas affected by chronic wasting disease (CWD), we evaluated the susceptibility
of the domestic cat (Felis catus) to CWD infection experimentally. Cohorts of 5
cats each were inoculated either intracerebrally (IC) or orally (PO) with
CWD-infected deer brain. At 40 and 42 mo post-inoculation, two IC-inoculated
cats developed signs consistent with prion disease, including a stilted gait,
weight loss, anorexia, polydipsia, patterned motor behaviors, head and tail
tremors, and ataxia, and progressed to terminal disease within 5 mo. Brains from
these two cats were pooled and inoculated into cohorts of cats by IC, PO, and
intraperitoneal and subcutaneous (IP/SC) routes. Upon subpassage, feline-adapted
CWD (FelCWD) was transmitted to all IC-inoculated cats with a decreased
incubation period of 23 to 27 mo. FelCWD was detected in the brains of all the
symptomatic cats by western blotting and immunohistochemistry and abnormalities
were seen in magnetic resonance imaging, including multifocal T2 fluid
attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) signal hyper-intensities, ventricular size
increases, prominent sulci, and white matter tract cavitation. Currently, 3 of 4
IP/SQ and 2 of 4 PO inoculared cats have developed abnormal behavior patterns
consistent with the early stage of feline CWD.
*** These results demonstrate that CWD can be transmitted and adapted to
the domestic cat, thus raising the issue of potential cervid-to- feline
transmission in nature.
www.landesbioscience.com
PO-081: Chronic wasting disease in the cat— Similarities to feline
spongiform encephalopathy (FSE)
FELINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY FSE
Herds infected with Chronic Wasting Disease in Canada in 2015 The CFIA
works with provincial governments and industry to conduct regular Chronic
Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance. Ongoing provincial surveillance for CWD
varies with each particular province's perceived threat and infection status.
Testing is mandatory in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Yukon; it is
voluntary, completed by random submission, or organized through policy in other
provinces and territories.
In addition, CWD is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals
Regulations. This means that all suspected cases must be reported to the
CFIA.
Current as of: 2015-06-30
Domestic cervid herds confirmed to be infected with CWD in Canada in 2015
Date confirmed Location Animal type infected
June 11 Saskatchewan Elk
April 9 Saskatchewan Deer
March 19 Saskatchewan Elk
January 16 Alberta Elk
Flocks infected with Scrapie in Canada in 2015 The CFIA, in co-operation
with provincial governments and industry, launched a national scrapie
surveillance program in 2005. Under the program, producers are encouraged to
report animals that die on the farm or exhibit symptoms of the disease.
In addition, scrapie is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals
Regulations. This means that all suspected cases must be reported to the
CFIA.
Current as of: 2015-06-30
Sheep flocks and/or goat herds confirmed to be infected with classical
scrapie in Canada in 2015
Date confirmed Location Animal type infected
January 5 Ontario Goat
May 22 Quebec Sheep
June 16 Ontario Sheep
Confirmed Cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in 2015 BSE is a
reportable disease under the Health of Animals Regulations. This means that all
suspected cases must be reported to the CFIA.
Current as of: 2015-06-30
The following table lists individual animals confirmed to be infected with
BSE in Canada in 2015.
Date confirmed Location Animal type infected Age of Animal
February 11 Alberta Beef cow 70 months
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Confirms Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
(BSE) in Alberta
SNIP...see more TSE prion stats from Canada with CJD update as well...
Friday, July 10, 2015
*** CANADA TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY TSE PRION UPDATE
***
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Larry’s Custom Meats Inc. Recalls Beef Tongue Products That May Contain
Specified Risk Materials BSE TSE Prion
spontaneous atypical BSE ???
if that's the case, then France is having one hell of an epidemic of
atypical BSE, probably why they stopped testing for BSE, problem solved $$$
As of December 2011, around 60 atypical BSE cases have currently been
reported in 13 countries, *** with over one third in France.
