Key points
- Chronic wasting disease affects deer, elk, moose, and similar animals in the United States and a few other countries.
- The disease hasn't been shown to infect people.
- Scientists continue to study whether having contact with or eating meat from infected animals could affect people.
Overview
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects deer, elk, moose and similar animals. It has been reported in the United States, Canada, Norway, Finland, Sweden and South Korea.
CWD infections in people have never been reported, and so far, it's not known if people could get infected with CWD. However, another prion disease in animals, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow" disease) can cause a disease in people called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Also, some studies in monkeys suggest they could get CWD by eating meat or brain tissues of infected deer or elk, so, in theory, CWD could be considered a risk to people. Scientists continue to look into this possibility.
If CWD could spread to people, it would most likely be by eating meat from an infected animal. A CDC survey of U.S. residents showed nearly 1 in 5 said they had hunted deer or elk. More than 6 in 10 said they had eaten venison or elk meat. These groups would likely be most at risk if CWD spreads to people.
Causes
Chronic wasting disease is a type of prion disease. In rare cases, prion proteins that are normally found in the body misfold, causing serious symptoms in the animal or person affected. This illness eventually leads to death.
Scientists believe CWD prions spread between animals through body fluids like feces, saliva, blood, or urine. This can occur either through direct contact or indirectly through contamination of soil, food or water.
Reducing risk
In the United States, CWD was first identified in the 1960s in captive deer. In 1981, the first wild deer with CWD was reported. Since then, the disease has been reported in wild deer in 36 U.S. states. It's possible that CWD is also in other states but hasn't been reported yet. Once the disease is established in an area, the CWD prions can stay in the soil for years.
If you're hunting in areas with CWD activity, follow these steps to reduce your risk of contact with the disease:
- Do not shoot, handle or eat animals that look sick or act strangely.
- Do not touch or eat meat from animals found dead.
If you're field-dressing a deer or handling meat:
- Wear latex or rubber gloves
- Avoid handling its internal organs, especially the brain or spine.
- Do not use knives or other tools you use in your kitchen.
Check state wildlife and health department recommendations before you hunt. See if they recommend or require testing animals for CWD in the hunting area. Recommendations vary by state.
Strongly consider having the deer or elk tested for CWD before you eat the meat. If your deer is processed commercially, consider asking to have your animal be processed individually. This ensures you are only getting meat from your animal. If your animal tests positive for CWD, do not eat meat from that animal.