this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2023
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149
‘Zombie deer disease’ epidemic spreads in Yellowstone as scientists raise fears it may jump to humans (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 year ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/health@lemmy.world
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Warnings that ‘slow-moving disaster’ in North America raises chances of fatal mad cow-type disease jumping species barrier

When the mule deer buck died in October, it perished in a place most humans would consider the middle of nowhere, miles from the nearest road. But its last breaths were not taken in an isolated corner of American geography. It succumbed to a long-dreaded disease in the backcountry of Yellowstone national park, north-west Wyoming – the first confirmed case of chronic wasting disease in the country’s most famous nature reserve.

For years, chronic wasting disease (CWD), caused by prions – abnormal, transmissible pathogenic agents – has been spreading stealthily across North America, with concerns voiced primarily by hunters after spotting deer behaving strangely.

The prions cause changes in the hosts’ brains and nervous systems, leaving animals drooling, lethargic, emaciated, stumbling and with a telltale “blank stare” that led some to call it “zombie deer disease”. It spreads through the cervid family: deer, elk, moose, caribou and reindeer. It is fatal, with no known treatments or vaccines.

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[–] MamboGator@lemmy.world 51 points 1 year ago (2 children)

My dad is a contractor for a major beef processor in North America and tells me frequently how this is a much bigger issue and wider spread than anyone wants to admit. He has been told that a lot of the early-onset dementia cases the world has seen are likely linked to CWD. If an infected deer pees on the grass and another animal eats it, it can potentially spread the disease.

[–] MamboGator@lemmy.world 48 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, I realize this has major "my dad works at Nintendo" vibes but with much darker connotations.

[–] massive_bereavement@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

I thought it was your uncle.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

No one in the beef industry is an expert on dementia. This is standard "I heard it from a guy" gossip.

[–] Seraph@kbin.social 34 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wanted to double check if it really could spread to humans:

“This is the first study to show that the barrier for CWD prions to infect humans is not absolute and that there is an actual risk that it can transmit to humans,” says Dr. Sabine Gilch, PhD, associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Prion Disease Research at UCVM

https://vet.ucalgary.ca/news/chronic-wasting-disease-may-transmit-humans-research-finds

Well fuck me.

[–] massive_bereavement@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

Prions are a fucking nightmare. It's weird that at the end of day they're just misfolded proteins.

I'll rather become a zombie than getting TSE. (My best wishes to those that suffer it and their loved ones.)

[–] 0110010001100010@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I, for one, didn't have zombie apocalypse on my 2024 bingo card.

[–] WarmSoda@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Deer zombie apocalypse

[–] ____@infosec.pub 4 points 1 year ago

Welp, there’s my nightmare fuel for the day. Already knew prions were damnably difficult to get rid of on surfaces etc, hadn’t co soldered that CWD could realistically make the jump to humans.

[–] Hasuris@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 year ago

A grim thought: wouldn't the only way to deal with this effectively be... wiping out the dear population in an infected region?

[–] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

5 years or so ago I would be WTFing at this headline and sending the article to everyone. Now my reaction is just 'Yeah sure why the fuck not.'

[–] NightAuthor@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Once an environment is infected, the pathogen is extremely hard to eradicate. It can persist for years in dirt or on surfaces, and scientists report it is resistant to disinfectants, formaldehyde, radiation and incineration at 600C (1,100F).

[–] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This has me wondering, what happens to prions in the environment, ultimately? Presumably they're nothing new, so if they're that hard to destroy, shouldn't they just have been building up in the environment ever since the first ones formed? Does something eat them, somehow?

[–] IHeartBadCode@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] LetKCater2U@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m gonna stop eating all together just to be safe.

[–] AlysonFaithGames@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease can happen spontaneously, meaning one of your prions becomes misfolded. It can also be genetic or caught due to medical equipment that hasn't been properly cleaned or from using human tissue from cadavers (iatrogenic). There's even been a case of variant CJD from packed red blood cells.

Have a merry Christmas!

[–] LetKCater2U@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I’m gonna stop ~~eating~~ existing all together just to be safe.