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, 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
*** PRION 2015 ORAL AND POSTER CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS ***
THANK YOU PRION 2015 TAYLOR & FRANCIS, Professor Chernoff, and
Professor Aguzzi et al, for making these PRION 2015 Congressional Poster and
Oral Abstracts available freely to the public. ...Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
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.
===============
***thus questioning the origin of human sporadic cases...TSS
===============
*** 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
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a widespread and expanding prion disease
in free-ranging and captive cervid species in North America. The zoonotic
potential of CWD prions is a serious public health concern. Current literature
generated with in vitro methods and in vivo animal models (transgenic mice,
macaques and squirrel monkeys) reports conflicting results. The susceptibility
of human CNS and peripheral organs to CWD prions remains largely unresolved. In
our earlier bioassay experiments using several humanized transgenic mouse lines,
we detected protease-resistant PrPSc in the spleen of two out of 140 mice that
were intracerebrally inoculated with natural CWD isolates, but PrPSc was not
detected in the brain of the same mice. Secondary passages with such
PrPSc-positive CWD-inoculated humanized mouse spleen tissues led to efficient
prion transmission with clear clinical and pathological signs in both humanized
and cervidized transgenic mice. Furthermore, a recent bioassay with natural CWD
isolates in a new humanized transgenic mouse line led to clinical prion
infection in 2 out of 20 mice. ***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.***
==================
Saturday, May 30, 2015
PRION 2015 ORAL AND POSTER CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Seven main threats for the future linked to prions
***Also, a link is suspected between atypical BSE and some apparently
sporadic cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. These atypical BSE cases
constitute an unforeseen first threat that could sharply modify the European
approach to prion diseases.
Second threat
snip...
Monday, October 10, 2011
EFSA Journal 2011 The European Response to BSE: A Success Story
snip...
*** but the possibility that a small proportion of human cases so far
classified as "sporadic" CJD are of zoonotic origin could not be excluded.
Moreover, transmission experiments to non-human primates suggest that some TSE
agents in addition to Classical BSE prions in cattle (namely L-type Atypical
BSE, Classical BSE in sheep, transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) and chronic
wasting disease (CWD) agents) might have zoonotic potential.
snip...
***In addition, non-human primates are specifically susceptible for
atypical BSE as demonstrated by an approximately 50% shortened incubation time
for L-type BSE as compared to C-type. Considering the current scientific
information available, it cannot be assumed that these different BSE types pose
the same human health risks as C-type BSE or that these risks are mitigated by
the same protective measures.
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Catholic Medical Center v. Civil No. 14-cv-180-JL Opinion No. 2015 DNH 110
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease TSE Prion tainted
medical instruments
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Minimise transmission risk of CJD and vCJD in healthcare settings Last
updated 15 May 2015
2015 PRION CONFERENCE
*** RE-P.164: Blood transmission of prion infectivity in the squirrel
monkey: The Baxter study
***suggest that blood donations from cases of GSS (and perhaps other
familial forms of TSE) carry more risk than from vCJD cases, and that little or
no risk is associated with sCJD. ***
ran across an old paper from 1984 ;
***The occurrence of contact cases raises the possibility that transmission
in families may be effected by an unusually virulent strain of the agent.
