A So-Called ‘Zombie’ Virus Is Spreading Amongst Animals. Humans May Be Next [Horror IRL]
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been rapidly spreading among the world’s deer population. The condition has been dubbed by some as ‘zombie deer disease’.
Wyoming is currently leading in total reported cases in the US. The state has at least 800 documented instances of the disease, which stems from misfolded proteins called prions. Especially frightening is the distinction that prions do not trigger an immune response, making early detection especially difficult.
The CDC describes prions as:
“abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins that are found most abundantly in the brain. The functions of these normal prion proteins are still not completely understood.”
There has yet to be a documented case of a human infected with zombie deer disease. But scientists are still concerned, seeing as prion diseases have successfully passed from animals to humans through contaminated meat in the past. For instance, a mutation of mad cow disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has claimed a number of human lives since the ‘90s.
Additionally, laboratory tests have already proven that the prions that cause CWD can infect and spread within human cells.
Estimates suggest that between 7,000 and 15,000 CWD-infected animals were eaten by humans in 2017. But that isn’t the only risk factor. Contaminated water or soil may also have the potential to spread the disease.
Although the risk of human transmission remains relatively low, it’s not outside the realm of possibilities.
Creatures afflicted with CWD display several symptoms, including, but not limited to stumbling, lethargy, drooling, and a vacant gaze. It is those very symptoms that have led to the condition being dubbed ‘zombie deer disease’.
That’s all for this installment of Horror IRL. But stay tuned to the site for more alarming discoveries as we learn of them.
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