Scientists Warn , 'Zombie Deer Disease' , Could Jump to Humans.<br />The first case of chronic wasting disease <br />(CWD) has been recorded in a mule deer buck <br />in Yellowstone national park.<br />'The Guardian' reports that CWD has silently been spreading across North America for years. .<br />The fatal disease, which has no known <br />treatments or vaccines, is caused by abnormal, <br />transmissible pathogenic agents called prions.<br />Prions alter its host's brain and <br />nervous system, leaving the animal <br />lethargic, emaciated and stumbling.<br />Victims of CWD also reportedly have <br />a telltale "blank stare," which has led <br />some to call it the "zombie deer disease.".<br />It has been found in members of the <br />cervid family, which includes deer, <br />elk, moose, caribou and reindeer.<br />Dr Thomas Roffe, a vet and former chief of animal health <br />for the Fish & Wildlife Service, warns that the discovery <br />of CWD in Yellowstone should be a public wake-up call. .<br />Dr Thomas Roffe, a vet and former chief of animal health <br />for the Fish & Wildlife Service, warns that the discovery <br />of CWD in Yellowstone should be a public wake-up call. .<br />This case puts CWD on the radar <br />of widespread attention in ways it <br />wasn’t before – and that’s, ironically, <br />a good thing. It’s a disease that <br />has huge ecological implications, Dr Thomas Roffe, a vet and former chief of animal <br />health for the Fish & Wildlife Service, via 'The Guardian'.<br />Dr Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist, <br />called CWD a “slow-moving disaster.”.<br />Dr Raina Plowright, a disease ecologist <br />at Cornell University, warns that CWD is just <br />one of many dangerous zoonotic pathogens , capable of moving across species barriers <br />between humans, livestock and wildlife globally. .<br />Dr Raina Plowright, a disease ecologist <br />at Cornell University, warns that CWD is just <br />one of many dangerous zoonotic pathogens , capable of moving across species barriers <br />between humans, livestock and wildlife globally.
