The discovery of the first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Yellowstone National Park last month has raised concerns that the fatal brain disease could one day spread to humans, according to some scientists.
A deer carcass in the Wyoming park area tested positive for the highly contagious prion disease that can also cause weight loss, stumbling, apathy and neurological symptoms, according to the CDC.
It has been observed in deer, elk, reindeer and moose in areas of North America, Canada, Norway and South Korea.
Symptoms can take up to a year to develop and some have called it “zombie deer disease” as it changes the brain and nervous system of hosts, leaving the animals drooling, lethargic, emaciated, stumbling and with a revealing “blank stare”. according to the guardian.
It is fatal and there are no known treatments or vaccines.
And now scientists are raising the alarm that it could infect humans, although no known case has ever been recorded.
Epidemiologists say the absence of a “spillover” case yet does not mean it won’t happen.
CWD is one of a group of fatal neurological disorders that includes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as “mad cow disease.”
“The BSE outbreak in Britain provided an example of how, overnight, things can go crazy when there is a spread from, say, livestock to people,” Dr. Cory Anderson told The Guardian. Anderson is co-program director at the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy (CIDRAP).
“We are talking about the possibility of something similar happening. “No one is saying this is definitely going to happen, but it is important for people to be prepared,” Anderson added.
Yellowstone National Park recorded its first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) last month. Villager Jim/SWNS
He added that what is also worrying is that there is no known effective and easy way to eradicate it, “neither from the animals it infects nor from the environment it contaminates.”
Anderson said that once an environment is infected, the pathogen is extremely difficult to eradicate. It can persist for years in soil or on surfaces, and scientists report that it is resistant to disinfectants, formaldehyde, radiation, and incineration at 1,100 F, according to The Guardian.
The CDC on its website says some animal studies suggest that CWD poses a risk to certain types of non-human primates, such as monkeys, that eat meat from CWD-infected animals or come into contact with brains or body fluids. of infected deer or elk.
“These studies raise concerns that there may also be a risk to people,” the CDC website reads. “Since 1997, the World Health Organization has recommended that it is important to prevent the agents of all known prion diseases from entering the human food chain.”
“The BSE outbreak in Britain provided an example of how, overnight, things can go crazy when there is a spread from, say, livestock to people,” Dr. Cory Anderson told The Guardian. REUTERS
Parks officials said that since the mid-1980s, the deadly brain disease has spread throughout Wyoming and is now found in most of the state. The disease is estimated to be found in 10-15% of mule deer near Cody that migrate to the southeastern section of Yellowstone in the summer. Yellowstone National Park said last month that the long-term effect of the disease on deer, elk and elk in Yellowstone is uncertain.
The Public Wildlife Alliance, according to The Guardian, estimated in 2017 that between 7,000 and 15,000 CWD-infected animals a year were inadvertently eaten by humans, and that number was expected to increase by 20% annually.
In 2005, researchers began looking at 80 people who mistakenly ate infected meat and found that the group had “no significant changes in health conditions,” according to USA Today.
Still, with hunting season underway, the CDC recommends that hunters “strongly consider testing those animals before eating the meat.” The agency also advises hunters who hunt wild deer and elk in areas with reported CWD to check state wildlife and public health guidelines to see if animal testing is recommended or required in a given state or region.
Meanwhile, Yellowstone staff have increased collaboration and information sharing with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and other state agencies to identify areas within Yellowstone at highest risk for CWD. Monitoring for CWD in deer, moose and moose in the park has also been stepped up, as has testing on carcasses.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn