Chronic wasting disease prions in mule deer interdigital glands

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a geographically expanding, fatal neurodegenerative disease in cervids. The disease can be transmitted directly (animal-animal) or indirectly via infectious prions shed into the environment. The precise mechanisms of indirect CWD transmission are unclear but known sources of the infectious prions that contaminate the environment include saliva, urine and feces. We have previously identified PrPC expression in deer interdigital glands, sac-like exocrine structures located between the digits of the hooves. In this study, we assayed for CWD prions within the interdigital glands of CWD infected deer to determine if they could serve as a source of prion shedding and potentially contribute to CWD transmission. Immunohistochemical analysis of interdigital glands from a CWD-infected female mule deer identified disease-associated PrPCWD within clusters of infiltrating leukocytes adjacent to sudoriferous and sebaceous glands, and within the acrosyringeal epidermis of a sudoriferous gland tubule. Proteinase K-resistant PrPCWD material was amplified by serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA) from soil retrieved from between the hoof digits of a clinically affected mule deer. Blinded testing of interdigital glands from 11 mule deer by real-time quake-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) accurately identified CWD-infected animals. The data described suggests that interdigital glands may play a role in the dissemination of CWD prions into the environment, warranting future investigation

The use of exposed diurnal roosts in Alberta by the little brown bat, <i>Myotis lucifugus</i>

The use of exposed diurnal roosts by the little brown bat,Myotis lucifugus, throughout the summer months is only known to occur among Alberta populations of this species. This study is the first to examine that behaviour. In total, 426 M. lucifugus using exposed anthropogenic surfaces as diurnal roosts were observed in the summers of 1985 and 1986. Bats were usually found alone, but groups of up to six individuals were seen. When found at these roosts, 98.8% of bats were at least 2 m from the ground and 95.1% were below an overhang. Bats were found on brick substrates in 89.0% of observations and in the corner between two surfaces in 57.0%. Bats were found on east-facing surfaces less frequently than expected under random distribution. Roost selection appears to have been based on several strategies, including thermoregulation, predator avoidance, and desiccation avoidance. After maternity roosts were vacated, the proportion of juveniles at exposed roosts was higher than their proportion in the total population. This may be the result of their inability to enter, or lack of knowledge of, many enclosed roosts used by adults. </jats:p

Chronic wasting disease: Transmission mechanisms and the possibility of harvest management

We develop a model of CWD management by nonselective deer harvest, currently the most feasible approach available for managing CWD in wild populations. We use the model to explore the effects of 6 common harvest strategies on disease prevalence and to identify potential optimal harvest policies for reducing disease prevalence without population collapse. The model includes 4 deer categories (juveniles, adult females, younger adult males, older adult males) that may be harvested at different rates, a food-based carrying capacity, which influences juvenile survival but not adult reproduction or survival, and seasonal force of infection terms for each deer category under differing frequency-dependent transmission dynamics resulting from environmental and direct contact mechanisms. Numerical experiments show that the interval of transmission coefficients β where the disease can be controlled is generally narrow and efficiency of a harvest policy to reduce disease prevalence depends crucially on the details of the disease transmission mechanism, in particular on the intensity of disease transmission to juveniles and the potential differences in the behavior of older and younger males that influence contact rates. Optimal harvest policy to minimize disease prevalence for each of the assumed transmission mechanisms is shown to depend on harvest intensity. Across mechanisms, a harvest that focuses on antlered deer, without distinguishing between age classes reduces disease prevalence most consistently, whereas distinguishing between young and older antlered deer produces higher uncertainty in the harvest effects on disease prevalence. Our results show that, despite uncertainties, a modelling approach can determine classes of harvest strategy that are most likely to be effective in combatting CWD