Allan wrote on the string - RE: Testing preps?:
>As far as I've noticed, Mad Cow Disease has not been taken seriously-Allan [within the Jeffersonian context of your statement I believe you are correct,
by the US government.
I couldn't resist the tie-in though]
I had waited to post this till after I had been to the local meeting.
Given the security of the overflow crowd at the Mt. Horeb Gym (I say over 1 thousand - the media 700-1,000) I'd said something is being taken seriously.
I have only seen armed game wardens of the WDNR (Wisconsin Dept of natural Resources) at one other time.
Moen Creek Farm is 2 miles north of Mt Horeb and two or three map miles South of the locations of the harvest locations.
I personally do subscribe to the major thesis of Mark Prudey.
and Allan's admonition
>As far as the pathogen questions, did you read the information
supplied by Mark Purdey on BD Now!? I think it falls on all of us to
push for intelligent reactions by regulators in regards to Mad Cow.
Why should we have to pay in extreme ways to continue to a cover-up
for Big Business and Collusive Government?
To expound on this for a moment, one of the most telling parts of the meeting were 2 stated facts.
1) plans to "Ramp up" the laboratory abilities of the Univ. WI /US Dept of Ag vet school to do this type of tissue work. Our service slashing Governor is petitioning the Fed. for 15 million $ to cover the "out break" over the next 4 yrs.
The other point was let slip by a pathologist who said a non lethal testing procedure for prions was projected to be a 205 million dollar industry to the lucky research group who pulls this one off.
Of further note to previous discussions here, is the blaming farm raised deer & elk. In part the practices of these farms may contribute but to place the blame on them, out of context of the " age-industry" as a whole is cannibalism. Which has an interesting role to play in the mind-set of TSE being a transmittable disease as opposed to a cultural dis-ease.
In Love & Light
Markess
FOR RELEASE: February 28, 2002
CONTACTS: Julia Langenberg, VMD, DNR Wildlife, (608) 266-3143; James
Kazmierczak, DVM, Epidemiologist, Wis. Dept. of Health and Family Services, (608)
267-7321; Robert Ehlenfeldt, DVM, Animal Disease Control, Wis. Dept. of
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, (608) 224-4880
Chronic Wasting Disease detected in three Wisconsin deer
MADISON -- Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was detected in samples taken from
three deer registered during Wisconsin's November 2001 Deer Gun Hunting season,
state officials announced today. All three samples were taken from deer killed in Deer
Management Unit 70A (Iowa and Dane counties) and registered in Mt. Horeb,
Wisconsin. All three were bucks two and one-half to three years old. CWD is not
known to be contagious to livestock or humans.
According to Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services Epidemiologist
James Kazmierczak, CWD is similar to a disease of humans called Creutzfeldt-Jacob
disease (CJD), but the two diseases are caused by different agents, and should not be
confused with each other. Kazmierczak pointed out that the World Health Organization
(WHO) has said there is no scientific evidence that CWD can infect humans. Over 16
years of monitoring in the CWD-infected area in Colorado has found no CWD in people
or cattle living in that region. For safety�s sake, however, experts suggest that hunters
should avoid eating the brain, spinal cord, eyes, tonsils, spleen or lymph nodes of
white-tailed deer and elk because the infectious agent tends to concentrate in those
tissues. The World Health Organization has recommended no part of deer or elk that
show evidence of CWD should be eaten by people.
"We are just at the front end of evaluating the scope of the problem. We need to
interview the hunters who let us sample their deer, find out exactly where the deer were
taken and whether these deer exhibited unusual behavior," said Julia Langenberg, DNR
veterinarian and administrator of the deer testing program.
"Results from the other 400 deer tested in the state will be available soon and will be
communicated to hunters -- especially those in the Mount Horeb area -- as soon as
possible," Langenberg said. State officials also noted there is no threat to cattle or
sheep.
We can assure the public that CWD is NOT the same disease as Scrapie in sheep or
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in cattle. Transmission of CWD from deer to cattle
under free-roaming conditions is extremely unlikely," according to Department of
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) Assistant State Veterinarian Bob
Ehlenfeldt. "Scientists at the National Animal Disease Center injected CWD infected
disease materials directly into cow brains and cattle did not develop any signs of the
disease."
