'Zombie' because of eating infected deer meat in the US

A hunter died from eating meat from an animal infected with zombie deer disease, causing scientists to worry that the disease could cause a crisis in humans.

USA Today reported that two hunters who ate deer meat in the US contracted chronic wasting disease (CWD) , also known as zombie deer disease. After eating infected deer meat, these two people developed some symptoms related to neurological disease and then died.

Symptoms of animals infected with zombie deer disease are weight loss, unsteady walking, lethargic eyes, and drooling. (Photo: Pixabay).

Concerned about zombie deer disease

Researchers at the Health Sciences Center (University of Texas, San Antonio) reported that these two hunters died in 2022 from eating venison from a herd infected with zombie deer disease.

Before passing away, these two people showed symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) - a neurological disease similar to chronic wasting disease.

Of these two, the 77-year-old man quickly developed a mental disorder and became aggressive. Despite receiving treatment, he died only a month after discovering the disease.

The places with the highest concentration of infected deer are Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Wyoming. (Photo: WFLA News).

At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology held in early April, scientists reported that this case and a similar case in the community showed that zombie deer disease is transmissible. from animals to humans if humans eat the meat of an infected animal.

The researchers did not say where these people lived or hunted. But according to the US CDC, the places with the highest concentration of infected deer are Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

From the two cases mentioned above, researchers emphasize the necessity and urgency of further investigation into the potential risks of eating deer meat infected with moose moose disease, as well as the effects of the disease on humans. with public health.

The culprit causes the disease

According to the US CDC, zombie deer disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder, often affecting species such as deer, elk, elk.

It is worth noting that zombie deer disease is not caused by a virus or bacteria , but by a prion - a type of protein that is misaligned, causing proteins in the brain to have similar problems , thereby leading to a general condition. brain damage, neurodegeneration and a number of other problems.

Prions worry the scientific community because they have very strong resilience and can exist for many years. In particular, they can resist toxic formaldehyde gas, radiation and survive in extreme temperatures.

Prion diseases often develop very quickly and are always fatal, and can affect humans and animals. Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) and variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (vCJD) - a form of mad cow disease - are examples of prion diseases found in humans.

This is also an example of how prion diseases can be transmitted from livestock to humans , so some researchers believe that zombie deer disease could cause similar problems.

For example, with mad cow disease, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it usually takes cattle 4-6 years from infection to show symptoms. Meanwhile, the incubation period for deer is about 2 years.

Therefore, infected animals may appear normal until they officially show symptoms such as weight loss, unsteady walking, lethargic eyes, drooling or even falling into a coma.

Mad cow disease in humans - also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy - often originates from humans eating infected cattle. This also makes scientists concerned about the risk of transmitting chronic wasting disease from deer to humans.

Deer usually incubate zombie deer disease for about 2 years before symptoms appear. (Photo: CBS News).

Is zombie deer disease contagious to humans?

To date, the world has not recorded a case of direct transmission of zombie deer disease from animals to humans, but concerns have increased significantly when the US discovered an infected deer died in Yellowstone National Park in July. November 2023.

Associate Professor Jennifer Mullinax, who specializes in wildlife research at the University of Maryland, confirmed that to date there have been no cases of zombie transmission from deer or elk to humans.

However, due to the nature of prions, the CDC and other agencies have sought ways to remove this eccentric protein from the food chain.

Also discussing this issue, Mr. Michael Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research at the University of Minnesota, told the BBC that if zombie deer disease could be transmitted directly to humans, it could create a pandemic. crisis similar to mad cow disease.

However, it is important to note that the prions that cause mad cow disease and the prions that cause zombie deer disease are structurally different. Therefore, researchers still do not know whether we can compare the pathology and clinical manifestations of these two diseases.