Susceptibilities of Nonhuman Primates to Chronic Wasting Disease

• DOI: 10.3201/eid1509.090253
• Publication Date: 2009-09-02T17:53:05Z
• Authors: Brent Race; Kimberly D. Meade...; Michael W. Miller; Kent D. Barbian; Richard Rubenstein; Giuseppe LaFauci; Larisa Cervenakova; Cynthia Favara; Donald Gardner; Dan Long; Michael Parnell; James Striebel; Suzette A. Priola; Anne Ward; Elizabeth S. Will...; Richard Race; Bruce Chesebro
• Keywords: Chronic wasting disease; Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

Abstract Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, or prion disease, that affects deer, elk, and moose. Human susceptibility to CWD remains unproven despite likely exposure CWD-infected cervids. We used 2 nonhuman primate species, cynomolgus macaques squirrel monkeys, as human models for susceptibility. was inoculated into these species by intracerebral oral routes. After inoculation of 7 8 isolates induced clinical syndrome within 33–53 months. The monkeys' brains showed encephalopathy protease-resistant protein (PrPres) diagnostic disease. exposure, monkeys had PrPres in brain, spleen, lymph nodes at 69 months postinfection. In contrast, have not shown evidence 70 Thus, differed CWD. Because humans are evolutionarily closer than they may also be resistant