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Prions and Diseases pp 89–101Cite as

Prions in the Environment

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Abstract

Scrapie and chronic wasting disease (CWD) are two prion diseases of particular environmental concern as they are horizontally transmissible. Prions are shed from diseased hosts in a diverse set of biologic matrices and are present throughout the diseased host. There is strong experimental evidence that properties of soil and water can significantly affect prion sorption, resistance to degradation, persistence, replication efficiency when bound to soil, and ultimately prion infectivity. Highly sensitive and accurate detection of prion infectivity in the environment is not currently possible, severely hampering informed management of disease. A more thorough understanding of the interaction of prions with the environment in combination with robust detection methods may lead to means to reduce or eliminating prion disease in free-range and captive animal populations as well as mitigating the risk of zoonotic prion transmission.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Science Foundation (CBET-1149242) and the Nation Center for Research Resources (P20 RR0115635-6, C06 RR17417-01 and G200RR024001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Peter Kiewit Institute, Omaha, NE, 68182, USA

    Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt Ph.D. & Samuel E. Saunders Ph.D.

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Creighto University, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA

    Jason C. Bartz Ph.D.

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  1. Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt Ph.D.
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  2. Jason C. Bartz Ph.D.
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  3. Samuel E. Saunders Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School o, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, 44106, Ohio, USA

    Wen-Quan Zou

  2. , Department of Neuropathology, Case Western Reserve University School o, 2085 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, 44106, Ohio, USA

    Pierluigi Gambetti

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Bartelt-Hunt, S.L., Bartz, J.C., Saunders, S.E. (2013). Prions in the Environment. In: Zou, WQ., Gambetti, P. (eds) Prions and Diseases. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5338-3_6

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