Researchers say the two hunters may have died from prion disease after eating contaminated deer meat.

Researchers have drawn a possible link between the deaths of two hunters over the past few years and a rare neurological disease.A report written by medical experts at the University of Texas at San Antonio and published in a clinical journal earlier this month neurologysuggesting that the man became infected by eating venison from an infected deer. chronic wasting diseasea degenerative disease that has not been conclusively shown to be transmitted from animals to humans.

According to the report's authors, both men developed Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease after hunting at the same lodge and consuming meat from the same deer, and died soon afterward. The exact location of the lodge was not disclosed.Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is one of several diseases he has. prion disease — A rare neurodegenerative disease affecting humans characterized by abnormal folding of proteins in the brain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Symptoms are broadly similar dementiaHowever, patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease deteriorate more quickly.

The new study centers on the first death in 2022 of a 72-year-old man who “displayed rapid-onset confusion and aggression,” the authors said. The man appears to have had a history of eating deer meat known to be infected with chronic wasting disease. A friend of his who ate venison from the same deer herd later died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

My friend passed away within a month of developing symptoms. typical illnessThe study showed symptoms such as seizures and agitation, and a post-mortem ultimately confirmed the diagnosis of a variant called sCJDMM1. The authors said the finding could indicate “the potential for new animal-to-human transmission of CWD,” but it is likely that consuming venison from deer infected with chronic wasting disease. , ultimately admitted that they had not definitively proven that it causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in all humans. However, that possibility cannot be completely excluded.

“Although a causal relationship has not yet been proven, this cluster highlights the need for further investigation into the potential risks and public health implications of consuming CWD-infected deer,” the researchers wrote. This is stated in the report. CBS News reached out to the report's lead author for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Prion diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, can have a long incubation period, but once symptoms begin to appear, they progress rapidly and are always fatal. Although not well understood, it is thought to be caused by exposure to certain pathogens that cause brain protein folding.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is thought to occur in four different ways. One is sporadic, the most common being when someone develops the disease with no apparent trigger. By inheriting a specific genetic change that causes the development of the prion protein. It is caused by contaminated medical instruments used during surgery or other medical procedures, but this is rare. Even more rarely, it can be caused by eating contaminated beef.

Variants of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have long been associated with eating beef from cows infected with mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, another prion disorder. The link between cattle infections and humans who ate their beef was publicly acknowledged by British government health authorities in the 1990s after a series of infections and attracted international attention. outbreak of disease.

Chronic wasting disease is in the same category of prion disorders that affect animals as mad cow disease, but experts say: There is no strong evidence It shows that prions seen in chronic wasting diseases can be transmitted to humans. However, some major questions remain about the transmission of the disease across species, and at least some studies suggest that chronic wasting disease can be transmitted to primates. In its discussion of prion transmission, the CDC said that although , these studies “raise concern that CWD may pose a risk to the population and that it is important to prevent human exposure to CWD.” It suggests something.”

According to the CDC, chronic wasting disease has been reported in free-ranging deer, elk, and elk, as well as some farmed deer and elk, in 32 contiguous U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. The agency said that while the overall incidence of the disease nationwide is relatively low, it can spread rapidly in areas where it becomes established, and if it does become established, “the risk remains in the community for a long time.” There is a possibility.'' environment. ”

Hundreds of deer have tested positive for the disease in Minnesota over the past 20 years, mostly in the southeastern part of the state. CBS Minnesota report. Last year, experts announced that a captive deer in Wisconsin had tested positive, just months before Yellowstone National Park officials announced the infection. Deer disease detected First time in that area.