title: Infectious prions in pre-clinical deer and transmission of chronic wasting disease solely by environmental exposure.
abstract: Key to understanding the epidemiology and pathogenesis of prion diseases, including chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids, is determining the mode of transmission from one individual to another. We have previously reported that saliva and blood from CWD-infected deer contain sufficient infectious prions to transmit disease upon passage into naïve deer. Here we again use bioassays in deer to show that blood and saliva of pre-symptomatic deer contain infectious prions capable of infecting naïve deer and that naïve deer exposed only to environmental fomites from the suites of CWD-infected deer acquired CWD infection after a period of 15 months post initial exposure. These results help to further explain the basis for the facile transmission of CWD, highlight the complexities associated with CWD transmission among cervids in their natural environment, emphasize the potential utility of blood-based testing to detect pre-clinical CWD infection, and could augur similar transmission dynamics in other prion infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
authors.forename: Candace K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Mathiason
authors.forename: Sheila A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hays
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Powers
authors.forename: Jeanette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hayes-Klug
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Langenberg
authors.forename: Sallie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Dahmes
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Osborn
authors.forename: Karl V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.forename: Edward A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hoover
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001706:Biopsy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003670:Deer; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005838:Genotype; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D011328:Prions / Q000378:metabolism*; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D034081:Wasting Disease, Chronic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D011328:Prions