“Don't Call It Zombie Deer Disease”: Scientists Warn of “Global Crisis” as infections are spreading to the US | Global Development

in Scattered pattern Now extending from coast to coast, the US is unveiling a new hotspot for chronic wasteful disease (CWD).

Infectious and always fatal neurodegenerative disorders infect the cervix, including deer, elk, moose, and at higher latitudes, reindeer. There are no vaccines or treatments.

explained By a scientist As a “slow disaster created,” in 1981, there were several free deer in Colorado and Wyoming, and the presence of infectious diseases in the wild began quietly. 36 US states As in parts of Canada, the wild and domestic reindeer of Scandinavian, as well as elk and elk cultivation of deer and elk in Korea.

In the media, CWD is often referred to as “zombie deer disease” due to its symptoms. This includes drooling, weakness, disorientation, vacant “glare” gazes and fear of people. But as concerns about ripple effects on humans and other species grow, Monica is irritating many scientists.

“It downplays what we are facing,” says epidemiologist Michael Osterholm. “This leaves the false impression that this is nothing more than a strange fictional threat in the plot of a sci-fi film. animal Infection of CWD does not return from death. CWD is a fatal and serious public and wildlife health problem. ”

Five years ago, Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, delivered what he wanted to wake up before the Minnesota Legislature, warning about eating game meat about the “spillover” of the “spillover” of CWD transmission from infected deer to humans. At the time, some painted him as a Scarmonger.

Today, CWD is mercilessly spreading to more deer and elk, which means that more people (probably tens of thousands of people each year) are consuming infected venison, and more and more scientists are reflecting Osterholm's concerns.

January 2025, Researcher Report has been publishedpreparation and response to a chronic wasteful disease spillover: depicting an uncertain future. A panel of 67 experts studying zoonotic diseases that can travel between humans and animals concluded that human spillover “causing a national and global crisis” with “a widespread impact on food supply, economy, global trade and agriculture.” The report concludes that the United States is not entirely prepared to address spillover for people with CWD, and that there is no unified international strategy to prevent the spread of CWD.

So far, there have been no documented cases of human contract CWD, but as with BSE (or mad cow disease) and variant strains that have killed people, long incubation times can hide the presence of the disease. CWD can only be diagnosed after the victim dies due to incurable circumstances. Better surveillance to identify diseases in people and games is more urgent than ever, experts say. Osterholm has proposed by the Trump administration to cut public health funding and research, and the US says Retreat It could not have happened at a bad time from international organizations such as the World Health Organization.

tHe says the risk of CWD spillover events is increasing, the expert committee says, and risk is higher in states where big games of hunting tables remain traditional. A survey of US residents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 20% said They hunted deer and elk, and said that over 60% of them ate venison and elk.

Tens of thousands of people may be eating contaminated game meat. Because they don't think they are at risk or are unaware of the threat. “It is a broad practice for hunters to share venison with other families,” says Osterholm. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people suspected of killing CWD-infected animals not to eat them, and recommends keep hunters to take in animals from infected areas to test them. But many aren't.

The nationwide meat movement also raises concerns about environmental pollution. CWD is not caused by bacteria or viruses, but by “prions”: abnormal infectious pathogens that are difficult to destroy. Prions have demonstrated their ability to remain activated in soil for many years, infecting animals that come into contact with contaminated areas that have been washed away by urinating, defecation, saliva and decomposition when the animal dies. analysis US geological surveys show that many dead bodies of many game animals posed by CWD are transported across state lines, accelerating the extent of prion dispersion.

In states where thousands of deer and elk bodies are disposed of, some are in landfills, but there are concerns between epidemiologists and local public health officials that they could create toxic waste sites for prions.

Every fall, Lloyd Dorsey hunts elk and deer and places meat on the table, and now he worries about its safety. “The CWD is currently in elk and deer throughout Greater Yellowstone, so this disease is in everyone's mind,” he says. Dorsey has spent decades as a professional conservationist at the Sierra Club, based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He is pushing the state and federal governments to close deer feed, where deer gathers and easily spreads disease.

“Wyoming was deliberately chosen to ignore conservationists, scientists, disease experts and well-known wildlife managers who had stopped feeding, all said the same thing.

Apart from serious concerns about CWD reaching people, scientists describe it as an “existential threat” to the wild cervid population, which is central to the American hunting tradition. Nowhere is in danger like Yellowstone, the region surrounding the country's most famous nature reserve.

That new research Tracked 1,000 adult white tail deer And fawns in southwestern Wisconsin reflect what other studies suggest. No animals have demonstrated immunity to CWD and no vaccines.

The need for excess packs to reduce the presence of disease can have devastating consequences for those who rely on those animals and those who have connections with them.

Research shows Having healthy wild carnivorous animals in the landscape could help eliminate elk and deer raising sick CWDs, but the Northern Rockies state has adopted a policy aimed at a dramatic decline Wolves, Bear and Mountain Lion.

Other policies continue to contradict scientific advice. Wyoming has attracted public criticism for refusing to shutter nearly 20 feeds that are fed artificial feed to enhance numbers every winter, with tens of thousands of elk and deer gathering nearby.

One of the largest feeds is run by the federal government. National Elk Reserveover 8,000 elk clusters and CWDs have already been detected. Tom Loff, former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the shelter, said former senior shelter biologist Bruce Smith, will produce ripe conditions for disease outbreaks, resulting in intense ripening across the region.

“This is a slow, growing trend, and it has revived growth curves on the scale of decades, but now we have seen serious consequences and it can be severe,” says Roffe. “Unfortunately, what's happening with this disease is predictable and we live with the consequences of several decisions rooted in denial.”

Roffe and others say that it is that unnatural feeding of wildlife is unnecessary and that predators are allowed to perform their role in eliminating diseased animals, but not excluded.

“Yellowstone has been around for generations, so it's the most amazing and best place to ensure wildlife conservation is right,” Dorsey says. “If we keep focusing thousands of elk and deer, and doing as stupid as we are to become more vulnerable to catching and spreading this catastrophic disease, that would be very embarrassing.”

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