​Zombie deer disease: Can it spread to humans?​

Zombie deer disease or chronic wasting disease as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls it, is a prion disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose. It has been found in some areas of North America, including Canada and the United States, Norway and South Korea.

The disease has been found in 800 samples of deer, elk and moose across Wyoming media reports have said. However, experts are worried that this is a slow-moving disaster and is likely to spread to human beings as well. It is fatal, with no known treatments or vaccines.

Experts are giving examples of the mad cow disease or the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. “The BSE outbreak in Britain provided an example of how, overnight, things can get crazy when a spillover event happens from, say, livestock to people,” Dr. Cory Anderson told The Guardian. “We’re talking about the potential of something similar occurring. No one is saying that it’s going to happen, but it’s important for people to be prepared,” Anderson added.

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As per the US CDC, prion diseases affect both humans and animals and are distinguished by long incubation periods. In the case of the chronic wasting disease or the zombie deer disease, "it may take over a year before an infected animal develops symptoms," the CDC says. The common signs of the disease are drastic weight loss (wasting), stumbling, and other neurologic symptoms. Other symptoms seen in animals infected with this disease are listlessness, drooling, excessive thirst or urination, drooping ears, and lack of fear of people.

"Since 1997, the World Health Organization has recommended that it is important to keep the agents of all known prion diseases from entering the human food chain," warns the CDC and refers to animal studies that suggest a potential risk of CWD to non-human primates, like monkeys. These animals get the disease when they come in contact with brain or body fluids from infected deer or elk.

The chronic wasting disease is extremely difficult to eradicate from the environment once the infection has started. "It can persist for years in dirt or on surfaces, and scientists report it is resistant to disinfectants, formaldehyde, radiation, and incineration at 600C (1,100F)," the Independent reported.

The zombie deer disease was first discovered in in Colorado in 1967, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Until now, reports of humans getting affected has not come to the fore. However, the findings of several studies suggest that it can easily jump to human beings.