***
***suggest that blood donations from cases of GSS (and perhaps other
familial forms of TSE) carry more risk than from vCJD cases, and that little or
no risk is associated with sCJD...see;
P.164: Blood transmission of prion infectivity in the squirrel monkey: The
Baxter study
Paul Brown1, Diane Ritchie2, James Ironside2, Christian Abee3, Thomas
Kreil4, and Susan Gibson5 1NIH (retired); Bethesda, MD USA; 2University of
Edinburgh; Edinburgh, UK; 3University of Texas; Bastrop, TX USA; 4Baxter
Bioscience; Vienna, Austria; 5University of South Alabama; Mobile, AL USA
Five vCJD disease transmissions and an estimated 1 in 2000 ‘silent’
infections in UK residents emphasize the continued need for information about
disease risk in humans. A large study of blood component infectivity in a
non-human primate model has now been completed and analyzed. Among 1 GSS, 4
sCJD, and 3 vCJD cases, only GSS leukocytes transmitted disease within a 5–6
year surveillance period. A transmission study in recipients of multiple whole
blood transfusions during the incubation and clinical stages of sCJD and vCJD in
ic-infected donor animals was uniformly negative. These results, together with
other laboratory studies in rodents and nonhuman primates and epidemiological
observations in humans, ***suggest that blood donations from cases of GSS (and
perhaps other familial forms of TSE) carry more risk than from vCJD cases, and
that little or no risk is associated with sCJD. The issue of decades-long
incubation periods in ‘silent’ vCJD carriers remains open.
=============
***suggest that blood donations from cases of GSS (and perhaps other
familial forms of TSE) carry more risk than from vCJD cases, and that little or
no risk is associated with sCJD...see;
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
*** Detection of Infectivity in Blood of Persons with Variant and Sporadic
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease ***
THE BAXTER STUDY...SEE MORE HERE ;
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2014 9:29 PM
To: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Subject: THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE R. G. WILL
1984
THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE
R. G. WILL
1984
snip...
THE BAXTER STUDY...SEE MORE HERE ;
Friday, January 10, 2014
vpspr, sgss, sffi, TSE, an iatrogenic by-product of gss, ffi, familial type
prion disease, what it ??? Greetings Friends, Neighbors, and Colleagues,
vpspr, sgss, sffi, TSE, an iatrogenic by-product of gss, ffi, familial type
prion disease, what it ???
Confucius is confused again.
I was just sitting and thinking about why there is no genetic link to some
of these TSE prion sGSS, sFFi, and it’s really been working on my brain, and
then it hit me today.
what if, vpspr, sgss, sffi, TSE prion disease, was a by-product from
iatrogenic gss, ffi, familial type prion disease ???
it could explain the cases of no genetic link to the gss, ffi, familial
type prion disease, to the family.
sporadic and familial is a red herring, in my opinion, and underestimation
is spot on, due to the crude prehistoric diagnostic procedures and criteria and
definition of a prion disease.
I say again, what if, iatrogenic, what if, with all these neurological
disorders, with a common denominator that is increasingly showing up in the
picture, called the prion.
I urge all scientist to come together here, with this as the utmost of
importance about all these neurological disease that are increasingly showing up
as a prion mechanism, to put on the front burners, the IATROGENIC aspect and the
potential of transmission there from, with diseases/disease??? in question.
by definition, could they be a Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE
prion type disease, and if so, what are the iatrogenic chances of transmission?
this is very important, and should be at the forefront of research, and if
proven, could be a monumental breakthrough in science and battle against the
spreading of these disease/diseases.
the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health pub-med
site, a quick search of the word SPORADIC will give you a hit of 40,747. of
those, there are a plethora of disease listed under sporadic. sporadic simply
means (UNKNOWN).
the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health pub-med
site, a quick search of the word FAMILIAL will give you a hit of 921,815. of
those, there are a plethora of disease listed under familial.
again, sporadic and familial is a red herring, in my opinion.
also, in my opinion, when you start have disease such as sporadic Fatal
Familial Insomnia, (and or sporadic GSS, or the VPSPr type prion disease), and
there is NO familial genetic linkage to the family of the diseased, I have
serious questions there as to a familial type disease, and thus, being defined
as such.
