Updated · University of Minnesota Twin Cities · Jul 30
University of Calgary Study Finds 2 Macaques Show CWD Disease Signs After 18-Year Experiment
Updated
Updated · University of Minnesota Twin Cities · Jul 30
University of Calgary Study Finds 2 Macaques Show CWD Disease Signs After 18-Year Experiment
2 articles · Updated · University of Minnesota Twin Cities · Jul 30
Summary
Two cynomolgus macaques developed signs of prion disease after exposure to chronic wasting diseaseprions, according to a University of Calgary-led study published in Science Advances.
The 18-year experiment inoculated 18 female macaques in 2009—by mouth or intracerebrally—with CWD material from elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer from the United States and Canada; three controls received uninfected cervid material.
Researchers and outside experts said the findings show limited interspecies transmission in a lab, not proof that CWD infects people, but they may help define what human infection could look like if it occurs.
Standard tests failed to detect CWD prions in infected but asymptomatic macaques, sharpening concern among some researchers about using those tests to judge whether venison is safe.
No human CWD cases are known, but the disease continues spreading in deer and elk across North America, increasing chances for prions to encounter and potentially adapt to new hosts.