Chronic wasting disease (CWD) susceptibility of several North American rodents that are sympatric with cervid CWD epidemics.

ABSTRACT: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly contagious always fatal neurodegenerative disease that is currently known to naturally infect only species of the deer family, Cervidae. CWD epidemics are occurring in free-ranging cervids at several locations in North America, and other wildlife species are certainly being exposed to infectious material. To assess the potential for transmission, we intracerebrally inoculated four species of epidemic-sympatric rodents with CWD. Transmission was efficient in all species; the onset of disease was faster in the two vole species than the two Peromyscus spp. The results for inocula prepared from CWD-positive deer with or without CWD-resistant genotypes were similar. Survival times were substantially shortened upon second passage, demonstrating adaptatio

SUBMITTER: Heisey DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2798418 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature