Moose Found with Chronic Wasting Disease

A wild moose killed in Colorado in September has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the first of its species known to have the neurological disorder that previously was considered to only be hosted in three cervid species -- mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (O. Virginianus), and Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni).

The finding follows the confirmation last spring of CWD in a captive deer herd in upstate New York, and in wild deer in the same county, the first instance of CWD in the northeastern US.

CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects cervids. TSE is a family of similar diseases that may infect certain species of animals and people such as scrapie in sheep and goats, BSE in cattle, and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in people.

CWD has been detected among wild and farmed cervids in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, Montana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Illinois, New Mexico, Wisconsin, New York and West Virginia; as well as the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The New York findings have led state officials to try to create an containment area within Oneida and Madison counties, mandating hunters in the area to check deer kills with authorities. Additionally, Pennsylvania has issued an order prohibiting hunters from bringing in certain parts of deer that are harvested in affected areas as well as suggesting safe meat handling methods. Additionally, Pennsylvania deer farmers will be required to test their animals for the disease.

While chronic wasting disease seems to be contained within a species by a molecular barrier, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this year in the Annual Review of Public Health these diseases “can pose a significant public health risk” given the example of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow) and its transmission to humans. The CDC in 2003 cautioned that animals suspected of having CWD should not be eaten by humans or included in animal feed.

While around 50 companies are reported to be developing prion diagnostic assays, currently there is no fast test for a live animal. Testing today is done after a kill.

See New Biology Economy, September 21, 2005; August 29, 2005; August 5, 2005

Tags -- Chronic Wasting Disease