NISKU, Alta. – A live animal test for chronic wasting disease in deer and elk has shown researchers that the disease can be detected in the tonsils as early as three months after infection, says the leading expert on the disease.
While the tonsil biopsy is still considered to be in the research stage, Beth Williams told a chronic wasting disease conference that it does show promise for early detection of CWD in cervids.
“You can test the lymphatic tissue and use a diagnosis technique even before there is evidence of accumulation in the brain,” said Williams of the University of Wyoming.
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During a research study, mule deer were given five grams of oral inoculant. The incubation period in mule deer is 15 to 25 months before the animals show outward or clinical signs of the disease.
Evidence of the disease showed up in the lymphatic tissues three months after inoculation. In the brain, it showed up six months after inoculation. The CWD protein is evident in the lymphatic systems of mule deer fawns 42 days after inoculation.
In elk, clinical signs are evident 12 to 34 months after the inoculation period, but it can be seen in the lymphoid and brain six months after inoculation.
“You can see the accumulation of abnormal protein in lymph nodes before it’s seen in brain,” Williams said.
While testing tonsils is considered a good research tool, it’s unlikely the test will be widely used on game farms because the animal must be anesthetized to get a tissue sample from the back of the throat.
Ideally, researchers would like a quick blood test for CWD, but none have been approved yet.
