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Viruses
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Chronic Wasting Disease: From Pathogenesis to Prevention
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Chronic Wasting Disease: From Pathogenesis to Prevention

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Prions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2025) | Viewed by 378

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jiewen Guan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ottawa Laboratory—Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Interests: prion diseases; antimicrobial resistance; gut microbiome
Dr. Hongsheng Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ottawa Laboratory–Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Interests: bacterial genomics; foodborne disease; molecular biology; prion protein
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a devastating prion disease affecting various cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, elk, red deer, and reindeer. Identified in countries such as Canada, the United States, South Korea, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, CWD shares characteristics with other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The disease results from the conversion of normal prion proteins (PrPC) into a misfolded, protease-resistant form (PrPCWD), leading to fatal spongiform encephalopathy. CWD becomes increasingly common among wild and captive cervid populations and poses significant ecological and potentially human health risks. To enhance our understanding and management of CWD, this Special Issue aims to consolidate recent advancements and discoveries related to the disease, focusing on several key areas:

  • Pathogenesis: Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying CWD.
  • Host Genetics and Disease Resistance: Investigating genetic factors that influence susceptibility and resistance to CWD.
  • Disease Transmission: Studying the modes of transmission, including environmental pathways and animal-to-animal spread.
  • Detection and Diagnosis: Developing sensitive and accurate diagnostic methods for early detection of CWD.
  • Epidemiology: Mapping the spread and prevalence of CWD in various regions and populations.
  • Decontamination and Disposal: Exploring effective methods for decontaminating and disposing of materials contaminated with PrPCWD.
  • Prevention: Strategies to prevent the spread of CWD, including management practices and policy recommendations.

We also welcome contributions that extend beyond these specified topics, provided they enhance our understanding of CWD.

We invite original research papers, including full-length articles and short notes, as well as comprehensive review articles. Submissions should present novel findings, innovative methodologies, or thorough reviews of the existing literature on CWD.

Authors should follow the journal’s standard guidelines for manuscript preparation and submission. Detailed instructions can be found on the journal’s website.

We look forward to your valuable contributions to this Special Issue.

Dr. Jiewen Guan
Dr. Hongsheng Huang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • prion disease
  • pathogenesis
  • host genetics and disease resistance
  • disease transmission
  • detection and diagnosis
  • epidemiology
  • prevention

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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13 pages, 1726 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Mammalian Scavenger and Wild White-Tailed Deer Activity at White-Tailed Deer Farms
by Alex R. Jack, Whitney C. Sansom, Tiffany M. Wolf, Lin Zhang, Michelle L. Schultze, Scott J. Wells and James D. Forester
Viruses 2025, 17(8), 1024; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17081024 - 22 Jul 2025
Abstract
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the wild and on cervid farms have drawn the attention of state wildlife agencies and animal health agencies as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has spread across North America. Deer farm regulations have been implemented to reduce [...] Read more.
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the wild and on cervid farms have drawn the attention of state wildlife agencies and animal health agencies as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has spread across North America. Deer farm regulations have been implemented to reduce direct contact between wild and farmed cervids; however, evidence suggests that indirect contact to infectious prions passed through the alimentary tracts of scavengers may be an important transmission pathway. The objective of this study was to characterize mammalian scavenger and wild deer activities associated with deer farms and link these activities with site-specific spatial covariates utilizing a network of camera traps, mounted to farm perimeter fences. We monitored each of 14 farms in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania for two weeks during the summer, with a subset of farms also monitored in the winter and fall. Across all sites and seasons, we captured 749 observations of wildlife. In total, nine species were captured, with wild white-tailed deer accounting for over three quarters of observations. Despite the large number of wild deer observed, we found that interactions between wild and farmed deer at the fence line were infrequent (six direct contacts observed). In contrast, mammalian scavengers were frequently observed inside and outside of the fence. Supplementary cameras placed on deer feeders revealed higher observation rates of scavengers than those placed along fence lines, highlighting the potential for transmission of CWD through indirect contact via scavenger excreta. To evaluate associations between the number of observations of focal species with land-cover characteristics, two mixed-effects regression models were fitted, one model for scavengers and one for wild deer. Contrary to our hypothesis, landscape context did not have a strong impact on wildlife visitation. This suggests that farm location is less important than management practices, highlighting the need for future research into how farming practices impact rates of wildlife visitation onto cervid farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chronic Wasting Disease: From Pathogenesis to Prevention)
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