Exam 3: Prions

Question 1

What is a prion?

Answer 1

Proteinacious infectious particles, no nucleic acids

They modify protein functions, cellular phenotypes, and cause fetal diseases

Question 2

Can chronic wasting disease be infectious to humans?

Answer 2

Yes. If it is found in a rodent, it is directly infectious

Question 3

What are hosts of CWD?

Answer 3

Mule deer
Rocky mountain elk
White-tailed deer
Black-tailed derr
Moose

Question 4

What is the source of CWD?

Answer 4

Unknown source
Highly transmissible among deer or elk held in close contact
Saliva, feces, blood, and urine contains prions
Environemenal contamination may play a role in transmission

Question 5

Where was bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) originally from?

Answer 5

Rendered carcasses of cattle with sporadic spongiform encephlopathy
Sheep with novel form of Scrapie

Question 6

What is the disease transmission method of BSE?

Answer 6

Oral or intracerebral routes

Question 7

What prion is in sheep?

Answer 7

Scrapie

Question 8

How do you inactivate a prion?

Answer 8

Incineration

Question 9

What is prohibited in the human food chain in regards to cattle?

Answer 9

For cattle 30 months or older, cannot use small intestine, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, skull, tonsils, vertebral column, and spinal cord in human flood supply

Question 10

How have prions been transmitted?

Answer 10

Saliva, feces, blood, and urine contains prions
Environmental contamination may play a role in transmission
Oral or intracerebral routes as well

Question 11

How is mad cow disease controlled?

Answer 11

Control in UK: exclusion of meat, offal, and other material from cattle for cattle feed products
Restrict import of beef, live cattle, meat, bone meal, and other cattle products from UK