Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion
disease (exit DHS) that affects North
American animals such as mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and
moose. CWD was first identified as a fatal wasting syndrome in captive
mule deer in Colorado in the late 1960s and in the wild in 1981. It was
recognized as a spongiform encephalopathy in 1978. To date, no strong
evidence of CWD transmission to humans has been reported.
Transmission
CWD can be highly transmissible within deer and elk populations.
The mode of transmission is not fully understood, but there is the
possibility that the disease is spread through direct animal-to-animal
contact or as a result of indirect exposure to prions in the environment
(e.g., in contaminated feed and water sources). Routine
surveillance in Colorado or Wyoming has not shown any increase so far in
the incidence of Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease.
Prevention
The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control agree that there is currently no scientific evidence proving
that CWD can cause disease in humans. However, in the interest of
safety, these organizations advise that people not consume meat from
deer or elk which are known to be positive for CWD.
To minimize their risk of exposure to CWD, hunters should consult
with their state wildlife agencies to identify areas where CWD occurs
and take appropriate precautions when hunting in such areas.
Hunters and others should avoid eating meat from deer and elk that look
sick or that test positive for CWD. Hunters who harvest deer or
elk from known CWD-positive areas should have that animal tested for CWD
before consuming the meat (information about testing is available from
most state wildlife agencies). Persons involved in field-dressing
carcasses should wear gloves, bone-out the meat from the animal, and
minimize handling of the brain and spinal cord tissues.
Additional Resources
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Last Revised: November 04, 2008 |
