Deer in the US and Canada are dying. At least 22 states and some Canadian regions are affected by a neurological disease, chronic cachexia, which transforms moose and deer into a species of zombies.
Chronic cachexia causes deer to appear listless, with a bowed head, blank facial expression, gnashing of teeth, loss of appetite, floppy ears, and walking in repetitive patterns. Eventually, they develop weight loss and die.
But could humans be affected by “zombie deer disease”?
After all, this hypothesis is not so far-fetched, since Canadian scientists have shown that its transmission is possible in primates.
Although no human cases have been reported since its discovery in 1967, a team of Canadian researchers have raised concerns about the possibility that chronic cachexia, known as zombie deer disease, could be transmitted to humans.
The scientists found that, of a group of five monkeys that were eaten with infected deer meat , three of them contracted the disease.
How? Let’s be more specific.
Evolved infectious agents
The infectious agents that cause CWD, called prions, do not pass easily between animals of different species. But what is certain is that these proteins can ‘evolve’ to infect other species.
A prion enters a healthy body through abnormal proteins. When this happens, it modifies the shape of the same type of protein with which it entered the new organism , modifying it and turning it into a prion as well.
Thus, we would be talking about an infection that could spread in humans in a similar way to how mad cow disease did.
“We have reason to suspect that CWD could be transmitted to humans,” in the words of the director of the Prion Research Center at Colorado State University (CDC), Mark Zabel, for the Live Science platform. “The disease may still be evolving, and it may only be a matter of time before a prion evolves into a deer that is capable of infecting a human .”
Furthermore, some studies have even shown that prions can even be artificially modified to give rise to the prions that cause disease.
Can you eat deer meat?
The Colorado State University (CDC) Prion Research Center recommends that hunters seriously reconsider testing the meat in areas where cases of deer CWD have been found.
Additionally, the CDC also recommended that hunters not shoot or handle the meat of deer or elk that appear sick or act strange.
Although it is important to note that even deer that appear healthy could have the disease, as it can take years for symptoms to appear.
