Recipient Organization
UNIV OF MINNESOTA
(N/A)
ST PAUL,MN 55108
Performing Department
Veterinary Biomedical Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Chronic wasting disease is distributed widely in North America, affects multiple cervid species, and does not respect jurisdictional boundaries. Research across multiple disciplines is needed to fully address the complexities of CWD and acquire the knowledge needed to limit or eliminate its spread. A multistate CWD effort to coordinate research across jurisdictions would be beneficial for several reasons.· The ecology of CWD is expected to differ across the regions and jurisdictions in which it occurs due to variation in species, climate, surficial geology, habitat, and land use.· Host prion protein genotype (Prnp) distribution varies geographically. While no genotype is known to confer complete resistance to CWD, susceptibility to the disease depends on Prnp genotype. Host Prnp genotype can affect management strategies.· Prion strains vary geographically. Different strains of CWD exist and can be distinguished by the length of incubation period and Prnp polymorphism-dependent infectivity. Prion shedding into the environment by infected individuals may differ in magnitude or in dynamics by CWD strain (or host genotype). Strains may differ in their zoonotic potential and can affect management strategies.· A multistate effort could facilitate the coordination of resources. Resources could include funding for joint research efforts, sources of negative control animals or tissues, a clearinghouse for reference samples, large scale research facilities, and increased capacity through a human resource network.· Jurisdictions impacted by CWD differ in their surveillance approaches. Standardization across jurisdictions would facilitate data sharing and increase epidemiological understanding of CWD dynamics.· Jurisdictions impacted by CWD differ in their legal authorities to minimize spread and resulting policy or management responses. Multi-state research provides the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of different regulatory strategies.· Disease management activities (or lack thereof) in one jurisdiction can affect the spread of the disease in another. Coordination across jurisdictional boundaries will improve the efficacy of disease surveillance and management and can enhance consistency and coordination between jurisdictions.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Establish a national CWD tissue database and repository with improved access for transmission and pathogenesis research and validation of CWD prion detection assays.
Develop large-scale research facilities for controlled CWD research using depopulated cervid facilities where CWD has been detected.
Advance diagnostic testing for CWD with a focus on facilitating adoption of the RT-QuIC assay and improved sourcing for the recombinant prion protein substrate.
Develop a multistate adaptive management approach for CWD to evaluate surveillance and management strategies and how deer harvest regulatory options impact deer disease dynamics.
Evaluate heterogeneous social values, motivations, attitudes, and effective communication to inform disease management decision-making at local, state, and regional levels.
Project Methods
Objective 1. We will establish a coordinating body that will define metadata standards, storage conditions, and procedures for vetting requests for materials. One of the outcomes of the workshop held in September 2019 was to take some initial steps towards the development of such a coordinating body. We envision the tissue and reagents bank to not be a single repository, but a clearinghouse to coordinate the provision of samples to researchers. The physical storage locations would be based on geographical proximity to sources of tissue, ideally in facilities that routinely perform CWD diagnostic services for states with high sample testing numbers. Samples will be stored at -80 °C, identified with a unique bar code that is linked to the metadata associated with the sample. A metadata gap analysis will be conducted prior to collecting and storing data. An oversight committee will be assembled which will be comprised of state and federal representatives, field biologists, basic scientists, and industry representatives as deemed appropriate. This committee will determine how samples are distributed and will develop a memorandum of understanding for how data, analyses, testing, and diagnostics will be used and any assignment of fees.Objective 2. We will establish CWD research sites in and around captive animal facilities where CWD has been detected. Facilities in several states would be suitable for this purpose, and collaboration among efforts in different states would be valuable to ensure efficient use of resources. Ideally, sites would have a history of holding CWDpositive deer on-site, and contain several paddocks,animal handling facilities, and pastures varying in size from a few to hundreds of acres. The first step will be to assess the risks and benefits of using such facilities for research. The primary risk is the maintenance or amplification of CWD prions in the environment. Risks are expected to differ among sites and be determined in part by the current level of contamination in and around the potential research site. Benefits include providing research sites where management actions to reduce the spread and prevalence of the disease can be evaluated and refined. State and federal regulatory authorities will decide if such