Detection of chronic wasting disease prions in soil at an illegal white-tailed deer carcass disposal site.

ABSTRACT: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious prion disorder affecting cervids such as deer, elk, caribou, and moose, causing progressive and severe neurological degeneration followed by eventual death. As CWD prions (PrP^Sc) accumulate in the body, they are shed through excreta and secreta, as well as through decomposing carcasses. Prions can persist in the environment for years, posing significant concerns for ongoing transmission to susceptible cervids and pose an unknown risk to sympatric species. We used a validated protocol for real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) in vitro prion amplification assay to detect prions in soil collected within and around an illegal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, WTD) carcass disposal site and associated capti

SUBMITTER: Grunklee MK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12147482 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature