Entry #27

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious prion disease that causes a buildup of abnormal proteins and affects cervids such as deer and elk. Increasing concerns have come up over the possibility of CWD spreading to humans, similar to how Mad Cow Disease (BSE) can be transmitted from cattle to humans. To evaluate the risk, mouse models were used that produce the healthy human prion. CWD-infected brain material from deer was injected into the brains of the mice. After injection, the mice developed clinical symptoms of prion disease, and infectious prions were found in brain tissue, the spinal cord, spleen, and feces. When a second round of mice was injected with the fecal material, they also developed prion disease. This suggests that under certain genetic conditions, humans could be at risk of getting CWD from an infected cervid. If a human did acquire CWD, the individual could potentially spread it from person to person. Researchers also found that CWD from North America had a higher chance of infecting humans than strains found in Norway. These findings highlight the need to treat CWD as a potential public health concern and to continue researching how it might affect humans.