The first known case of "zombie" deer disease has been confirmed and reported in Yellowstone National Park. This comes after the carcass of a deer was found to positively test for chronic wasting disease (CWD).
First Zombie Deer Disease Confirmed
Because of this fatal brain virus, animals are left drooling, uncoordinated and confused. They also become less fearful of humans.
Wyoming game authorities have been monitoring the mule deer buck since March 2023 up until October 2023. It was then that its GPS tag showed that the mule deer died. Authorities then searched for the deer's body and were eventually led to a landmass between the southeastern and southern arms of the Promontory.
Samples taken from the mule deer were found to positively test for chronic wasting disease during several rounds that the Wildlife Health Laboratory of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) conducted. Usual testing covers sampling the nervous system tissue of a creature, either from its peripheral or central nervous system.
To prevent the brain disease from spreading further, the US National Park Service has advised to report any observations of dead or sick wildlife as soon as possible. The Service also warns to avoid having contact with the animal.
Officials from Yellowstone are now collaborating with WGFD to monitor the deer and hoofed species at the park. They are monitoring both the living and the dead ones in order to assess the spread of the condition throughout the park.
The discovery of the confirmed case has reportedly prompted the officials to revise the CWD surveillance plan of 2021. A newer protocol version could be released in the coming year.
Morgan Warthin, the spokesperson of the park, also shares the plans of Yellowstone to boost its collaboration with WGFD in order to pinpoint specific park areas that have a heightened risk due to the condition.
The arrival of the disease in Yellowstone serves as the end of the disease's decades-long spread across the state's westward, as it has now reached the northwest corner of Wyoming.
Chronic Wasting Disease
CWD is a disease transmitted through prions in a way that is similar to "Mad Cow." Such types of conditions surface when the normal prion protein, which can be found on several cell surfaces, turns abnormal and ends up clumping in the brain. This leads to brain damage.
At present, CWD does not have any cure or vaccine. The disease also has a fatality rate of 100%.
In the past years, the condition has reached two Canadian provinces, more than 23 US states, and South Korea.
According to the US National Park Service, there is no evidence that suggests that the condition can infect domestic animals or humans. Nevertheless, the Service cautions game hunters, specifically, to not consume the tissues of animals infected with CWD.
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