Amber Mayfield
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Amber Mayfield has a total of 7 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Amy V. Nalls
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
1 shared publication - Candace K. Mathiason
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
1 shared publication - Edward A. Hoover
Affiliation Prion Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
1 shared publication - Erin E. McNulty
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
1 shared publication - James M. Crum
Wildlife Resources Section, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Elkins, WV 26241, USA
1 shared publication - Mark G. Ruder
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D. W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Fetal Tissues of Free-Ranging White-Tailed Deer
The transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has largely been attributed to contact with infectious prions shed in excretions (saliva, urine, feces, blood) by direct animal-to-animal exposure or indirect contact with the environment. Less-well studied has been the role that mother-to-offspring transmission may play in the facile transmission of CWD, and whether mother-to-offspring transmission before birth may contribute to the extensive spread of CWD. We thereby focused on a population of free-ranging white-tailed deer from West Virginia, USA, in which CWD has been detected. Fetal tissues, ranging from 113 to 158 days of gestation, were harvested from the uteri of CWD+ dams in the asymptomatic phase of infection. Using serial protein misfolding amplification (sPMCA), we detected evidence of prion seeds in 7 of 14 fetuses (50%) from 7 of 9 pregnancies (78%), with the earliest detection at 113 gestational days. This is the first report of CWD detection in free ranging white-tailed deer fetal tissues. Further investigation within cervid populations across North America will help define the role and impact of mother-to-offspring vertical transmission of CWD.
Open AccessDetection of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Fetal Tissues of Free-Ranging White-Tailed Deer
The transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has largely been attributed to contact with infectious prions shed in excretions (saliva, urine, feces, blood) by direct animal-to-animal exposure or indirect contact with the environment. Less-well studied has been the role that mother-to-offspring transmission may play in the facile transmission of CWD, and whether mother-to-offspring transmission before birth may contribute to the extensive spread of CWD. We thereby focused on a population of free-ranging white-tailed deer from West Virginia, USA, in which CWD has been detected. Fetal tissues, ranging from 113 to 158 days of gestation, were harvested from the uteri of CWD+ dams in the asymptomatic phase of infection. Using serial protein misfolding amplification (sPMCA), we detected evidence of prion seeds in 7 of 14 fetuses (50%) from 7 of 9 pregnancies (78%), with the earliest detection at 113 gestational days. This is the first report of CWD detection in free ranging white-tailed deer fetal tissues. Further investigation within cervid populations across North America will help define the role and impact of mother-to-offspring vertical transmission of CWD.