Last month, two samples of chronic wasting disease were found in British Columbia, Canada. They are some of the latest cases of what some call “zombie deer disease.”
“The Province has implemented mandatory chronic-wasting disease testing, as well as restrictions on the transport and disposal of any road-killed cervids (deer, moose, elk, caribou),” said a press release issued this month. Fortune recently reported that the disease is spreading in North America, Scandinavia and South Korea.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic wasting disease (also known as CWD) was first identified in a captive Colorado deer during the 1960s. By 1981, it was detected in wild deer and since 2000 CWD’s range has grown to all regions of the continental U.S. This month, the USGS reported on expanding cases of CWD.
“Once CWD is established in an area, the risk can remain for a long time in the environment. The affected areas are likely to continue to expand,” said the CDC. Rates are higher among captive deer.
While the British Columbia press release noted that “there is no direct evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans and there have been no cases of the disease in humans,” research published in 2022 indicated there is some risk of humans contracting the infection. Over a span of years “humanized” mouse models developed CWD, said the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
CWD is a prion disease, which means that they cause abnormal folding of prion proteins found most abundantly in the brain, per the CDC. These rare, progressive and always fatal diseases are also called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies – one well known example is Mad Cow Disease.
The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that “zombie deer disease,” has “gruesome” symptoms. It results in the brain deteriorating to a “spongy consistency,” and infected animals stumble, drool and stare blankly before they perish. This condition has no treatment or vaccine, and it is even difficult to eradicate with measures such as high heat and medical sterilization.
Last year, a group of researchers joined together to start up a major initiative looking into CWD, KFF reported. Michael Osterholm, an expert in infectious disease at the University of Minnesota and a leading authority on CWD said the group is looking at what challenges may arise if the disease spills over into humans.
“The bottom-line message is we are quite unprepared,” he said. “If we saw a spillover right now, we would be in free fall. There are no contingency plans for what to do or how to follow up.”
KFF said that tens of thousands of animals infected with CWD have been eaten by people in recent years. The Conversation said people in regions where the prevalence is high – including Wisconsin, Colorado and Wyoming – may have unwittingly consumed meat from contaminated animals.
“However, to prevent any potential risk of transmission or illness, Health Canada and the World Health Organization recommend people not eat meat or other parts of an animal infected with chronic wasting disease,” said the British Columbia press release.