Zoonotic Potential of Chronic Wasting Disease after Adaptation in Intermediate Species

Abstract

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging disease in Europe. We report an increase in interspecies transmission capacity and zoonotic potential of a moose CWD isolate from Europe after passage in an ovine prion protein–expressing host. Those results indicated some CWD prions could acquire enhanced zoonotic properties following adaptation in an intermediate species.

Keywords

• prions
• prion disease
• chronic wasting disease
• European moose
• transmission barrier
• enhanced zoonotic potential