Chronic Wasting Disease: Questions and Answers

Abstract

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible disease known to affect certain species of deer and elk. Clinical signs include long– term weight loss, behavioral changes, and neurological signs. The disease can be transmitted by both direct and indirect contact between an infected animal and a susceptible animal. The agent of infection is a prion, an abnormally folded protein that causes abnormal folding in host proteins. Prions are nearly indestructible, being impervious to heat, cold, desiccation, and disinfectants. Other prion–associated diseases include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) and, in humans, Cruetzfeld–Jakob Disease (CJD).