Infectious disease, Neurology, Veterinary medicine
Symptoms
Behavioral changes, weight loss, decreased interactions with other animals, tremors, repetitive walking in set patterns, increased drinking and urination, excessive salivation and grinding of the teeth, loss of fear of humans, confusion
Usual onset
18–24 months after initial exposure
Causes
A type of prion
Diagnostic method
Suspected based on symptoms, confirmed by examination of the brain
Prevention
Exterminating infected deer, incineration and disposal of infected deer carcasses
Treatment
None
Prognosis
Always fatal[1]
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), sometimes called zombie deer disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting deer. TSEs are a family of diseases thought to be caused by misfolded proteins called prions and include similar diseases such as BSE (mad cow disease) in cattle, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) in humans and scrapie in sheep.[2] Natural infection causing CWD affects members of the deer family. In the United States, CWD affects mule deer, white-tailed deer, red deer, sika deer, elk, caribou, and moose.[3] The transmission of CWD to other species such as squirrel monkeys and humanized mice has been observed in experimental settings.[4]
In 1967, CWD was first identified in mule deer at a government research facility in northern Colorado, United States.[3] It was initially recognized as a clinical "wasting" syndrome and then in 1978, it was identified more specifically as a TSE disease. Since then, CWD has been found in free-ranging and captive animal populations in 30 US states and four Canadian provinces.[5] In addition, CWD has been found in one Minnesota red deer farm, one wild reindeer herd in Norway (March 2016) as well as in wild moose. Single cases of CWD in moose have been found in Finland (March 2018) and in Sweden (March and May 2019, September 2020). CWD was found in South Korea in some deer imported from Canada.[6] CWD is typified by chronic weight loss and clinical signs compatible with brain lesions, aggravated over time, always leading to death.
Although reports in the popular press have been made of humans being affected by CWD, by 2004 a study for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested, "[m]ore epidemiologic and laboratory studies are needed to monitor the possibility of such transmissions".[7] A 2019 study concluded that "the potential exists for transmission to humans and subsequent human disease".[8] The epidemiological study further concluded, "[a]s a precaution, hunters should avoid eating deer and elk tissues known to harbor the CWD agent (e.g., brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils, lymph nodes) from areas where CWD has been identified".[7] A new study conducted in April 2024 found a cluster of CJD in hunters who were known to consume meat from a CWD infected deer population, suggesting a possible link in humans for the first time.[9]
^"CWD in Animals". CDC. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
^"Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)". USDA. APHIS. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
^ abCite error: The named reference USDA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Transmission | Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) | Prion Disease | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
^
"Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America". USGS.gov. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
^"Occurrence | Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) | Prion Disease | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
^ abBelay ED, Maddox RA, Williams ES, Miller MW, Gambetti P, Schonberger LB (June 2004). "Chronic Wasting Disease and Potential Transmission to Humans". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 10 (6): 977–984. doi:10.3201/eid1006.031082. PMC 3323184. PMID 15207045.
^Osterholm MT, Anderson CJ, Zabel MD, Scheftel JM, Moore KA, Appleby BS (27 August 2019). "Chronic Wasting Disease in Cervids: Implications for Prion Transmission to Humans and Other Animal Species". mBio. 10 (4). American Society for Microbiology. doi:10.1128/mBio.01091-19. ISSN 2161-2129. PMC 6650550. PMID 31337719.
^Trout J, Roberts M, Tabet M, Kotkowski E, Horn S (9 April 2024). "Two Hunters from the Same Lodge Afflicted with Sporadic CJD: Is Chronic Wasting Disease to Blame? (P7-13.002)". Neurology. 102 (17_supplement_1). doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000204407. ISSN 0028-3878.
and 24 Related for: Chronic wasting disease information
Chronicwastingdisease (CWD), sometimes called zombie deer disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting deer. TSEs are a family...
wasting, also known as wasting syndrome, refers to the process by which a debilitating disease causes muscle and fat tissue to "waste" away. Wasting is...
Mountain elk herd was diagnosed with a serious disorder called chronicwastingdisease (CWD).[citation needed] CWD affects the brain tissue of infected...
popularly known as "mad cow disease" – and chronicwastingdisease (CWD) in deer and elk. The variant form of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans is caused by...
(June 2004). "ChronicWastingDisease and Potential Transmission to Humans". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 10 (6). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation...
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a type of kidney disease in which a gradual loss of kidney function occurs over a period of months to years. Initially...
their excretions (urine or feces). Notable animal prion diseases include chronicwastingdisease in cervids, scrapie in sheep and goats, and various types...
including scrapie in sheep, chronicwastingdisease (CWD) in deer, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle (mad cow disease), feline spongiform encephalopathy...
A chronic condition (also known as chronicdisease or chronic illness) is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in...
East Region contains 10 WMAs South West Region contains 10 WMAs ChronicWastingDisease has been discovered in Alcorn, Benton, Carroll, DeSoto, Lafayette...
may suffer from chronicwastingdisease, which was identified at a Colorado laboratory in the 1960s and is believed to be a prion disease. Out of an abundance...
is unknown whether chronicwastingdisease (CWD), a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy among deer (similar to mad cow disease, scientifically known...
importation of elk antler velvet due to concerns about chronicwastingdisease. The Gram-negative bacterial disease brucellosis occasionally affects elk in the Greater...
R S T U V W X Y Z This list contains acronyms and initials related to diseases (infectious or non-infectious) and medical disorders. Acronyms in healthcare...
wall-deficient bacteria (or L forms) Chronicwastingdisease, of deer Coarse woody debris, fallen trees and branches Coffee wilt disease, in coffee trees Common and...
on the transmissibility of chronicwastingdisease prions to humans-A systematic review". Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 65 (1): 37–49. doi:10.1111/tbed...
negatively impacted by infectious disease in the population, such as chronicwastingdisease. Chronicwastingdisease is present in 25 states in the United...
presence of the abnormal prion protein to diagnose wastingdiseases like chronicwastingdisease in deer. Positive IHC findings in the obex is considered...
like: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle Chronicwastingdisease in deer Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and its variant Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker...
encephalopathy (TSE) including, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) in humans Scrapie in sheep, and Chronicwastingdisease in deer. Since 1990, cases have been reported...
strictly regulated elk farming due to concerns about chronicwastingdisease (CWD), a prion disease that affects elk and other members in the deer family...
Global Information