The hunters who submitted the deer tissue samples are being notified by state
conservation wardens today (February 28). How the deer became infected is not known
at this time, but a study will be conducted to try to determine a source.
DNR, DATCP and DHFS are working jointly to respond to this disease problem. Once
the information from the hunters and other test results are known, the agencies will be
taking additional surveillance and control steps.
The agencies are consulting with experienced CWD experts in Colorado and Wyoming
where the disease is known to exist, and at USDA, to develop plans to control the
disease in Wisconsin.
Informational material is being developed for hunters, deer and elk farmers and the
public.
Scientists test for CWD by examining the brain tissue of animals. Since 1996 the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has conducted an aggressive deer herd
health evaluation program by requesting tissue and blood samples from deer taken by
hunters to test for bovine tuberculosis, Cranial Abscessation Syndrome and CWD. This
is the first time CWD has appeared in samples. Sampling has never detected Bovine
Tuberculosis in Wisconsin deer.
Currently 44 farm-raised elk herds are enrolled in a voluntary CWD surveillance
program with DATCP. These herds have tested over 100 animals that have all been
negative for CWD.
CWD has been diagnosed in wild, free-ranging deer and elk primarily in northeastern
Colorado and southeastern Wyoming, and in adjacent Nebraska. There has been no
general caution issued against eating deer or elk in the infected Western areas. CWD has
also been found in captive elk in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas,
South Dakota and Saskatchewan.
Researchers are just beginning to understand CWD. It is likely caused by an abnormal
protein called a prion. The mechanism of spread for CWD is unknown but could
involve close contact between animals, or animals exposed to a CWD-infected
environment. Usually months to years pass from the time an animal is infected to when
it shows signs of the disease. Classic CWD signs in deer and elk 18 months or older
include poor body condition, tremors, stumbling, increased salivation, difficulty
swallowing, and excessive thirst or urination. There is no live animal test for CWD, but
an experimental live-testing method looks promising.
"We are obviously very concerned, but are also encouraged that our state monitoring
has revealed the problem so that we can take steps to deal with it," Langenberg said.
Keeping Wisconsin Deer Healthy
Information on Deer Diseases
Wisconsin is home to over 1.5 million white-tailed deer. A source of pride for Wisconsin's citizens and
the state's official wild mammal, whitetails provide many forms of enjoyment to Wisconsin citizens from
wildlife watchers to hunters.
How Do We Keep Wisconsin's Deer Herd Healthy?
Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a new disease threat to North American deer populations. CWD is a
brain disease related to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as "Mad Cow Disease." CWD
affects elk, mule and white-tailed deer. It has been diagnosed in free-ranging deer and elk primarily in
northeastern Colorado/southeastern Wyoming and adjacent Nebraska, but has been found in captive elk in
Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, and South Dakota.
Researchers are just beginning to understand CWD. CWD appears to be caused by an abnormal protein
called a prion. CWD can be spread by close contact between animals, and animals exposed to a
CWD-contaminated environment may also become infected. Usually, months to years pass from when
the animal is infected to when it shows signs of disease. Classic CWD signs in deer/elk 18 months or
older include poor body condition, tremors, stumbling, increased salivation, difficulty swallowing, and
excessive thirst or urination. There has been no way to test a live animal for CWD; brain from a recently
dead animal is examined microscopically. Researchers in Colorado are developing a live animal test for
deer, using tonsil biopsies.
Are Wisconsin wild deer infected with CWD?
Wisconsin has surveyed wild deer for CWD since 1999. Over 1000 deer have been sampled. Three CWD
positive deer have now been identified from samples collected during the 2001 gun deer season. All 3
deer were harvested from deer management unit 70A (portions of Dane and Iowa counties). All 3 were
bucks 2 * � 3 years old.
The testing of all 400 statewide deer samples collected in 2001 has not yet been completed. Complete
results should be available by the end of March 2002 and will be communicated to the public as soon as
possible.
We will continue annual testing to monitor for CWD. As a hunter, you may be asked by DNR personnel
to provide a brain tissue sample from your deer. This is voluntary, but your cooperation is important in
monitoring for this disease.
