Understanding and Containing Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious and fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting cervids (deer, elk, caribou, and moose) that is threatening the health and sustainability of cervid populations across North America. CWD is caused by misfolded proteins known as prions, which can be transmitted by direct contact or environmental exposure.
What is the issue?
CWD is expanding geographically and increasing in prevalence. The complex biology of CWD remains poorly understood. Despite its growing impact, the national capacity to conduct controlled, mechanistic studies in cervids is extremely limited, creating a bottleneck in scientific progress to understand disease transmission for improved management.
What is at stake?
Cervid populations are vital to ecosystems, cultural traditions, and local economies. In the U.S., big game hunting contributes to annual hunter expenditures of \$45.2 billion and results in an estimated 300 million pounds of venison harvested annually. In regions where CWD is established, infection rates can reach up to 30%, altering population dynamics and reducing the number of mature animals. This undermines hunting traditions and the economic value of wildlife. While CWD has not been shown to transmit to humans, other animal prion diseases have infected people. At this time, the individual risk of CWD transmission to humans is considered low and theoretical. Nonethless, this low risk raises food safety concerns about consuming venison from animals infected with CWD prions. Furthermore, the limited capacity for controlled research has slowed the development of diagnostics, vaccines, and effective management strategies, leaving wildlife managers with insufficient tools to respond to an evolving threat.
What is our approach?
To address the urgent need for controlled, high-quality research on CWD, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has launched a comprehensive initiative to build national capacity for studies with cervids. This effort is centered at the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) and is designed to fill critical knowledge gaps about how CWD spreads, evolves, and can be managed.
- Controlled studies are essential for gold-standard reproducible science that enables researchers to measure disease parameters, investigate how genetic variation influences susceptibility to different CWD strains, and test hypotheses about potential genetic resistance. These studies also allow for the examination of transmission routes (e.g., oral, environmental), prion shedding, and strain behavior.
- We monitor CWD disease progression over time, and collect biosamples to help better understand disease transmission, as well as aid in the development of live testing diagnostics. By using cutting-edge diagnostic tools such as Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC), the project can detect prions in both biological and environmental samples. Controlled conditions ensure that samples such as blood, saliva, feces, and tissues are well-characterized and suitable for validating new diagnostic tests.
- Developing tests that detect CWD in live animals or from environmental sources is especially important. By establishing this infrastructure, USGS is significantly expanding global capacity for cervid CWD research in the natural host, where disease responses are authentic.
What are the benefits?
By establishing a facility and research program for CWD studies, the USGS is significantly enhancing the nation’s ability to understand and manage this complex disease. The new capability allows for rigorous, controlled experiments that can reveal how different prion strains interact with host genetics and environmental factors. This knowledge will inform wildlife management decisions, particularly around strategies such as breeding for genetic resistance. The project also produces high-quality samples that are essential for developing better diagnostic tools and environmental detection technologies. Ultimately, this work supports the USGS mission to provide science-based solutions to pressing wildlife health challenges and positions the agency as a national leader in prion disease research.
Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious and fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting cervids (deer, elk, caribou, and moose) that is threatening the health and sustainability of cervid populations across North America. CWD is caused by misfolded proteins known as prions, which can be transmitted by direct contact or environmental exposure.
What is the issue?
CWD is expanding geographically and increasing in prevalence. The complex biology of CWD remains poorly understood. Despite its growing impact, the national capacity to conduct controlled, mechanistic studies in cervids is extremely limited, creating a bottleneck in scientific progress to understand disease transmission for improved management.
What is at stake?
Cervid populations are vital to ecosystems, cultural traditions, and local economies. In the U.S., big game hunting contributes to annual hunter expenditures of \$45.2 billion and results in an estimated 300 million pounds of venison harvested annually. In regions where CWD is established, infection rates can reach up to 30%, altering population dynamics and reducing the number of mature animals. This undermines hunting traditions and the economic value of wildlife. While CWD has not been shown to transmit to humans, other animal prion diseases have infected people. At this time, the individual risk of CWD transmission to humans is considered low and theoretical. Nonethless, this low risk raises food safety concerns about consuming venison from animals infected with CWD prions. Furthermore, the limited capacity for controlled research has slowed the development of diagnostics, vaccines, and effective management strategies, leaving wildlife managers with insufficient tools to respond to an evolving threat.
What is our approach?
To address the urgent need for controlled, high-quality research on CWD, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has launched a comprehensive initiative to build national capacity for studies with cervids. This effort is centered at the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) and is designed to fill critical knowledge gaps about how CWD spreads, evolves, and can be managed.
- Controlled studies are essential for gold-standard reproducible science that enables researchers to measure disease parameters, investigate how genetic variation influences susceptibility to different CWD strains, and test hypotheses about potential genetic resistance. These studies also allow for the examination of transmission routes (e.g., oral, environmental), prion shedding, and strain behavior.
- We monitor CWD disease progression over time, and collect biosamples to help better understand disease transmission, as well as aid in the development of live testing diagnostics. By using cutting-edge diagnostic tools such as Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC), the project can detect prions in both biological and environmental samples. Controlled conditions ensure that samples such as blood, saliva, feces, and tissues are well-characterized and suitable for validating new diagnostic tests.
- Developing tests that detect CWD in live animals or from environmental sources is especially important. By establishing this infrastructure, USGS is significantly expanding global capacity for cervid CWD research in the natural host, where disease responses are authentic.
What are the benefits?
By establishing a facility and research program for CWD studies, the USGS is significantly enhancing the nation’s ability to understand and manage this complex disease. The new capability allows for rigorous, controlled experiments that can reveal how different prion strains interact with host genetics and environmental factors. This knowledge will inform wildlife management decisions, particularly around strategies such as breeding for genetic resistance. The project also produces high-quality samples that are essential for developing better diagnostic tools and environmental detection technologies. Ultimately, this work supports the USGS mission to provide science-based solutions to pressing wildlife health challenges and positions the agency as a national leader in prion disease research.