Long-Term Subclinical Carrier State Precedes Scrapie Replication and Adaptation in a Resistant Species: Analogies to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in Humans

• DOI: 10.1128/jvi.75.21.10106-10112.2001
• Publication Date: 2002-07-27T10:06:37Z
• Authors: Richard Race; Anne Raines; Gregory J. Raymond; Byron Caughey; Bruce Chesebro
• Keywords: Infectivity; Subclinical infection; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy; Asymptomatic carrier; Mesocricetus; Slow virus

Cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) appear to be a reservoir for transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) humans. Although just over 100 people have developed clinical vCJD, millions probably been exposed the infectivity by consumption BSE-infected beef. It is currently not known whether some these individuals will develop themselves or act as asymptomatic carriers which might infect others in future. We studied agent persistence and adaptation after cross-species infection using model mice inoculated hamster scrapie strain 263K. do inoculation 10 million infectious doses, persists brain spleen life span mice. In present study, we were surprised find 1-year period postinfection where there was no evidence replication mouse brain. contrast, this inactive followed active well new strains capable causing most mice, neither early persistent phase nor later replicative could detected immunoblot assay protease-resistant prion protein (PrP). If similar arise exposure humans animals BSE, markedly increase danger additional spread BSE vCJD contaminated blood, surgical instruments, meat. such subclinical negative PrP, our then recently proposed screening brain, tonsils, other tissues methods immunoblotting immunohistochemistry too insensitive identify individuals.