Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease of North American deer, elk and 
moose, affects both free-ranging and captive cervids. The potential host range 
for CWD remains uncertain. The susceptibility of the ferret to CWD was examined 
experimentally by administering infectious brain material by the intracerebral 
(IC) or oral (PO) route. Between 15 and 20 months after IC inoculation, ferrets 
developed neurological signs consistent with prion disease, including 
polyphagia, somnolence, piloerection, lordosis and ataxia. Upon first 
sub-passage of ferret-adapted CWD, the incubation period decreased to 5 months. 
Spongiform change in the neuropil was most marked in the basal ganglia, 
thalamus, midbrain and pons. The deposition of PrP(CWD) was granular and was 
occasionally closely associated with, or localized within, neurons. There were 
no plaque-like or perivascular PrP aggregates as seen in CWD-infected cervids. 
In western blots, the PrP(CWD) glycoform profile resembled that of CWD in deer, 
typified by a dominant diglycosylated glycoform. CWD disease in ferrets followed 
IC but not PO inoculation, even after 31 months of observation. These findings 
indicate that CWD-infected ferrets share microscopical and biochemical features 
of CWD in cervids, but appear to be relatively resistant to oral infection by 
primary CWD inoculum of deer origin.