Assessing Different Chronic Wasting Disease Training Aids for Use with Detection Dogs
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly infectious, fatal prion disease that affects cervid species. One promising method for CWD surveillance is the use of detection dog–handler teams wherein dogs are trained on the volatile organic compound signature of CWD fecal matter. However, using fecal mat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/2/300 |
| _version_ | 1797344726013181952 |
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| author | Amritha Mallikarjun Ila Charendoff Madison B. Moore Clara Wilson Elizabeth Nguyen Abigail J. Hendrzak Jean Poulson Michelle Gibison Cynthia M. Otto |
| author_facet | Amritha Mallikarjun Ila Charendoff Madison B. Moore Clara Wilson Elizabeth Nguyen Abigail J. Hendrzak Jean Poulson Michelle Gibison Cynthia M. Otto |
| author_sort | Amritha Mallikarjun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly infectious, fatal prion disease that affects cervid species. One promising method for CWD surveillance is the use of detection dog–handler teams wherein dogs are trained on the volatile organic compound signature of CWD fecal matter. However, using fecal matter from CWD-positive deer poses a biohazard risk; CWD prions can bind to soil particles and remain infectious in contaminated areas for extended periods of time, and it is very difficult to decontaminate the affected areas. One solution is to use noninfectious training aids that can replicate the odor of fecal matter from CWD-positive and CWD-negative deer and are safe to use in the environment. Trained CWD detection dogs’ sensitivity and specificity for different training aid materials (cotton, GetXent tubes, and polydimethylsiloxane, or PDMS) incubated with fecal matter from CWD-positive and CWD-negative deer at two different temperatures (21 °C and 37 °C) for three different lengths of time (6 h, 24 h, and 48 h) were evaluated. Cotton incubated at 21 °C for 24 h was identified as the best aid for CWD based on the dogs’ performance and practical needs for training aid creation. Implications for CWD detection training and for training aid selection in general are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:06:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-064b7d7d90034345bbd48d9068cbb6b8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:06:54Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-064b7d7d90034345bbd48d9068cbb6b82024-01-26T14:33:08ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-01-0114230010.3390/ani14020300Assessing Different Chronic Wasting Disease Training Aids for Use with Detection DogsAmritha Mallikarjun0Ila Charendoff1Madison B. Moore2Clara Wilson3Elizabeth Nguyen4Abigail J. Hendrzak5Jean Poulson6Michelle Gibison7Cynthia M. Otto8Penn Vet Working Dog Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USAPenn Vet Working Dog Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USAPenn Vet Working Dog Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USAPenn Vet Working Dog Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USAPenn Vet Working Dog Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USAPenn Vet Working Dog Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USAPenn Vet Working Dog Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USAWildlife Futures Program, New Bolton Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, PA 19348, USAPenn Vet Working Dog Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USAChronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly infectious, fatal prion disease that affects cervid species. One promising method for CWD surveillance is the use of detection dog–handler teams wherein dogs are trained on the volatile organic compound signature of CWD fecal matter. However, using fecal matter from CWD-positive deer poses a biohazard risk; CWD prions can bind to soil particles and remain infectious in contaminated areas for extended periods of time, and it is very difficult to decontaminate the affected areas. One solution is to use noninfectious training aids that can replicate the odor of fecal matter from CWD-positive and CWD-negative deer and are safe to use in the environment. Trained CWD detection dogs’ sensitivity and specificity for different training aid materials (cotton, GetXent tubes, and polydimethylsiloxane, or PDMS) incubated with fecal matter from CWD-positive and CWD-negative deer at two different temperatures (21 °C and 37 °C) for three different lengths of time (6 h, 24 h, and 48 h) were evaluated. Cotton incubated at 21 °C for 24 h was identified as the best aid for CWD based on the dogs’ performance and practical needs for training aid creation. Implications for CWD detection training and for training aid selection in general are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/2/300chronic wasting diseasevolatile organic compoundsdetection dogs |
| spellingShingle | Amritha Mallikarjun Ila Charendoff Madison B. Moore Clara Wilson Elizabeth Nguyen Abigail J. Hendrzak Jean Poulson Michelle Gibison Cynthia M. Otto Assessing Different Chronic Wasting Disease Training Aids for Use with Detection Dogs Animals chronic wasting disease volatile organic compounds detection dogs |
| title | Assessing Different Chronic Wasting Disease Training Aids for Use with Detection Dogs |
| title_full | Assessing Different Chronic Wasting Disease Training Aids for Use with Detection Dogs |
| title_fullStr | Assessing Different Chronic Wasting Disease Training Aids for Use with Detection Dogs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Different Chronic Wasting Disease Training Aids for Use with Detection Dogs |
| title_short | Assessing Different Chronic Wasting Disease Training Aids for Use with Detection Dogs |
| title_sort | assessing different chronic wasting disease training aids for use with detection dogs |
| topic | chronic wasting disease volatile organic compounds detection dogs |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/2/300 |
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