The Generative Brain

Emerging CWD, chronic wasting disease prions from Norwegian cervids (Research Council of Norway 334585, 2023 to 2029)

Emerging CWD is a six year research project, 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2029, led by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute at Ås and funded by the Research Council of Norway with NOK 9.6 million under its FRIPROSJEKT scheme for free-standing research. The project leader is senior researcher Sylvie Benestad. Its question is what the chronic wasting disease (CWD) strains found in Norway since 2016 mean for other animals and for people: how the disease develops and is shed in reindeer, whether it spreads to other cervids and livestock, and whether European CWD could infect humans. The core experiment is a reindeer trial in Canada, because Norway has no animal facility at a high enough biosafety level; 13 female calves from the Filefjell herd were flown to Ottawa in autumn 2024 and inoculated in November 2024. Partners are prion groups in Italy, France, Spain, the USA, Canada and Norway, including the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Carlo Besta in Milan, Colorado State University, the University of Minnesota and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in Ottawa. The first paper funded by the project, in 2025, found low levels of prions in muscle and other edible tissues of Norwegian CWD cervids. The institute says the zoonotic potential of CWD has so far been judged very low, and the project is meant to test that more directly. Animal research only. Information only, not medical or veterinary advice.

Status as of 2026-10-17. Please check the study registry for the latest position.

Key facts

  • The Research Council of Norway record gives project number 334585, project leader Sylvie Maria Lafond Benestad of the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, NOK 9.6 million awarded under FRIPROSJEKT with funds from the council and the Ministry of Education and Research, and a 2023 to 2029 period.
  • The institute page dates the project 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2029, lists it as ongoing, and names the stated aims: find and measure sources of human and animal exposure to the emerging Norwegian CWD strains, assess spread to cervids and livestock, and assess whether European CWD can infect humans.
  • Partners listed by the institute are INRAe Toulouse, Carlo Besta Milan, Istituto Superiore di Sanita Rome, Colorado State University, the national agricultural research institute in Madrid, the Center for Prion Research at the University of Minnesota, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Ottawa, and three Norwegian partners (MBU Veterinaerhogskolen in Sandnes, and the University of Tromso with Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences). The funder record lists collaborating countries USA, Spain, Italy, France and Canada and names only the University of Minnesota.
  • Methods combine live reindeer and mouse experiments with the RT-QuIC and PMCA seed amplification tests, plus evaluation of MN-QuIC, a possible field test from Minnesota.
  • The reindeer trial uses 13 female calves from Filefjell Reinlag, chosen for genetic profile, health and tameness, with five PRNP genotypes planned; females only because the trial lasts several years. The calves were flown to Ottawa via Copenhagen and Toronto in autumn 2024 because Norway lacks facilities with a suitable biosafety level.
  • Progress reported on the funder record: 13 reindeer inoculated in Canada in November 2024; at 22 months all exposed animals except two were positive on rectal lymphoid biopsy, while two controls given CWD-negative brain stayed negative; one intracerebrally inoculated animal developed mild neurological signs and died on 13 September 2026 with large amounts of prions in brainstem, tonsil and a throat lymph node; orally exposed animals had no clinical signs so far.
  • Not all tests behave as expected on Norwegian material. The University of Minnesota PrioScout test gave varied, hard to read results on reindeer samples, and RT-QuIC and PMCA on blood, urine, faeces and other samples up to 12 months were not yet conclusive; the cause is not yet known.
  • The first indexed paper crediting grant 334585 is Vuong et al. in Emerging Infectious Diseases (2025), with Carlo Besta and Istituto Superiore di Sanita co-authors: PMCA found prion seeding in nerves and in muscles such as masseter, eye and tongue of CWD reindeer, moose and red deer, and moose eye muscle and parotid lymph node transmitted to bank voles. The authors flag possible low level human exposure through handling and eating such animals but did not test zoonotic potential.
  • Two rodent manuscripts are under review according to the funder record: one finds that two Norwegian deer with sporadic CWD each carry a distinct strain, the other that contagious reindeer CWD from Nordfjella and Hardangervidda shares a single strain, all distinct from North American and other European strains.
  • Background the project builds on: earlier institute work with partners found no transmission of Norwegian reindeer and moose CWD to mice expressing human PrP (2022) and a lower in vitro conversion of human PrP by Norwegian than by North American CWD (2022). The institute states that CWD zoonotic potential has so far been assessed as very low.

Timeline

  1. 2023Project start under Research Council of Norway grant 334585.
  2. 2024(autumn) 13 reindeer calves from Filefjell flown to Ottawa, Canada.
  3. 2024Reindeer inoculated in Canada.
  4. 2024Hunting press reports the transfer of the calves to Canada.
  5. 2024Institute news item describes the trial and its aims.
  6. 2025Vuong et al. on prions in cervid muscle published online, crediting grant 334585.
  7. 2026Annual project meeting in Madrid discusses the unclear excreta and blood test results.
  8. 2026First intracerebrally inoculated reindeer dies about 21 months after inoculation, with high prion levels in brainstem and lymphoid tissue.
  9. 2029Planned project end.
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