Canada deer, Zombie Disease, Centers for Disease Control
Canada deer are being wiped out by "Zombie Disease," putting hunters at risk
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A strange and highly contagious disease is wreaking havoc on Canada’s deer population. According to health experts, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a concern in at least two Canadian provinces: Alberta and Saskatchewan. CWD is a prion disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CWD is fatal to animals, and there are no treatments or vaccines available, according to the report. According to Vice World News, the infection was first discovered in the United States in the 1960s and later spread to Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Montana. It has so far been discovered in 26 different states in the United States.

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The first case of CWD in Canada was discovered in an elk farm in Saskatchewan in 1996, and it quickly spread to wild deer.

How perilous is it?
According to the CDC, CWD could be transmitted to humans through the consumption of infected deer or elk. As a result, hunters are especially vulnerable to the disease.

They could get the infection from improper carcass handling, which could cause blood or brain matter to enter the body, or from simply eating the flesh.
Can humans become infected?
When cooked, the prion protein that causes CWD does not degrade and remains infectious. The CDC, on the other hand, claims that there is no strong evidence of CWD in humans to date, and it is unknown whether people can contract it.

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However, the health agency has asked people to be as safe as possible and reduce the potential risk of infection by not shooting, eating, or handling the meat of sick deer, wearing latex or rubber gloves when dressing the animal or handling the meat, and not dressing with kitchen knives.

“Zombie disease”

According to medical experts, CWD causes the infected animal to lose control of its brain. Animals infected with CWD exhibit excessive salivation, lack of coordination, unusual behaviour, excessive urination, and weight loss, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Because of these outward symptoms, some people have dubbed CWD “zombie disease.”

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Clinical signs usually appear in animals three to four years old, but signs have been seen in wildlife as young as 15 months and as old as 13 years. They can also spread the infection through their urine and saliva.