Chronic Wasting Disease
in Deer and Elk
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and
elk is one disease in a family of diseases
called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
(TSEs), which includes bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (mad cow disease), scrapie
in sheep, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob in humans.
TSEs are noted for the formation of small
holes in the brain that cause neurological
symptoms and eventually lead to death. TSEs
are thought to be caused by a disease agent
known as a prion, which is different from
viral or bacterial infectious agents. Little
is known about the prion and how TSEs like
CWD are spread.
CSREES funds research to discover how CWD
is spread and how to detect it in deer and
elk populations, what the threat is to domestic
cattle, and how people can improve and use
emerging diagnostic laboratory test kits
for CWD.
In Fiscal Year 2002, the National Research
Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program
awarded $250,000 to Case Western Reserve
University to better understand the molecular
and biochemical properties of infectious
CWD agent so that potential strain
variations might be identified. Approximately
$100,000 was used in the Program for
Economically Important Infectious Animal
Diseases at Colorado State University from
the Special Research Grants Program to compare
accuracy and validate emerging diagnostic
laboratory test kits for CWD. The University
of Florida is using Hatch Act formula funds
for surveillance of the disease in white-tailed
deer. These projects continued through
Fiscal Year 2003.
Projects starting in Fiscal Year 2003 included
Hatch Act formula grants at the University
of Illinois focusing on the environmental
persistence of CWD agent and studies at the
University of Wisconsin focusing on achieving
a better understanding of the ecology of
white-tailed deer in agro-forest ecosystems
as it affects the potential for CWD control. Special
Research Grant projects focusing on CWD include
$232,180 at the University of Wyoming studying
free-ranging western white-tailed deer regarding
epidemiology, transmission, and potential
environmental contamination issues along
with continued Special Research Grant funding
of $80,000 at Colorado State University to
further refine diagnostic test capabilities.
Beginning late in Fiscal Year 2003, USDA/CSREES
Integrated Activities funding (Critical
Issues - Plant and Animal Diseases) is
supporting at $125,000 a joint effort with the
USDA Agricultural Research Service and
Colorado State University to determine the
association of genetics and micronutrient
levels in captive and free-ranging normal
and CWD-infected Rocky Mountain elk. From
this same funding program, $93,875 was provided
to the University of Wyoming in Fiscal Year
2001 to determine if CWD could be transmitted
to cattle. The CSREES NRI continues
to request and willingly accepts research
proposals related to CWD from scientists
at all state and federal levels for competitive
peer review evaluation and funding.
There are many CWD project
examples in CSREES.
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