Volume 12, Number 2—February 2006
Dispatch
Surveillance for Prion Disease in Cervids, Germany
, Falko Steinbach*†, Iris Eschenbacher-Kaps‡, Kirsten Gerst§, Franz Meussdoerffer¶, Kirsten Risch§, Wolf Jürgen Streich*, and Kai Frölich*Table 2
Free-living German cervids tested for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, 2002–2005
| Characteristic | Roe deer | Red deer | Fallow deer | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. animals tested | 4,250 | 1,416 | 1,390 | 7,056 |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 3,137 | 1,257 | 1,246 | 5,640 |
| Male* | 502 | 148 | 144 | 794 |
| Unknown | 611 | 11 | 0 | 622 |
| Age (y) | ||||
| <2 | 279 | 127 | 154 | 560 |
| 2–3 | 2,196 | 743 | 841 | 3,780 |
| 4–6 | 890 | 383 | 329 | 1,602 |
| >6 | 273 | 154 | 66 | 493 |
| Unknown | 612 | 9 | 0 | 621 |
| Increased risk category | 1,959 | 1,110 | 1,097 | 4,166 |
| BSE risk† | 1,409 | 334 | 236 | 1,979 |
| Scrapie risk‡ | 693 | 215 | 443 | 1,351 |
| Fallow deer high density§ | – | – | 1,035 | 1,035 |
| Red deer high density§ | – | 1,030 | – | 1,030 |
| Clinical suspects¶ | 55 | 9 | 5 | 69 |
| Found dead | 123 | 16 | 3 | 142 |
| Normal risk category# | 1,684 | 297 | 293 | 2,274 |
| No BSE risk | 2,234 | 1,073 | 1,154 | 4,461 |
| No scrapie risk | 2,950 | 1,192 | 947 | 5,089 |
| Fallow deer low density | – | – | 355 | 355 |
| Red deer low density | – | 377 | – | 377 |
| Cervids with unknown risk** | 607 | 9 | 0 | 616 |
*Relatively few male animals were tested. According to a recent report, male cervids appear to be at higher risk for chronic wasting disease than sympatric females (10).
†Animal came from a district where bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) incidence in cattle was higher than the average BSE incidence in Germany (true for all target species).
‡Animal came from a district with occurrence of scrapie in sheep (true for all target species).
§Fallow deer distributed in districts with high fallow deer density or red deer distributed in districts with high red deer density.
¶Cachexia and central nervous system disorders.
#An animal was allocated to the normal risk category if none of the above risk factors applied.
**Animals (n = 616) with unknown risk attributes were not included in risk analysis.
