National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH)

Topics in Animal Health Research 2007

23. Applicability of current bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) diagnostic procedures for chronic wasting disease (CWD)

Japanese

  Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy; however, its risk to humans has been obscure. The increasing number of diseased deer in North America has raised concerns regarding the risk CWD poses to humans. In this study, we demonstrated the applicability of the available commercial diagnostic kits and confirmatory procedures for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Japan for the diagnosis of CWD. No CWD was confirmed in the surveillance of 558 Japanese deer that were examined between 2003 and 2006. We concluded that the present BSE diagnostic procedure in Japan will be a powerful tool for CWD control.
(Research Team for Prion Diseases, TEL +81-29-838-7708)

Reference:

Masujin et al. (2007) Microbiol. Immunol. 51 : 1039-1043.

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