*UPDATE* NOVEMBER 16, 2014 vpspr, sgss, sffi, TSE, an iatrogenic by-product
of gss, ffi, familial type prion disease, what it ??? Friday, January 10, 2014
Greetings again Friends, Neighbors, and Colleagues,
snip...see ;
Monday, June 29, 2015
RESTRICTED – POLICY CJD IN ADOLESCENTS (16 year old Vickey Rimmer), FARMERS
WITH BSE HERDS, AND FARMERS WIFE with Sporadic CJD
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee TSEAC MEETING
SCHEDULED FOR June 1, 2015
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE NEUROPATHOLOGY OF THE RED-NECKED OSTRICH (STRUTHIO
CAMELUS) - SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY
4.21 Three cases of SE’s with an unknown infectious agent have been
reported in ostriches (Struthio Camellus) in two zoos in north west Germany
(Schoon @ Brunckhorst, 1999, Verh ber Erkeg Zootiere 33:309-314). These birds
showed protracted central nervous symptoms with ataxia, disturbances of balance
and uncoordinated feeding behaviour. The diet of these birds had included
poultry meat meal, some of which came from cattle emergency slaughter
cases.
SE1806
TRANSMISSION STUDIES OF BSE TO DOMESTIC FOWL BY ORAL EXPOSURE TO BRAIN
HOMOGENATE
1 challenged cock bird was necropsied (41 months p.i.) following a period
of ataxia, tremor, limb abduction and other neurological signs.
Histopathological examination failed to reveal any significant lesions of the
central or peripheral nervous systems...
1 other challenged cock bird is also showing ataxia (43 months p.i.).
snip...
94/01.19/7.1
A notification of Spongiform Encephalopathy was introduced in October 1996
in respect of ungulates, poultry and any other animal.
4.23 MAFF have carried out their own transmission experiments with hens. In
these experiments, some of the chickens exposed to the BSE agent showed
neurological symptoms. However MAFF have not so far published details of the
symptoms seen in chickens. Examination of brains from these chickens did not
show the typical pathology seen in other SE’s. 4.24 A farmer in Kent in November
1996 noticed that one of his 20 free range hens, the oldest, aged about 30
months was having difficulty entering its den and appeared frightened and tended
to lose its balance when excited. Having previously experienced BSE cattle on
his farm, he took particular notice of the bird and continued to observe it over
the following weeks. It lost weight, its balance deteriorated and characteristic
tremors developed which were closely associated with the muscles required for
standing. In its attempts to maintain its balance it would claw the ground more
than usual and the ataxia progressively developed in the wings and legs, later
taking a typical form of paralysis with a clumsy involuntary jerky motion.
Violent tremors of the entire body, particularly the legs, became common,
sparked off by the slightest provocation. This is similar to that seen in many
BSE cases where any excitement may result in posterior ataxia, often with
dropping of the pelvis, kicking and a general nervousness. Three other farmers
and a bird breeder from the UK are known to have reported having hens with
similar symptoms. The bird breeder who has been exhibiting his birds for show
purposes for 20 years noticed birds having difficulty getting on to their perch
and holding there for any length of time without falling. Even though the bird
was eating normally, he noticed a weight loss of more than a pound in a bird the
original weight of which was 5 pounds. 4.25 Histological examination of the
brain revealed degenerative pathological changes in hens with a minimal
vacuolation. The presence of PrP immunostaining of the brain sections revealed
PrP-sc positive plaques and this must be regarded as very strong evidence to
demonstrate that the hens had been incubating Spongiform Encephalopathy.
OPINION on : NECROPHAGOUS BIRDS AS POSSIBLE TRANSMITTERS OF TSE/BSE ADOPTED
BY THE SCIENTIFIC STEERING COMMITTEE AT ITS MEETING OF 7-8 NOVEMBER 2002
OPINION
1. Necrophagous birds as possible transmitters of BSE. The SSC considers
that the evaluation of necrophagous birds as possible transmitters of BSE,
should theoretically be approached from a broader perspective of mammals and
birds which prey on, or are carrion eaters (scavengers) of mammalian species.
