Zombie Deer Disease May Spread to Humans; Experts Warn Its a ‘Slow Moving Disaster’

A case of Zombie deer disease has been reported this year. Experts warn that humans should be wary because it might eventually affect our species.

Zombie Deer Disease Warning (Chronic Wasting Disease)

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a rare and deadly sickness that affects deer, is a "slow-moving disaster" for people, scientists warned. Wildlife and environmental specialists became alarmed when it was originally discovered in November at Yellowstone National Park.

The National Park Service verified the disease's existence in an adult mule deer discovered close to Yellowstone Lake using a battery of diagnostic testing. The deer had been outfitted with a GPS collar as part of the Game and Fish Department of Wyoming's population study. The illness, which causes animals to drool, become lethargic, stumble, and look blankly, has been identified in 800 moose, deer, and elk samples in Wyoming.

Despite the fact that there have never been any documented cases of the sickness, scientists have labeled it a "slow-moving disaster" and asked governments to get ready in case it spreads to people.

"The mad cow disease outbreak in Britain provided an example of how, overnight, things can get crazy when a spillover event happens from, say, livestock to people," said Dr. Cory Anderson, a CWD researcher.

The aberrant, transmissible pathogenic agents known as prions are the source of chronic wasting disease (CWD), which has been quietly spreading over North America for years. Hunters have been the main people to raise concerns about CWD after noticing unusual behavior in deer.

The prions alter the brains and neurological processes of their hosts, resulting in drooling, lethargy, emaciation, stumbling, and a characteristic "blank stare" that caused some to dub the condition "zombie deer disease."

It affects the cervid family, which includes deer, elk, moose, caribou, and reindeer. There are no known immunizations or therapies for it, and it is lethal.

CWD Cases in Humans

As of the moment, no human cases of CWD infection have been documented. Nonetheless, recent research on animals indicates that non-human primates, such as monkeys, may be in danger from CWD if they consume meat from animals that have the disease or come into touch with the bodily fluids or brains of infected deer or elk.

These investigations give rise to worries that people might also be at risk. The World Health Organization has advised against the agents of any known prion disease in the human food chain since 1997.

However, according to one study, the deadliest virus to humans is from bats. This could be due to their history of evolution, particularly how they learned to fly.

Compared to viruses from other mammal or avian species, zoonotic viruses originating in bat hosts have a higher case-fatality rate. As per Cara Brook, an assistant professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago and the paper's principal author, these include coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, henipaviruses like Hendra and Nipah, filoviruses like Ebola and Marburg, and henipaviruses like Nipah and Hendra.

The study claims that the bats' innate tolerance for inflammation is another element. Because of their resistance to inflammation, bats are, therefore, tolerant of the immune reactions their bodies generate in response to infections by more virulent viruses that increase more quickly.

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