Faecal CWD prion excretion and inflammation.

Abstract

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)--or prion disease (PD)--that has become of increasing concern throughout years among different captive and free-living deer species and populations in North America. Starting from the recent pre-clinical evidence of prion infectivity in faecal material from CWD-infected mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), this contribution takes into special consideration the potential role of certain gut inflammatory conditions as a factor modulating the infectivity titres and, consequently, also the CWD prion faecal excretion rate.