#876: Dr Evelyn Merrill: Vaccine and Hunting May Manage CWD

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Chronic Wasting Disease has currently spread to about 3 percent of Alberta’s deer population and is poised to go higher.

Dr. Evelyn Merrill is a University of Alberta biologist studying the disease in mule deer.

And one issue of concern is what can be done to manage its spread.

DR EVELYN MERRILL: Right now we hope that we can come up with a vaccine.  But it doesn’t seem like that despite some early hope on the development of vaccine, it doesn’t seem to be in the immediate future.  And even for free ranging populations, vaccines are very difficult and actually quite costly to dispense, because you have to get the animals to actually eat it, or you would have to inject them.  And that’s pretty invasive.  So vaccines don’t seem to be a tool that’s going to be in our toolbox in the next few years.  Keeping populations lower, mostly through harvest management, letting hunters do the job, I think is what the Alberta Fish and Wildlife is really looking to in the future. 

Dr Merrill is also involved in a study on genotyping resistance in deer to CWD.

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Alberta Innovates

Alberta Innovates is a provincially funded Corporation with a mandate to deliver 21st century solutions for the most compelling challenges facing Albertans. We do this by building on our province’s research and technology development strengths in the core sectors of health, environment, energy, food and fibre and platforms such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and omics. We are working with our partners to diversify Alberta’s economy, improve our environmental performance and enhance our well-being through research and innovation. 

The Alberta Innovates system has roots stretching back almost 90 years

In March, 2016 the consolidation of Alberta Innovates was announced and on November 1, a single, integrated innovation powerhouse, Alberta Innovates, was formed. Two applied research subsidiaries – Innotech Alberta and C-Fer Technologies –  serve public and private sector interests.

The Alberta Innovates system was first created in January 2010, as part of an overall innovation framework developed within the Alberta Research and Innovation Act. At that time, four corporations were established:

  • Bio Solutions
  • Energy and Environment Solutions
  • Health Solutions
  • Technology Futures.

The Alberta Innovates system has a 90-year legacy. Our expertise is built on the successes of:

  • Alberta Institute for Agriculture
  • Forestry and the Environment
  • Alberta Agricultural Research Institute
  • Alberta Forestry Research Institute
  • Alberta Life Sciences Institute
  • Alberta Ingenuity
  • Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
  • Alberta Research Council
  • iCORE
  • nanoAlberta
  • Alberta Water Research Institute (AWRI)
  • Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI)
  • Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA).

 

Program Date: 2017-06-13