Marguerite D Johnson, Jennifer L Malmberg, Jaqueline P Kurz, Jessica Jennings-Gaines, Samantha E Allen
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting cervids. Transmission occurs through oral and nasal mucosal exposure to infectious prions (PrPCWD), causing cellular prion proteins (PrPC) to misfold. Currently, the approved diagnostic assays for CWD are immunohistochemistry (IHC) and ELISA. While IHC is considered the gold standard, ELISA is used by most diagnostic laboratories as a screening test for free-ranging cervids. Currently, two tissues have been validated for use with the cervid ELISA test: the medial retropharyngeal lymph node (MRPLN) and the obex region of the brainstem. Palatine tonsil has not been validated for use with the ELISA despite trafficking of PrPCWD to the tonsils early in the course of disease in deer. Here we assessed the suitability of palatine tonsil for CWD testing of free-ranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) using two commercially available ELISA kits in conjunction with IHC. We tested paired MRPLN and tonsillar tissues, collected from hunter-harvested and non-hunter-harvested mule deer (n=176) in Wyoming, US, from 2020 to 2024. Our findings indicated 100% agreement between MRPLN and palatine tonsil, with no difference in the performance of the two commercially available ELISA kits, confirming that palatine tonsil can be substituted for MRPLN for CWD surveillance in free-ranging mule deer with high confidence.
期刊介绍:
The JWD publishes reports of wildlife disease investigations, research papers, brief research notes, case and epizootic reports, review articles, and book reviews. The JWD publishes the results of original research and observations dealing with all aspects of infectious, parasitic, toxic, nutritional, physiologic, developmental and neoplastic diseases, environmental contamination, and other factors impinging on the health and survival of free-living or occasionally captive populations of wild animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Papers on zoonoses involving wildlife and on chemical immobilization of wild animals are also published. Manuscripts dealing with surveys and case reports may be published in the Journal provided that they contain significant new information or have significance for better understanding health and disease in wild populations. Authors are encouraged to address the wildlife management implications of their studies, where appropriate.