Limited transmission of cervid prions to nonhuman primates provides insights into the zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an expanding prion disease of cervids. CWD prions persist in the environment, are shed in excreta, and accumulate in tissues of infected cervids, raising concerns about its zoonotic potential. Using cynomolgus macaques, we explored the zoonotic potential of CWD. Although most inoculated macaques remained asymptomatic, sensitive in vitro prion amplification assays revealed low levels of prions in macaque tissues. Inoculation of transgenic mice and bank voles with macaque tissues induced prion disease, achieving 100% transmission rates upon serial passage. One interpretation of these findings is that CWD prions retain infectivity across species and that primate infection may manifest atypically while still enabling transmission. Our results challenge earlier conclusions that minimize the zoonotic risk of CWD and underscore the need for continued surveillance.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science Advances
Published
2026-05-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb7613
Primary Topic
Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Limited transmission of cervid prions to nonhuman primates provides insights into the zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease

Irina Zemlyankina, Samia Hannaoui, Joo-Hee Wälzlein, Kylee Drever et al.
Science Advances
Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding
article

Limited transmission of cervid prions to nonhuman primates provides insights into the zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease

Irina Zemlyankina, Samia Hannaoui, Joo-Hee Wälzlein, Kylee Drever, Michael Beekes, K. Schwenke, Dirk Motzkus, Sandra Pritzkow, Stefanie Czub, Wiebke M. Wemheuer, Claudio Soto, Walter J. Schulz-Schaeffer, Hanaa Ahmed Hassan, Christiane Stahl‐Hennig, Yo-Ching Cheng, Hermann M. Schätzl, Sabine Gilch
article en

Abstract

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an expanding prion disease of cervids. CWD prions persist in the environment, are shed in excreta, and accumulate in tissues of infected cervids, raising concerns about its zoonotic potential. Using cynomolgus macaques, we explored the zoonotic potential of CWD. Although most inoculated macaques remained asymptomatic, sensitive in vitro prion amplification assays revealed low levels of prions in macaque tissues. Inoculation of transgenic mice and bank voles with macaque tissues induced prion disease, achieving 100% transmission rates upon serial passage. One interpretation of these findings is that CWD prions retain infectivity across species and that primate infection may manifest atypically while still enabling transmission. Our results challenge earlier conclusions that minimize the zoonotic risk of CWD and underscore the need for continued surveillance.

Science AdvancesVol. 12(22)
University of Calgary (CA), Robert Koch Institute (DE), German Primate Center (DE), The University of Texas Health Science Center (US), Saarland University (DE)
Genome Canada, National Institutes of Health, Alberta Prion Research Institute
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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