Thus, carnivorous and omnivorous mammals, birds of prey (vultures, falcons,
eagles, hawks etc.), carrion eating birds (crows, magpies etc.) in general could
be considered possible vectors of transmission and/or spread of TSE infectivity
in the environment. In view also of the occurrence of Chronic Wasting Disease
(CWD) in various deer species it should not be accepted that domestic cattle and
sheep are necessarily the only source of TSE agent exposure for carnivorous
species. While some information is available on the susceptibility of
wild/exotic/zoo animals to natural or experimental infection with certain TSE
agents, nothing is known of the possibility of occurrence of TSE in wild animal
populations, other than among the species of deer affected by CWD in the
USA.
1 The carrion birds are animals whose diet regularly or occasionally
includes the consumption of carcasses, including possibly TSE infected ruminant
carcasses.
C:\WINNT\Profiles\bredagi.000\Desktop\Necrophagous_OPINION_0209_FINAL.doc
snip...
skroll down to the bottom ;
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Could avian scavengers translocate infectious prions to disease-free areas
initiating new foci of chronic wasting disease?
Prion. 2013 Jul 3;7(4). [Epub ahead of print]
ZOO TSE THAT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED
Below, the entire scientific
literature of 46 papers on zoo TSE, many obscure and expensive to obtain, are
summarized from full text. The overall picture that emerges is appalling -- the British zoo cover-up has
not only affected animals in their own zoos but also other zoos worldwide
through the sale of contaminated speciality chows and through export and
exchange of rare and endangered species
involved in conservation programs.
All the zoos involved are named by name here (unlike in the journal articles). Why protect a zoo that feeds cheetahs split spinal cords from cattle throughout the BSE epidemic? (Better to have tossed them the zoo veterinarian.) Names are important for zoos which would not want to export their healthy animals to these facilities or import possibly preclinical animals for their own endangered species breeding programs or release into wild populations. Medical scientists doing unrelated research want to know if animals in their programs are already incubating prion disease. Ravensden, Marwell, Chester, Port Lympne, London, Whipsnade, Woburn, and Edinburgh are 8 known BSE affected British zoos. Woburn Safari Park apparently killed the lion by feeding it split cattle spinal cords and skulls.
http://www.mad-cow.org/zoo_cites_annotated.html
The table below summarizes results in the 1999 PNAS paper. Penetrance of the disease is very high and many animals did not yet display symptoms . This paper was the first (and only one) to look at non-symptomatic zoo animals for prion infection (shown below in red). In the TSE column of the table, '+' signs indicate confirmed, 'p' indicates suspicious/probable, '-' means CNS study negative for TSE.(shown as brown), 'pc' means positive diagnosis in preclinical animal.
PNAS 96:4046-4051 199 30 Mar 1999 full text see comment PNAS 96[9] 4738-4739, April 27, 1999 by Will and Ironside C R Acad Sci III 1997 Dec;320(12):971-9 N Bons et al. C R Acad Sci III 1996 Aug;319(8):733-6 Lancet Volume 348, Number 9019 6 July 1996
The 82 zoo animals with BSE: Id TSE Genus Species Subsp Birth Origin Death Place of Death 654 x Microcebus murinus - 1997 U.Montpellier 1998 U.Montpellier 656 x Microcebus murinus - 1997 U.Montpellier 1998 U.Montpellier 481 + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1974 Madagascar 1992 Montpellier zoo 474 + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1974 Madagascar 1990 Montpellier zoo 584 - Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1984 Montpellier 1991 Montpellier zoo 455 + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1983 Montpellier 1989 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1988 Montpellier 1992 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus mayottensis 1995 Montpellier 1996 