Resource center houses information on all aspects of CWD epidemiology, prevention, research and policy.

August 28, 2019

3 Min Read
CIDRAP launches CWD Resource Center
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The Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota announced that it has launched a new online resource dedicated to educating the public (particularly hunters), the medical and public health communities, wildlife scientists and managers, public policy-makers and elected officials about chronic wasting disease (CWD): the CIDRAP CWD Resource Center.

CWD is a prion-related transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids, including deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose. CWD has been confirmed in at least 26 U.S. states, three Canadian provinces, South Korea, Finland, Norway and Sweden, with a notable increase in the past five years, CIDRAP said.

The continued geographic spread of this disease increases the frequency of exposure to CWD prions among cervids, humans and other animal species. Although CWD has not yet been found to cause infections in humans, numerous health agencies advise that people should not consume CWD-positive animals, CIDRAP added.

The CIDRAP CWD Resource Center is part of CIDRAP’s Chronic Wasting Disease Response, Research & Policy Program, a national program responding to the CWD crisis in wildlife and its potential for animal-to-human and human-to-human transmission.

Among its many resources, the CIDRAP CWD Resource Center has the most current information on all aspects of CWD epidemiology, prevention, research and policy, including:

* 20 detailed frequently asked questions on CWD, including what CWD is, what prions are and what hunters and others can do to reduce exposure to CWD;

* Up-to-date CWD news from across North America and Europe;

* Summarized best CWD management practices published by the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies;

* CWD maps from the U.S. Geological Survey;

* CWD information from government agencies in the U.S., Canada and Europe;

* Legislative initiatives introduced in the U.S. to address CWD, and

* Extensive links to CWD content on websites from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters, Quality Deer Management Assn. and others.

The CIDRAP CWD Resource Center also lists CWD Response, Research & Policy Program Advisory Group members, who include 36 distinguished national and international experts and experienced professionals representing hunter groups, prion biology, diagnostics and epidemiology, wildlife management and health and human health.

Last, a newsletter covering new findings or major events related to CWD is available for signup on the CIDRAP CWD Resource Center.

“Our goal is to make the CIDRAP CWD Resource Center a comprehensive, one-stop resource on CWD complete with relevant and useful information for hunters, researchers, wildlife biologists, veterinarians, physicians, members of the media and national, state or provincial policy-makers or elected officials,” said Michael T. Osterholm, University of Minnesota regents professor, McKnight presidential endowed chair in public health and director of CIDRAP.

Osterholm and a team of national and state experts in public health, wildlife diseases, prion research and laboratory diagnosis have urgently called for a comprehensive national strategy to reduce the risk for human exposure to CWD and to limit the risk of transmission of CWD among wildlife, particularly cervids, and domesticated animals, according to CIDRAP. That team has recommended several immediate steps that need to be taken, which were recently published in the journal mBio by the American Society for Microbiology.

The CWD Program and CIDRAP CWD Resource Center are made possible with support from the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Office of the Vice President for Academic Clinical Affairs and the Bentson Foundation.

CIDRAP is a global leader in addressing public health preparedness and emerging infectious disease response. Founded in 2001, CIDRAP is part of the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Minnesota.

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