PULSE YOUR HEALTH

Zombie deer disease is a catchy name for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal and contagious neurological disorder that affects deer, elk, moose and other members of the cervid family. Chronic wasting disease is caused by misfolded proteins. Misfolded proteins are proteins that do not have the correct three-dimensional shape that they are supposed to have. These misfolded proteins are called prions. Prions can infect the brain, spinal cord and other tissues of the animals. Chronic wasting disease belongs to a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which also include mad cow disease in cattle, scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Chronic wasting disease was first identified in 1967 in captive mule deer in Colorado, and has since spread to 30 US states, four Canadian provinces and several European and Asian countries. The disease is transmitted through direct contact with infected animals or their bodily fluids, or indirectly thr...