“…On the other hand, intracerebral inoculation with white tailed deer CWD results in an 85% infection rate in cattle, suggesting that some cervid prion strains have more potential to cross the species barrier than others (Sigurdson, 2008). Another cervid that is likely to acquire CWD in future is the northern caribou , since oral exposure has resulted in disease transmission in reindeer, a close relative to the caribou (Mitchell et al, 2012). Genotype analysis has found that caribou PRNP alleles (alleles that are strongly associated with disease prevalence) are nearly identical to those of elk, moose, white-tailed deer and mule deer.…”