NR AXXD
AU Steele,P.; Martin,S.; Jeffrey,M.; Gonzalez,L.; Siso,S.; Finlayson,J.; Hamilton,S.; Eaton,S.L.; Reid,H.W.; Todd,R.; Pang,Y.; Chianini,F.; Dagleish,M.P.
TI Clinical Observations of BSE Infection in Red Deer
QU International Conference - Prion 2007 (26.-28.9.2007) Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK - Book of Abstracts: Epidemiology, Risk Assessment and Transmission P04.80
IA http://www.prion2007.com/pdf/Prion Book of Abstracts.pdf
PT Konferenz-Poster
AB
Observation of clinical signs is often the first step in the diagnosis of TSE diseases in experimental, farmed and wild animals. Clinical presentation of chronic wasting disease (CWD) infected deer varies widely as disease progresses and many clinical signs observed can be non-specific to TSE infection, however by terminal stage the majority of cases involve behavioural changes and loss of body condition.
We present here the first description of clinical disease in deer experimentally infected with BSE. These data are part of the results of an ongoing project to investigate the susceptibility of UK red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) to BSE infection either by alimentary or intra-cerebral infection.
Eighteen European red deer calves (mean 64 days old) were challenged intragastrically with 25g of BSE-infected bovine brain. Six challenged and 2 control deer were culled at 6 and 12 month post infection. These animals showed no clinical signs and no disease-specific PrP (PrPd) on immunohistochemistry (IHC) examination of a wide range of tissues collected at post-mortem. Six BSE-dosed and 4 negative control deer are still alive at time of writing (1384 dpi).
Subsequently, 6 red deer of the same cohort (mean 341 days old) were challenged with 0.05g of BSE positive bovine brain material and 2 with sterile saline by the intracerebral route. Currently (1106 dpi), five of the six challenged animals have developed clinical signs and terminal disease confirmed by IHC and western blot detection of PrPd.
Clinical signs similar to CWD cases have been observed including behavioral change, wide stance, lowered head, and excessive salivation. All animals had significant weight loss attributed to inability or unwillingness to feed, with inhalation pneumonia occurring in the case of one animal which is commonly observed in CWD cases. The first animal to show clinical signs was markedly different to the four subsequent cases. This animal had to be culled following several behavioral episodes causing physical injury.
Our results prove for the first time that UK red deer are susceptible to intra-cerebral BSE infection and shows that the clinical presentation of disease shares many similarities to that recorded for CWD.
AD P. Steele, J. Finlayson, S. Hamilton, Samatha L. Eaton, Hugh W. Reid, R. Todd, Y. Pang, F. Chianini, M.P. Dagleish, Moredun Research Institute, UK; S. Martin, M. Jeffrey, L. González, S. Sisó, Veterinary Laboratory Agency, Lasswade, UK
SP englisch
PO Schottland