facilities will be permitted. If regulatory authorities permit the facility, scoping meetings with local landowners and officials would be held to seek support for the facility. Assuming a facility was permitted and obtained local support, a stake-holder advisory group would be established to raise funds to purchase the facility (if necessary) and any surrounding land necessary to fulfil research objectives and ensure biosecurity. The stake-holder group would also raise funds to (1) make the facility and research pastures secure with double fencing of at least 8 feet high and (2) maintain the research facility once it is operational. Once these steps have been completed, title would be transferred to the agency, university, or non governmental organization responsible for the research facility, personnel would be hired, and the facility would become operational. Funding for these projects would be sought from state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private sources. A research committee would be established with representatives from each of the state wildlife agencies where facilities are located, scientists with expertise in CWD research, and representatives from important stakeholder groups such as hunters, landowners, and the captive deer industry.Objective 3. Advance diagnostic testing for CWD with a focus on facilitating adoption of the RT-QuIC assay and improved sourcing for the recombinant prion protein substrate. Efforts to manage CWD are hindered by the inability of commonly used methods to detect the low levels of prions that are relevant for disease transmission. The multistate project would facilitate the adoption of the highly sensitive RT-QuIC assay by academic laboratories and state and federal agencies. This would be accomplished by coordinating provision of the recombinant prion protein substrate needed for the assay, providing training for laboratories wishing to adopt RT-QuIC, following up on trained personnel, certification of laboratories for diagnosis, and developing protocols for handling suspect samples.Objective 4. Initial work will focus on regulation-driven changes to the size and age/sex structure of the harvest. We will begin by surveying the participating states to ascertain the (1) variety of harvest regulations they have applied pre- and post-CWD invasion; (2) availability of spatial and temporal harvest information, including license sales, harvest reporting rates, success rates and harvest sex/age composition, associated with the various regulatory frameworks; (3) methods used to collect the harvest information and estimate these rates; (4) availability of ancillary data that may help this assessment (e.g., research studies); and (5) level of precision needed on key rates to permit CWD management decisions to be made.Objective 5.The group would meet quarterly in the first year to (1) refine goals and objectives developed at the September 2019 workshop, (2) identify several key stakeholders tobring into the process early, and (3) work toward funding recruitment and support for research endeavors. Key stakeholders would include hunter organizations, cervid farmer organizations, land owners, and others groups impacted by CWD. Involvingstakeholders early in the process has been identified as a critical need to ensure interests and perspectives are wellrepresented in the prioritization of communication needs, as well as to enhance audience trust in CWD messaging throughstakeholder delivery of key messages. Finally, we would facilitate the identification of research gaps in CWD human dimensions research and inform the design and implementation of new human dimensions research. Activity 2: Develop, implement, and measure theeffectiveness of targeted communication strategies on CWD management and control for different audiences. The newlyformed Human Dimensions working group would create a consensus document of current CWD best practices formanagement and control, leveraging existing efforts such as the American Fish and Wildlife Association's Best Practices forCWD management. This document would form the basis of scientifically-informed recommendations prioritized fordissemination to different stakeholder groups. The working group, which will include communication specialists, will use resultsfrom Activity 1 to develop strategies for communicating the science on CWD that meet the needs and prioritize the values andmotivations of each stakeholder group. This endeavor would include the development of materials on recommendedCWD management actions that can be shared with policymakers at various levels. Simultaneously, the working group willdesign and implement a plan for measuring the impact of varying communication strategies across locations (states, regions)in garnering stakeholder trust and effecting changes in behavior and attitudes. This might include a variety of survey methods,distributed alongside the communication mechanism, as well as structured and unstructured interviews of informants from thetargeted stakeholder groups. This may include metrics that reflect changes in stakeholder behavior, such as annual trends inhunting license purchases, frequency of CWD test submissions across varying hunting zones, adoption of biosecurity and CWD surveillance regulations on farms, and trends in the integration of CWD management actions and funding in policies andbills. These results will be used to refine communication strategies, including message context and delivery while maintainingthe science-informed content for the intended audience