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus albifrons 1988 Paris 1992 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus albifrons 1988 Paris 1990 Montpellier zoo - + Eulemur fulvus albifrons 1988 Paris 1992 Montpellier zoo 456 + Eulemur fulvus albifrons 1988 Paris 1990 Montpellier zoo 586 + Eulemur mongoz - 1979 Madagascar 1998 Montpellier zoo - p Eulemur mongoz - 1989 Mulhouse 1991 Montpellier zoo - p Eulemur mongoz - 1989 Mulhouse 1990 Montpellier zoo - p Eulemur macaco - 1986 Montpellier 1996 Montpellier zoo - p Lemur catta - 1976 Montpellier 1994 Montpellier zoo - p Varecia variegata variegata 1985 Mulhouse 1990 Montpellier zoo - p Varecia variegata variegata 1993 xxx 1994 Montpellier zoo 455 + Macaca mulatta - 1986 Ravensden UK 1992 Montpellier zoo - p Macaca mulatta - 1986 Ravensden UK 1993 Montpellier zoo - p Macaca mulatta - 1988 Ravensden UK 1991 Montpellier zoo - p Saimiri sciureus - 1987 Frejus France 1990 Frejus zoo 700 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 701 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 702 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 703 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 704 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 705 pc eulemur hybrid - - Besancon zoo 1998 Besancon zoo 706 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 707 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 708 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 709 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 710 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 711 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 712 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 713 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 714 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 715 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 716 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo 717 pc eulemur hybrid - - Strasbourg zoo 1998 Strasbourg zoo x p genus species - - Lille zoo 1996 Lille zoo y p genus species - - Lille zoo 1996 Lille zoo z p genus species - - Lille zoo 1996 Lille zoo 1 + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1986 Marwell zoo 1991 Pearle Coast AU Duke + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1984 Marwell zoo 1992 Colchester zoo? UK Saki + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1986 Marwell zoo 1993 unknown UK Mich + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1986 Whipsnade 1993 Whipsnade UK Fr1 + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1987 Whipsnade 1997 Safari de Peaugres FR Fr2 + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 1991 Marwell zoo 1997 Safari de Peaugres Fr xx + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 19xx xxx zoo 199x Fota zoo IR yy + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 19xx yyy zoo 1996+ yyyy zoo UK zz + Actinonyx jubatus cheetah 19xx zzz zoo 1996+ yyyy zoo UK aaa + Felis concolor puma 1986 Chester zoo 1991 Chester zoo UK yy + Felis concolor puma 1980 yyy zoo 1995 yyyy zoo UK zz + Felis concolor puma 1978 zzz zoo 1995 zzzz zoo UK xxx + Felis pardalis ocelot 1987 xxx 1994 Chester zoo UK zzz + Felis pardalis ocelot 1980 zzz 1995 zzzz zoo UK 85 + Felis catus cat 1990+ various 1999+ various UK LI NO 19 + Canis familia. dog 1992+ various 1999+ various UK Fota + Panthera tigris tiger 1981 xxx zoo 1995 xxxx zoo UK yy + Panthera tigris tiger 1983 yyy zoo 1998 yyyy zoo UK Lump + Panthera leo lion 1986 Woburn SP 1998 Edinburgh zoo UK [since 1994] 1 + Taurotragus oryx eland 1987 Port Lympne 1989 Port Lympne zoo UK Moll + Taurotragus oryx eland 1989 xx UK 1991 not Port Lympne UK Nedd + Taurotragus oryx eland 1989 xx UK 1991 not Port Lympne UK Elec + Taurotragus oryx eland 1990 xx UK 1992 not Port Lympne Uk Daph p Taurotragus oryx eland 1988 xx UK 1990 not Port Lympne UK zzz + Taurotragus oryx eland 1991 zz UK 1994 zzz UK yyy + Taurotragus oryx eland 1993 yy UK 1995 yyy UK Fran p Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1985 London zoo 1987 London zoo UK Lind + Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1987 London zoo 1989 London zoo UK Karl + Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1988 London zoo 1990 London zoo UK Kaz + Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1988 London zoo 1991 London zoo UK Bamb pc Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1988 London zoo 1991 London zoo UK Step - Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1984 London zoo 1991 London zoo UK 346 pc Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1990 London zoo 1992 London zoo UK 324 + Tragelaphus strepsi. kudu 1989 Marwell zoo 1992 London zoo UK xxx + Tragelaphus angasi nyala 1983 Marwell zoo 1986 Marwell zoo UK yy + Oryx gazella gemsbok 1983 Marwell zoo 1986 Marwell zoo UK zz + Oryx gazella gemsbok 1994+ zzz zoo 1996+ zzzz zoo UK xx + Oryx dammah scim oryx 1990 xxxx zoo 1993 Chester zoo UK yy + Oryx leucoryx arab oryx 1986 Zurich zoo 1991 London zoo UK yy + Bos taurus ankole cow 1987 yyy zoo 1995 yyyy zoo UK zz + Bos taurus ankole cow 1986 zzz zoo 1991 zzzz zoo UK xx + Bison bison Eu bison 1989 xxx zoo 1996 xxxx zoo UK
http://www.mad-cow.org/zoo_cites_annotated.html
TSE - UK: EXOTIC ANIMALS
Sat, 7 Jun 1997
a HREF="dpreslar@fas.org">Dorothy Preslar
Briefing to the TSE conference hosted by the New Zealand MAFF
In a written reply to the House of Commons, Agriculture Minister of State Jeff Rooker has provided details of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy in animals other than livestock. His report includes confirmed cases of TSE in
2 ankole cows,
1 bison,
3 cheetah,
6 eland,
1 gemsbok,
6 kudu,
1 nyala,
2 ocelot,
1 Arabian oryx, 1 scimitar horned oryx,
3 pumas and
1 tiger,
77 domestic cats.
SE Diagnoses In Exotic Species
UK MAFF site as it appeared in August 1997
kudu 6
gemsbok 1
nyala 1
oryx 2
eland 6
cat (domestic) 78
cheetah 4 + 1 Australia + 1 France + 1 Ireland
puma 3
tiger 1
ocelot 2
bison (bison bison) 1
ankole 2
BSE in Great Britain: A Progress Report
published twice yearly dated May 1996.
kudu 6 gemsbok 1 nyala 1 oryx 2 eland 6 cat 70 cheetah 2 UK + 1 AU + 1 ROI puma 3 tiger 1 ocelot 2 ankole cow 2
TSEs in Exotic Ruminants TSEs have been detected in exotic ruminants in UK
zoos since 1986. These include antelopes (Eland, Gemsbok, Arabian and Scimitar
oryx, Nyala and Kudu), Ankole cattle and Bison. With hindsight the 1986 case in
a Nyala was diagnosed before the first case of BSE was identified. The TSE cases
in exotic ruminants had a younger onset age and a shorter clinical duration
compared to that in cattle with BSE. All the cases appear to be linked to the
BSE epidemic via the consumption of feed contaminated with the BSE agent. The
epidemic has declined as a result of tight controls on feeding mammalian meat
and bone meal to susceptible animals, particularly from August 1996.
References: Jeffrey, M. and Wells, G.A.H, (1988) Spongiform encephalopathy
in a nyala (Tragelaphus angasi). Vet.Path. 25. 398-399
Kirkwood, J.K. et al (1990) Spongiform encephalopathy in an Arabian oryx
(Oryx leucoryx) and a Greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) Veterinary Record
127. 418-429.
Kirkwood, J.K. (1993) Spongiform encephalopathy in a herd of Greater kudu
(Tragelaphus strepsiceros): epidemiological observations. Veterinary Record 133.
360-364
Kirkwood, J. K. and Cunningham, A.A. (1994) Epidemiological observations on
spongiform encephalopathies in captive wild animals in the British Isles.
Veterinary Record. 135. 296-303.
Food and Agriculture Organisation (1998) Manual on Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy.
Self-Propagative Replication of Ab Oligomers Suggests Potential
Transmissibility in Alzheimer Disease
Received July 24, 2014; Accepted September 16, 2014; Published November 3,
2014
*** Singeltary comment ***
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. Publications TSE prion disease
Diagnosis and Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Singeltary, Sr et al. JAMA.2001; 285: 733-734. Vol. 285 No. 6, February 14,
2001 JAMA
snip...
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
