24 states documented 'zombie deer' disease dangerous to humans

The deadly disease, which has already been recorded in 24 US states, is causing concern among experts - through contaminated meat of “zombie deer” the infection can be transmitted to humans and lead to death.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of January, wild deer and / or moose in US 24 states and two Canadian provinces suffer from chronic debilitating disease (CWD), writes USA Today.

“We're in the dark about the affected area,” Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said Friday.

Last week, Osterholm made an official statement, speaking to the legislators of its state with a warning about the possible impact of a person.

“It is likely that cases of chronic wasting disease in humans associated with consumption of contaminated meat will be documented in the coming years,” he said. “It’s possible the number will be significant rather than an isolated occurrence.”

Osterholm compared the situation to the "mad cow" disease in the 1980s and 1990s in the United Kingdom, when most people doubted it could be transmitted to humans. As a result, according to the British news agency Independent, 1990 people died from this disease in the UK in the 156s.

According to the CDC, humans have not yet reported a single case of CWD, but studies have shown that the infection can be transmitted to animals, including primates. The most likely way to get a virus is to consume infected meat.

Every year, Americans eat meat from 7 000 to 15 000 CWD-infected animals, and this number can increase by 20% annually, according to the Public Wildlife Alliance.

Scientists cannot predict with certainty that CWD will infect humans, but with time and the consumption of more contaminated meat, the likelihood increases, Osterholm said.

“It’s like playing genetic roulette,” he said. “If Stephen King could write a novel about infectious diseases, he would write about prions.”

In deer, CWD spreads through infected biological fluids and tissues, drinking water and food. The disease affects the brain and spinal cord through abnormal prion proteins that damage normal ones. According to the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, cells swell and eventually burst, leaving microscopic empty spaces in the medulla, which give it a “spongy” look.

Symptoms, which may take more than a year to develop, include: “drastic weight loss (exhaustion), stumbling, loss of coordination, lethargy, drooling, excessive thirst or urination, drooping of the ears, lack of fear of people and aggression.”

The disease was first found in deer in reserves at the end of the 1960s in Colorado and in wild deer in the 1981 year. According to the health agency, the CWD may already be spread to more than 24 of the state.

Many government regulations are aimed at preventing people from eating contaminated meat. In North Carolina, anyone who brings in parts of the carcass (an animal from the deer family) must follow strict processing and packaging rules. Indiana has already stepped up a number of monitoring efforts, although testing is still not necessary.

“If you sent this to a meat processing plant ... it would be kind of a nightmare,” Osterholm told lawmakers.

Osterholm says more effort is needed to test deer meat. In those states where tests are already conducted, you need to do it faster and more reliably. To hunters from states where the infection is fixed, the CDC recommends that you check deer for illness before eating meat. If a deer looks sick or behaves strangely, you should not shoot him, carry his carcass or eat meat.

Hunters can continue hunting, Osterholm said, but they should be careful and follow the rules if they are in the affected area. “People need to understand how important this is. We cannot wait until the first cases appear,” the expert said.

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