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2025 Jan 8
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), University of Minnesota
Preface
As the burden of chronic wasting disease (CWD) increases among cervids, concerns about prion spillover to other species—including humans and non-cervid production animals—also increase. Despite this, no contingency plans exist at a national or international level to address the possibility of spillover, which would trigger a national and global crisis. Facing this possibility, we are pleased to share the following report, “Chronic Wasting Disease Spillover Preparedness and Response: Charting an Uncertain Future.” This effort was supported by a contract from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Our team was fortunate to collaborate with 67 esteemed experts who shared their diverse knowledge and expertise in human medicine and public health, cervid and production animal health, prion biology and disease diagnostics, carcass and contaminated item disposal and the environment, and wildlife health and conservation during 25 working group meetings. These discussions formed the basis of this report.
We are immensely grateful to all of these collaborators and reviewers, particularly the 10 distinguished co-chairs who led discussions across five working groups and provided additional support to our overall effort. We hope that the resulting recommendations provide useful guidance to professionals in human, animal, and wildlife health agencies; academic researchers; and medical practitioners who will be tasked with responding to a possible human or non-cervid animal CWD spillover incident.
Throughout our working group meetings, we were reminded of a famous quote from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower:
“Plans are nothing, but planning is everything.”
This report reflects thousands of hours of planning by many of the best minds working today on CWD.
We realize that the changing landscape of prion biology and disease surveillance complicates any effort to predict a possible spillover incident into humans or non-cervid production animals and the type of response that will be required. As we progressed through this collaborative process, however, it became increasingly clear that there was immense benefit to establishing a network of CWD experts across disciplines, agencies, and countries. We were privileged to learn from them and are confident that their expertise is critical to preparing for and responding to a possible spillover event.
The CIDRAP Chronic Wasting Disease Team
January 2025
___________
Table of Contents
Acronyms 1
Executive Summary 2
Introduction 13
Chapter 1: CWD Management and Surveillance in Wild and Captive Cervids 22
Chapter 2: CWD Diagnostic Laboratory Testing in Animals 36
Chapter 3: Spillover to Non-Cervid Production Animals: Surveillance, Laboratory Capacity, Planning, and Response 47
Chapter 4: Environmental Implications of Carcass and Contaminated Item Disposal 58
Chapter 5: Detecting CWD Spillover into Humans 68
Conclusions and Recommendations 83
Appendix A: Report by J.R. Mason, PhD: CWD Surveillance and Testing Capacities of State Agencies 89
Appendix B: Glossary 91...
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), University of Minnesota
Preface
As the burden of chronic wasting disease (CWD) increases among cervids, concerns about prion spillover to other species—including humans and non-cervid production animals—also increase. Despite this, no contingency plans exist at a national or international level to address the possibility of spillover, which would trigger a national and global crisis. Facing this possibility, we are pleased to share the following report, “Chronic Wasting Disease Spillover Preparedness and Response: Charting an Uncertain Future.” This effort was supported by a contract from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Our team was fortunate to collaborate with 67 esteemed experts who shared their diverse knowledge and expertise in human medicine and public health, cervid and production animal health, prion biology and disease diagnostics, carcass and contaminated item disposal and the environment, and wildlife health and conservation during 25 working group meetings. These discussions formed the basis of this report.
We are immensely grateful to all of these collaborators and reviewers, particularly the 10 distinguished co-chairs who led discussions across five working groups and provided additional support to our overall effort. We hope that the resulting recommendations provide useful guidance to professionals in human, animal, and wildlife health agencies; academic researchers; and medical practitioners who will be tasked with responding to a possible human or non-cervid animal CWD spillover incident.
Throughout our working group meetings, we were reminded of a famous quote from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower:
“Plans are nothing, but planning is everything.”
This report reflects thousands of hours of planning by many of the best minds working today on CWD.
We realize that the changing landscape of prion biology and disease surveillance complicates any effort to predict a possible spillover incident into humans or non-cervid production animals and the type of response that will be required. As we progressed through this collaborative process, however, it became increasingly clear that there was immense benefit to establishing a network of CWD experts across disciplines, agencies, and countries. We were privileged to learn from them and are confident that their expertise is critical to preparing for and responding to a possible spillover event.
The CIDRAP Chronic Wasting Disease Team
January 2025
___________
Table of Contents
Acronyms 1
Executive Summary 2
Introduction 13
Chapter 1: CWD Management and Surveillance in Wild and Captive Cervids 22
Chapter 2: CWD Diagnostic Laboratory Testing in Animals 36
Chapter 3: Spillover to Non-Cervid Production Animals: Surveillance, Laboratory Capacity, Planning, and Response 47
Chapter 4: Environmental Implications of Carcass and Contaminated Item Disposal 58
Chapter 5: Detecting CWD Spillover into Humans 68
Conclusions and Recommendations 83
Appendix A: Report by J.R. Mason, PhD: CWD Surveillance and Testing Capacities of State Agencies 89
Appendix B: Glossary 91...
