Study Says CWD Spread Through Blood, Saliva
Saturday, October 14, 2006 (16:16:33)

Posted by rrogacki

Study Says CWD Spread Through Blood, Saliva


FORT COLLINS, CO—Researchers at Colorado State University released the results of a new study last week they say identifies blood and saliva as the carries of the proteins that cause the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among deer and other ungulates.
The study results appear in the journal Science, and indicate that CWD might spread from animal to animal through mosquitoes and ticks, as well as when animals groom and lick each other.

“This might explain why the disease transfers so quickly,” said Colorado State University Professor Dr. Ed Hoover.

Hoover led the study in which saliva was taken from wild Colorado deer known to have CWD and placed into the mouths of three healthy domestic deer at a Colorado State University research center. Hoover says the domesticated test animals all became infected with CWD. Hoover says another deer that was given a single transfusion of CWD-infected blood also became infected with the disease.

Because blood is found in virtually all organs and tissues of deer and other ungulates, Hoover says he recommends that all elk and deer killed by hunters in known CWD areas be tested for the disease before being consumed.

To date, there continues to be no known cases of CWD being transferred to humans.