Zombie Disease killing deers in Canada, hunters and eaters at risk

 

Chronic wasting disease affects the brain of the animal, due to which it is often known as “Zombie Disease”. Drooling, poor coordination, tripping, depression, paralysis, and behavioral abnormalities are all possible signs of CWD that causes a deer to lose its fear of humans and other predators.

The world is battling with the deadly consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for the last three years, Simultaneously, another weird and highly communicable disease is spreading as an epidemic among the deer population in western regions of Canada- the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This disease is also called the Zombie disease.

CWD is an unusual disease related to the mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep, and is spreading in at least two of Canada's provinces - Alberta and Saskatchewan - according to health experts.

According to the United States' Centres for Disease Control (CDC)-'CWD is a prion disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose.

CWD affects the brain of infected animal species causing them to develop small holes resulting in breaking down of the brain. The disease can affect animals of all ages and can be fatal. At present, there are no treatments or vaccines for the disease'.

"When a deer is infected, it may lose the fear of humans and other predators. They may show some other symptoms like drooling, poor coordination, stumbling, depression, paralysis and behavior changes".

“This epidemic is sweeping among deer in the prairies and parklands," said Margo Pybus, a wildlife disease expert with the Alberta government’s fish and wildlife department and a researcher at the University of Alberta.

CWD is not a viral or bacterial disease, it is a prion disease, which means it attacks the proteins of the victim, which are a family of rare progressive neurodegenerative disorders that affect both humans and animals.

Prion diseases are a danger to humanity because scientists have not yet been able to find a cure for them. CWD is caused by a normal protein, called a prion, that folds incorrectly and can infect other deer. The disease is transmitted through direct animal to animal contact or through saliva, urine, feces, blood, and carcass parts of an infected animal or infected soil.

"Zombie disease"

Many are calling it “Zombie Deer Disease,” but its official name is Chronic Wasting Disease. CWD is like deer dementia, it is a kind of prion disease that impacts deer, as well as their larger counterparts – moose and elk. Prions, which are behind this disease, are abnormal proteins that infect the animal and force proteins in the deer’s body to fold in a way they shouldn’t.

This disease is spread between deer when an animal makes direct contact with infected body fluids or body tissue. This may include urine, feces, saliva, and blood.

Health experts say that the CWD especially affects the spinal cord and brain, where the disease will eventually create holes that eventually lead to death. As per the symptoms listed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the animals infected with CWD exhibit excess salivation, lack of coordination, unusual behaviour, excessive urination and weight loss.

Can Zombie disease infect humans?

The prion protein that causes CWD doesn't break down and remains infectious when cooked. However, there have been no recorded cases in humans, but the U.S. Center for Diseases Control and Prevention “strongly recommends” having deer harvested from areas where CWD is known to be present before consuming it, and to not eat the meat if it tests positive.

As well as,

-Avoid contracting, shooting, eating or handling the meat of the deer that look sick or are acting strangely or are found dead (road-kill).

-Check state wildlife and public health guidance to see whether testing of animals is recommended or required. Recommendations vary by state, but information about testing is available from many state wildlife agencies.

-Strongly consider having the deer or elk tested for CWD before you eat the meat.

-If you have your deer or elk commercially processed, consider asking that your animal be processed individually to avoid mixing meat from multiple animals.

-If your animal tests positive for CWD, do not eat meat from that animal.

The infection was first detected in the United States in the 1960s and later spread to Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Montana, according to Vice World News. It has so far been found in 26 US states.

In Canada, the disease first emerged in 1996 on an elk farm in Saskatchewan, then spread into wild populations. CWD was detected through a sample submitted under the hunter surveillance program, in which hunters provide samples of harvested animals to check for the disease.