New technology may detect chronic wasting disease in deer | States and Regions

Moorhead, Minnesota — When an outbreak of chronic wasting disease was discovered earlier this year in a herd of captive deer in Beltrami County, Minnesota, it was potentially infected when investigators moved there from a farm in Winona County. It was the result of tracking the relationship with animals.

This is often the case with CWD outbreaks. Investigators will track the movement of infected animals after the fact.

Chronic wasting disease is a constantly fatal neurodegenerative disease that is spread by a malformed protein called prions that is spread by infected animals. The disease is also present in North Dakota deer, and state officials are preparing for the potential for accelerated growth. Of the 44 cases identified since the first infection in 2009, 30 have occurred in the last two years and 18 were confirmed last fall. Almost in any season.

As Minnesota authorities work to curb the spread of CWD in deer, researchers are developing new technologies to help track illness faster. The news of Minnesota Public Radio was reported.

Current regulations require the State Animal Health Commission to inspect dead or dead captive animals. It is possible, but difficult, to test live animals with these types of tests.

It makes it difficult to stop the outbreak, as deer infected with CWD can spread the disease months before it appears ill.

“I think the option for testing live animals will be a game changer,” said Linda Glasser, who runs the Board of Animal Health’s aquaculture deer program.

Servids include members of the deer family, including different types of deer, elks, and moose.

All are susceptible to chronic wasting disease.

“The ability to test healthy, living animals and repeat the tests over time to monitor them has great benefits in detecting disease,” says Glasser.

There are tests of live animals, but there is controversy over whether they are ready to be deployed as diagnostic tools.

This test method has been around for over a decade and has been used to detect some human neurodegenerative diseases. This is called RT-QuIC (real-time seismic conversion).

Peter Larsen, head of the CWD Research Initiative at the University of Minnesota, can use this technology to test animals before moving from one farm to another.

According to Larsen, the test is more sensitive than the methods currently used and works on a variety of materials, from animal tissues to prion-infected soil.

Researchers used this test to accurately detect chronic wasting disease in blood and feces.

“It prevents situations like Beltrami County proceedings and ultimately saves millions of dollars in the state in the long run,” Larsen said.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota sampled bones, soil, and plants at a site in Beltrami County where dead deer infected with CWD were dumped by farmers. They found CWD prions in all those materials. Prions can continue to infect the environment for years, but it is unclear how easy it is to move from the environment to living wildlife.

Over the past year, university researchers have completed a version of a test called MN-QuIC that can be used in the field without sending samples to the lab.

The idea of ​​portable testing began about a year ago when a student working in the lab observed that prion proteins interact with nanoparticles.

“The solution turned red in (a) positive samples and blue or purple in negative samples,” Larsen said. “So when we made that discovery, it turned out to be important because it led us on the path to field-deployable CWD diagnostics.”

New field testing is cheaper and faster, making Minnesota a leader in CWD testing technology.

In March of this year, the test was used in southeastern Minnesota. The CWD test was used for the first time in the field and the results were returned within 24 hours.

However, the Animal Health Commission has no immediate plans to use this test on live animals as it does not meet the standards set by the US Department of Agriculture.

USDA, in coordination with state agencies, encourages certain owners to comply with certification program standards.

“This (RT-QuIC test) has not been validated for use in diagnostic situations,” Glasser said. “That is, it must be validated and approved by the USDA for use in regular monitoring, and that hasn’t happened yet.”

The Minnesota Natural Resources Department takes the same position.

“There are advantages to this RT-QuIC test method, but we will not use it until USDA validates the test,” said wildlife health expert Eric Hildebrand. Stated.

USDA did not answer questions about the test validation process or timeline.

The state regulator’s decision not to use testing at this time does not work for some lawmakers.

DFL-South Saint Paul Rep. Rick Hansen, chair of the Minnesota Housing Environment, Natural Resources and Fiscal Policy Committee, said:

Hansen wants all captive deer tested using the RT-QuIC method. He says it provides a good assessment of the risk of CWD spreading from farmed deer to wild white-tailed deer.

According to Hansen, state agencies have the authority to use tests, even if they have not been validated.

The wording of the Animal Health Commission’s rules regarding test conditions is as follows: “Other test protocols can be used if approved by the Commission and are equally effective in detecting CWD in farmed deer herds.”

Glaser claims that its effectiveness is uncertain until the test is validated.

Larsen says he is confident that this test will be very effective for blood samples and tissues.

Hansen believes this test is an early warning and can prevent farmed deer from spreading CWD.

“(RT-QuIC) should be used as an indicator. If positive, the animal can be culled for postmortem testing,” Hansen said. “I think it’s a reasonable precaution.”

Currently, Minnesota does not have a lab for large-scale RT-QuIC testing, so testing about 8,000 farmed deer in Minnesota requires investment in lab equipment and training. Become.

Researchers in other states, including Wisconsin, are working on validating RT-QuIC tests, and Peter Larsen is looking at multiple labs focused on testing due to growing concerns about CWD nationwide. increase.

“It’s a negative impact on multiple economic sectors and to protect the deer’s heritage. That’s why CWD diagnostics need to be improved,” says Larsen.