Chronic Wasting Disease

Question 1

What is chronic wasting disease

Answer 1

A prion disease caused by abnormal foldings of prion proteins in the brain- chain reaction causes more abnormal proteins. Progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder

Question 2

True or False: Chronic wasting disease is transmissible, untreatable, always fatal

Answer 2

True

Question 3

True or False: CWD is the only Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) known to occur in wild populations

Answer 3

True

Question 4

What year was CWD first identified

Answer 4

1967- captive deer
1981- wild deer

Question 5

Who was the first person to discover CWD

Answer 5

Wildlife veterinarian Beth Williams

Question 6

True or False: Unlike most other prion diseases, CWD can be found in a wide variety of tissue types, such as cardiac, skeletal, kidney, etc.

Answer 6

True

Question 7

Explain the start, middle, and end of being infected with CWD

Answer 7

Ingested- infected cells multiply
Prions spread and eventually end up in the central nervous system. Can also travel in the blood lymphoid cells. Follicular dendritic cells amplify infected prion proteins to the brain and spinal cord

Question 8

How long does it take for CWD to incubate within its host

Answer 8

Up to a year, symptoms may appear slowly

Question 9

Symptoms of CWD

Answer 9

Weight loss, appetite decrease
Excessive thirst, salivation increase
Loss of coordination, fainting
Uncontrollable regurgitation
May also develop aspiration pneumonia
Difficult to diagnose

Question 10

How is CWD transmitted

Answer 10

Spread through body fluids like urine, saliva, and blood. Spread through DIRECT or INDIRECT contact with contaminated food, water, or soil. Spreads faster within the same species. Can spread from dead infected animal.

Question 11

True or False: CWD can affect squirrel monkeys and macaques

Answer 11

True

Question 12

What are some possible treatments for CWD

Answer 12

Synthetic compounds (antisense oligonucleotides) may stop the production of normal prion proteins
Microglia destroy prion proteins- a drug increasing their activity may help

Question 13

Methods to manage CWD

Answer 13

Monitor areas where CWD is present
Do not feed or bait deer
Do not shoot, handle, or eat meat from deer that look sick, act strangely, or are found dead
Wear PPE when handling meat
Minimize handling organs, brain, spinal cord tissues
Individually process the animal
If the animal tests positive, do not eat that meat