the NC1209: North American Interdisciplinary Chronic Wasting Disease Research Consortium Members
Affiliations
Jason C. Bartz
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA
Rebeca Benavente
Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Byron Caughey
Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
Sonja Christensen
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Allen Herbst
U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
Edward A. Hoover
Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Candace K. Mathiason
Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Debbie McKenzie
Department of Biological Sciences, Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2M9, Canada
Rodrigo Morales
Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Marc D. Schwabenlander
Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
Daniel P. Walsh
U.S. Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
the NC1209: North American Interdisciplinary Chronic Wasting Disease Research Consortium Members
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting cervid species, both free-ranging and captive populations. As the geographic range continues to expand and disease prevalence continues to increase, CWD will have an impact on cervid populations, local economies, and ecosystem health. Mitigation of this “wicked” disease will require input from many different stakeholders including hunters, landowners, research biologists, wildlife managers, and others, working together. The NC1209 (North American interdisciplinary chronic wasting disease research consortium) is composed of scientists from different disciplines involved with investigating and managing CWD. Leveraging this broad breadth of expertise, the Consortium has created a state-of-the-science review of five key aspects of CWD, including current diagnostic capabilities for detecting prions, requirements for validating these diagnostics, the role of environmental transmission in CWD dynamics, and potential zoonotic risks associated with CWD. The goal of this review is to increase stakeholders’, managers’, and decision-makers’ understanding of this disease informed by current scientific knowledge.
