Zombie deer disease: As this map from the Centers for Sickness Control and Prevention illustrates, residents of 32 US states and certain Canadian regions have been warned about the spread of “zombie deer disease.” People have observed animals with chronic wasting disease (CWD) becoming fearless, confused, and drooling.
When the remains of a deer tested positive for the disease in November, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming became the site of the first known case of CWD. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that the illness has now spread to 32 states.
Zombie deer disease: warnings by the officials
Doctor Michael Osterholm has issued a warning that humans could contract the illness, which he refers to as a “slow-moving disaster.”. The co-director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Dr. Cory Anderson, is concerned that thousands of individuals may have already consumed contaminated deer meat.
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“The BSE (mad cow) outbreak in Britain showed how things can get chaotic overnight when a spillover event occurs, say, from livestock to people,” he told the newspaper. We are discussing the possibility that something akin to this may occur. Though nobody is claiming that it won’t happen, people must be ready for it.”
The Wildlife Health Laboratory of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) found deer remains that tested positive for the disease many times.
Dr. Anderson said that in addition to affecting deer-related species, CWD is “invariably fatal, incurable, and highly contagious” and can cause neurological problems, loss of coordination, and weight loss. One of the concerns is that we don’t have an effective way to eradicate it, neither from animals it infects nor the environment it contaminates.
Meanwhile, there are differing views on whether CWD affects people. The US National Park Service declared last month that there is no proof the “zombie” sickness affects people. “There is currently no evidence that CWD can infect humans or domestic animal species,” they stated.
Nevertheless, studies cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that non-human primates, including monkeys, are susceptible to CWD. “These studies raise concerns that there may also be a risk to people,” they stated.
“Since 1997, the World Health Organization has recommended that it is important to keep the agents of all known prion diseases from entering the human food chain.”
