Health officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued a warning that a deadly disease called Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been spreading in the United States.
Also called “zombie deer disease,” CWD is an ailment that causes infection of the brain, spine, and tissues of deer, moose and elk.
The zombie deer disease gets its start infecting prion proteins in the brain, which is transferred through contact with contaminated tissues and body fluids, according to the CDC.
Animals affected by CWD are found to have symptoms such as extreme leanness from forgetting to eat, stumbling, and drooling.
Unfortunately, there are no treatments or vaccines for this fatal disease.
The disease in free-ranging deer, moose and/or elk has been reported in 24 states in the continental United States, including in Grant, Divide and Sioux in North Dakota and two provinces in Canada.
Also, the zombie deer disease has been reported in moose and reindeer in Norway and Finland while a small number of cases have been reported in South Korea.
The CDC officials have raised an alarm that CWD could infect humans since July 2017. In fact, a study found that the disease transmitted to monkeys who ate infected deer meat.
According to NBC News, experts are concerned that CWD could transfer to humans if they consume deer meat.
Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said, “It is probable that human cases of chronic wasting disease associated with consumption with contaminated meat will be documented in the years ahead.” “It’s possible the number of human cases will be substantial, and will not be isolated events.”
At this juncture, there is no known case of the zombie deer disease in humans. However, the CDC officials have warned the public to test elk or venison meat for CWD before consuming it from regions where the infection is suspected.
