Two hunters may have become the first Americans to die from “zombie deer” disease.
Researchers have been warning for years that the nearly 100 percent fatal chronic wasting disease (CWD), which leaves deer confused, drooling and unafraid of humans, could jump from animals to people.
But a new study theorizes it already happened: in two hunters who died in 2022 after eating contaminated venison.
One of the victims, a 72-year-old man, suffered “rapid-onset confusion and aggression” as well as seizures.
Because CWD is so contagious, when a deer is confirmed to have died from it, an entire herd becomes infected. Pictured: A deer in Kansas showing signs of CWD
At least 32 states in the United States and parts of Canada have received reports of a virus called “zombie deer disease” that could potentially be transmitted to humans.
His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died within a month.
After his death he was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a brain-weakening condition that has been compared to mad cow disease.
CJD is caused by misfolded proteins (when proteins do not fold in the correct way), called prions.
After infection, prions travel throughout the central nervous system and leave prion deposits in brain tissues and organs.
The hunter’s friend also died from the disease, but there were limited details about his condition in research published last week in the journal. Neurology.
The investigators are from Texas, but details about where the deaths occurred are also unknown. DailyMail.com has contacted the researchers for comment.
Like CWD, CJD is caused by misfolded prions, although it most likely affects patients at random.
However, researchers believe that because of both hunters’ history of eating meat from that infected herd, they may actually have developed CWD.
“Although causality has not yet been proven, this group emphasizes the need for more research into the potential risks of consuming CWD-infected deer and its public health implications,” the team wrote.
The CDC map below shows the counties where CWD has been detected. This includes 436 counties in 32 states.
It can take more than a year for an infected animal to develop symptoms
Investigation suggests that it is possible that prions in CWD bind to elements in the environment and may cause the properties of the prions to change, including the degree of contagiousness of the disease and the potential to infect other animal species or even humans. humans.
It can take more than a year for an infected animal to develop symptoms, which can include drastic weight loss, stumbling, and listlessness.
CWD is nicknamed “zombie deer disease” because it causes parts of the brain to slowly degenerate into a spongy consistency and the animals drool and stare before dying.
There are no treatments or vaccines and the disease is 100 percent fatal.
The exact route of transmission is not fully understood, but it is believed to be transmitted from animal to animal by eating forage or water contaminated with infected feces or by exposure to carcasses.
Direct contact, including saliva, blood, urine, and even antler velvet during the annual molt, can also contribute to the transmission of the pathogen.
Any deer that dies on a farm should be tested for a chronic wasting disease.
Because the disease is so contagious, if one animal tests positive, the entire herd is considered infected.
The disease is believed to only infect animals such as deer, moose, reindeer, caribou and moose.
Chronic wasting disease was initially discovered in 1967 in Colorado in captive deer.
According to the CDC, it has now been found in animals in at least 32 states, four Canadian provinces, and four other foreign countries.
The three states with the largest distribution of CWD-infected deer are Kansas (49 counties), Nebraska (43 counties), and Wisconsin (43 counties).
The most recent case in deer occurred in Kentucky last fall, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.