Zombie deer disease is a 'slow moving disaster'. Why scientists say humans should 'be prepared'.


Olde Hornet

Olde Hornet

Well-Known Member

Chronic wasting disease is sometimes referred to as "zombie deer disease," or affected deer can be called "zombie deer" due to the neurological signs of the disease, which include weight loss, lack of coordination, listlessness and drooling.

The disease mainly affects free-ranging deer, elk and moose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although there have been no infections in humans, scientists warned that the disease is a "slow moving disaster" for humans.

Can zombie deer disease spread to humans?​

While there have been no infections to humans, some scientists are sounding the alarm that governments prepare for the potential for CWD to spread.

Dr. Cory Anderson, a program co-director at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), told The Guardian, "The mad cow disease outbreak in Britain provided an example of how, overnight, things can get crazy when a spillover event happens from, say, livestock to people."

Anderson said it's important to be prepared in case the disease does spread to humans. "We're talking about the potential of something similar occurring. No one is saying that it's definitely going to happen, but it's important for people to be prepared," he added.
 


Study: Hunters Die After Consuming CWD-Infected Venison​


Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been sweeping through North American deer herds since it was first detected at a captive cervid facility in Wyoming in 1967. In all the decades since, there's never been a documented and confirmed instance of the always-fatal neurological disease jumping the species barrier, from cervids into humans. According to a new study, published last week in the journal Neurology, that long-discussed and frequently dreaded transmission of CWD from hunter-harvested deer into human beings might have actually occurred in 2022.

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The study title alone is enough to perk the ears of anyone who's followed the CWD epidemic over the years. "Two Hunters from the Same Lodge Afflicted with Sporadic CJD," it reads. "Is Chronic Wasting Disease to Blame?"

The authors go on to highlight "a cluster of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) cases after exposure to chronic wasting disease (CWD)-infected deer." Those findings, they say, are "suggestive of potential prion transmission from CWD-infected deer to humans."

CJD is better known for its association with Mad Cow Disease. Like CWD, mad cow disease is transmitted in cows through mis-folded proteins called prions. And like CWD, it causes a cascade of brain-related maladies that ultimately lead to death in the bovines unlucky enough to contract it. Mad Cow Disease has been shown to transmit to human beings through the consumption of infected beef. When the disease manifests in people, it's referred to as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
 
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