Chronic Wasting Disease Research in North America: A systematic review highlighting species-wise and interdisciplinary research trends

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) research has experienced significant growth, spanning diverse disciplines such as genetics, immunology, modelling, and behaviour. To gain a broad understanding of the changes in CWD research focusing cervids, we analysed temporal trends in study location, species, genus...

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Main Authors: Chandika RG, Anaïs Tallon, Emily K. Latch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Prion
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19336896.2025.2464753
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author Chandika RG
Anaïs Tallon
Emily K. Latch
author_facet Chandika RG
Anaïs Tallon
Emily K. Latch
author_sort Chandika RG
collection DOAJ
description Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) research has experienced significant growth, spanning diverse disciplines such as genetics, immunology, modelling, and behaviour. To gain a broad understanding of the changes in CWD research focusing cervids, we analysed temporal trends in study location, species, genus investigated, infection types, and population type since the discovery of CWD in 1980s. Our findings indicate that Colorado, USA, published the highest number of articles, followed by Wisconsin, and publication numbers correlated with reported CWD cases in states/provinces. Odocoileus emerged as the most studied genus. Wild populations are studied more commonly than captive populations. Keyword analysis of transmission types shows the discovery of novel transmission modes in the recent past. We also used a novel approach to categorize studies into five themes: field-based, lab-based, math/analytics/modelling-based, management-based, and human dimensions. Overall, most studies captured had a lab-based component. The interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary nature of major disciplines and evolving trends in keywords, particularly the increased reliance on genetics/genomics, accentuate the beginning of using genomics to under and tackle CWD at a fundamental scale. Encapsulated in our analysis, these dynamic changes offer valuable insights for navigating CWD through scientifically informed proactive management decisions in conjunction with existing surveillance efforts not only for the commonly studied species but also for potentially susceptible species.
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spelling doaj-art-643bb0f9ac4e458ba877e6ae2214a0af2025-08-20T03:21:32ZengTaylor & Francis GroupPrion1933-68961933-690X2025-12-0119111610.1080/19336896.2025.2464753Chronic Wasting Disease Research in North America: A systematic review highlighting species-wise and interdisciplinary research trendsChandika RG0Anaïs Tallon1Emily K. Latch2Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USAChronic Wasting Disease (CWD) research has experienced significant growth, spanning diverse disciplines such as genetics, immunology, modelling, and behaviour. To gain a broad understanding of the changes in CWD research focusing cervids, we analysed temporal trends in study location, species, genus investigated, infection types, and population type since the discovery of CWD in 1980s. Our findings indicate that Colorado, USA, published the highest number of articles, followed by Wisconsin, and publication numbers correlated with reported CWD cases in states/provinces. Odocoileus emerged as the most studied genus. Wild populations are studied more commonly than captive populations. Keyword analysis of transmission types shows the discovery of novel transmission modes in the recent past. We also used a novel approach to categorize studies into five themes: field-based, lab-based, math/analytics/modelling-based, management-based, and human dimensions. Overall, most studies captured had a lab-based component. The interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary nature of major disciplines and evolving trends in keywords, particularly the increased reliance on genetics/genomics, accentuate the beginning of using genomics to under and tackle CWD at a fundamental scale. Encapsulated in our analysis, these dynamic changes offer valuable insights for navigating CWD through scientifically informed proactive management decisions in conjunction with existing surveillance efforts not only for the commonly studied species but also for potentially susceptible species.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19336896.2025.2464753CervidsCWD research trends – interdisciplinary approachkeyword analysisproactive managementspatiotemporal and genetic data repository
spellingShingle Chandika RG
Anaïs Tallon
Emily K. Latch
Chronic Wasting Disease Research in North America: A systematic review highlighting species-wise and interdisciplinary research trends
Prion
Cervids
CWD research trends – interdisciplinary approach
keyword analysis
proactive management
spatiotemporal and genetic data repository
title Chronic Wasting Disease Research in North America: A systematic review highlighting species-wise and interdisciplinary research trends
title_full Chronic Wasting Disease Research in North America: A systematic review highlighting species-wise and interdisciplinary research trends
title_fullStr Chronic Wasting Disease Research in North America: A systematic review highlighting species-wise and interdisciplinary research trends
title_full_unstemmed Chronic Wasting Disease Research in North America: A systematic review highlighting species-wise and interdisciplinary research trends
title_short Chronic Wasting Disease Research in North America: A systematic review highlighting species-wise and interdisciplinary research trends
title_sort chronic wasting disease research in north america a systematic review highlighting species wise and interdisciplinary research trends
topic Cervids
CWD research trends – interdisciplinary approach
keyword analysis
proactive management
spatiotemporal and genetic data repository
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19336896.2025.2464753
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AT emilyklatch chronicwastingdiseaseresearchinnorthamericaasystematicreviewhighlightingspecieswiseandinterdisciplinaryresearchtrends