Chronic Wasting Disease Analysis

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has been around for over 75 years. Throughout its rich history, MDC has faced many hardships including deforestation and the almost extirpation of several native animal species, including deer. The agency worked hard at reviving its devastated state only to face yet another natural giant, disease. In 2010, the first case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was found in the Northwest corner of the state (mdc.mo.gov, 2017). This disease affects the cervid population, which includes deer

Over just a century ago the whitetail deer population became nearly extinct, mostly due to a rapid expansion in the railroad system. At this same time market hunting, weak enforcement of game laws, and habitat loss contributed to the dangerously low deer populations in the late 1800’s. In states like Kansas and Indiana deer were completely extinct, being endangered in many others. With the whitetail deer population doubling every two years there is an estimated thirty million deer in the United States (Rooney, 2012). Although with these over-abundant populations comes the destruction of natural resources along with diseases and other factors that can tremendously affect the population. While there are many factors that play an active role in the declination of Whitetail deer populations, chronic wasting disease is just one of them.

Proteinaceous Infectious Particles, commonly known as Prions, are extremely rare misfolds of the protein PrPc, which cause fatally neurodegenerative diseases, and are theorized to be infectious only by the protein itself (U.S National Library of Medicine, 1998). This “protein-only theory” is still heavily debated today, as some scientists deny the theory, and there isn’t a significant amount of evidence on each side to qualify the theory or disprove it (Soto, C. 2011). The base “Prion” protein is encoded in the gene PRNP, while being non-infectious. Prions are most commonly found in human prion diseases, but they can also be in other animals in the form of Mad Cow Disease and Chronic Wasting Disease, classified as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathies

Most diseases begin with what is called "the virgin field"—a scenario in which humans have no natural or man-made immunity to the disease. To see the progress of a disease in a particular community, start by predicting how many sick days will be reported when you run the Kold disease through a medium-sized population, and record your prediction in the data table. In this first run-through, we'll assume that the population does not move around the field; they interact with their neighbors, but do not travel long distances.

When people talk about deer, they are commonly talking about the North American Whitetail. That is because they are so prevalent in this country. They can be found in every state in the US. The only place where you will not find any whitetails is in parts of Arizona and California. In most states the whitetail is very prevalent, especially in the northeast. They are one of the most hunted animals in this area, particularly in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Despite the amount they are hunted, both in and out of season, you can not drive more than a few miles out of the towns without seeing one that was hit by a car. The deer population in this area just keeps growing. It is unclear what

In 1967, Columbian White-tailed deer (CWTD) were one of the first species protected along with the California condor, bald eagle, grizzly bear, and Florida panther in hopes of preventing their extinction. They were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Preservation Act. At that time, their range had shrunk from about 13 million acres to around 350,000 acres. Through a lot of effort in relocating the deer and expanding their habitats and taking set measure, the CWTD has doubled its numbers. Hence why they are no longer an endangered

The results showed differences in deer presence (in either high or low areas) in correlation with wolf presence, resulting in impacts of plant and vegetation density in the areas. High wolf areas contained larger saplings and vegetation diversity and comparisons of deer presence in low wolf presence areas had negative impacts on sapling growth. Put together, the results suggest that wolves have a substantial effect on white tailed deer and a positive impact on sapling and vegetation growth in the Great Lakes forest area.

The history of white-tailed deer in Missouri shows positive and negative influences humans can have on wildlife. During presettlement times, the whitetail was abundant in Missouri, especially in the more fertile and diverse habitats of northern Missouri. The influx of European settlers to Missouri during the last half of the 19th century coincided with a rapid decline in the deer population. Unrestricted market hunting and habitat destruction, such as cutting, burning, farming and grazing forest lands, contributed most to this decline.

Once the data has been gathered and the interviews have been conducted, data collected will be used to develop an aggressive educational campaign. Ultimately it will help increase legislative support for wolf reintroduction in the Midwest. Data which shows successful and unsuccessful reintroduction policies can be studied to determine what reasons led to their outcomes. Halfens, R., & Meijers, J. (2013) explained variables and frequency distributions are two main components of descriptive statistics (Halfens, R., & Meijers, J., 2013). The variables for this project should share relatively the same characteristics such as experience, age, possibly gender of those in study group are some which are considered descriptive (Halfens, R., et. al., 2013). Data collected should include also information on reports of depravation by wolves which were verified and other means such as: legal and illegal hunting. Questions included in survey could determine legal or illegal method of wolf kills have any weight on a willingness to change opinions on reintroduction. Knowing if the number of livestock loses from wolf kills are greater than other means reported by ranchers or farmers will also be important to

Cons: This method will be time-consuming and financially demanding (Miller et. al, 1999). Furthermore, there is no certainty in the effectiveness of this solution as it relies on many assumptions and predictions made based on research. The assumptions made may not hold true when the process is carried out. This could cause further complications such as endangering deer species due to

In the last 13 years, cases of Chronic Wasting Disease have increased to over 25% in bucks and over 10% in does (Marien). With CWD being such a deadly disease, the rising percentage of cases has led to decreasing deer populations. Because the spread of CWD has resulted in many deaths, fewer hunting tags are allowed in affected areas to help the deer herd get healthy again. It is possible, though, that as the populations grow back, CWD may also become more prevalent. Actually stopping this tragic disease is a challenge, but plans must be put in place to bring its spread to a halt. Therefore, it is important that hunters and the general public be informed of what CWD is, how it is spread, how it affects animals, and what can be done to

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are neurodegenerative diseases that are thought to be caused by the misfolding of prion proteins. Prions are able to replicate in the absence of nucleic acids. TSEs include: scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease, and Fatal Familial Insomnia. They can affect many different animals, including humans. Currently, there are no ways to diagnose, treat, or cure TSEs, as much more research is needed before these diseases are completely understood.

Can you imagine the impact of an always fatal disease on a population? Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD for short is a prime example in the whitetail deer herd. CWD is a fatal neurological disease known as a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). In deer this disease causes a characteristic spongy degeneration of the brains of infected animals, resulting in emaciation, excessive drinking and urination, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions, and death (Witkowski 3). As a result, the whitetail deer population has been greatly impacted, but how detrimental has CWD really been on the population and what exactly is this disease.

However, there is also an opposing theory that suggests that the disease is caused by a virus, and that the prion is merely a byproduct of the viral activity. When the disease is present within a cow, it causes the brain to become riddled with holes that go all the way through the brain. Symptoms manifest in strange behaviors, such as pathological nervousness and increased aggression.

Prions are infectious agents composed entirely of a protein material which is transmissible to other prion proteins leading to disease in a manner that is epidemiologically comparable to the spread of viral infection. Prions composed of the prion protein are believed to be the cause of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies among other diseases. All known prion diseases are untreatable and fatal.