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Preliminary Observations Of Genetic Susceptibility Of Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) To Chronic Wasting Disease By Experimental Oral Inoculation, Amir N. Hamir, Thomas Gidlewski, Terry R. Spraker, Janice M. Miller, Lynn Creekmore, Michelle Crocheck, Thomas Cline, Katherine I. O'Rourke

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

To compare the genetic susceptibility of elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with various alleles of the PRNP gene, which encodes the normal cellular prion protein, to chronic wasting disease (CWD), eight 8-monthold elk calves of 3 genotypes (2 132MM, 2 132LM, and 4 132LL) were orally dosed with CWD-infected brain material from elk. During postinoculation (PI) month 23, both 132MM elk had lost appetite, developed clinical signs of weight loss and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction, and were euthanized. Two other elk (both 132LM) developed similar clinical signs of disease and were euthanized during PI month 40. All 4 …