Zombie deer? Animals with chronic wasting disease found ...

It is sometimes called zombie deer disease, and is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting (only) deer. Once any Cervid (all ... NEWSInvasionofthezombiedeer?AnimalswithchronicwastingdiseasefoundnearNYborderLenLisenbeeViewCommentsViewCommentsThisisanarticleIhopedIwouldneverhavetowrite.Oneofthemostdeadlydeerdiseasestoeverhitthiscountryischronicwastingdisease,orCWD.Itissometimescalledzombiedeerdisease,andisatransmissiblespongiformencephalopathy(TSE)affecting(only)deer.OnceanyCervid(allmembersofthedeerfamily,includingallspeciesofdeer,elk,mooseandcaribou)isinfected,aslowdeathisthecertainresult.Thereisnopossiblerecovery,andnoknowntreatmentthatmightreversetheinfection.CWD istrulyahorribledisease.SeveralyearsagothisdiseasewasfoundinOneidaCounty.Severalinfecteddeerescapedfromafenced-inpen.ButtheDepartmentofEnvironmentalConservationjumpedonthisproblem,gotfullcooperationfrommanyareahunters,andstoppedtheprobleminshortorderbykillingalotofdeer.Follow-upinspectionsoverthenextsixyearsofdeerharvestedbyhuntersintheOneidaareafoundnofurtherinfections.NYhadliterally“dodgedthebullet”onapotentiallymajorCWDproblem.Ifyouaresqueamishpleasejumptothenextparagraph.CWDissimilartomadcowdisease,andiscausedbyabnormalprions(proteins).Itisthosealteredprionsthatultimatelykillbraincellsandeventuallyleavetinyholesinthebrainsofanyinfectedcervid.Butthehideousfactorinthisscenarioisthatthesymptomsofthediseasemaynotshowupuntilthediseasehasadverselylastedinsidetheanimalforuptotwoyears.DECadvice:HowtopreventthespreadofchronicwastingdiseaseTheonlysurethingisthateveryinfectedcervidwilldiefromthedisease.Andthereisonemorefactthatneedstobeunderstood.InfectiousCWDprionscanbefoundinsaliva,urineandfeces.Thismeansthatthespreadofthediseasecanbeeitheranimaltoanimalorthroughcontaminationintheenvironment.AndnowfortheproblemcurrentlyfacingNewYork.Forvariousreasonssuchasextensiveareasofwoodsandruralareas,Pennsylvaniawasslowertoactandreacttothisdiseaseonceitwasdiscovered.ItoriginallywasdiscoveredinsidecaptivedeerpensinOctober 2012.Then,inearly2013,itwasdiscoveredinfree-rangingwhitetails.Butthereallybadnewsisthatfurthertestinghasfoundthediseaseinnolessthan27countiesinPennsylvania.Anditisstillspreadingwitheverypassingweek.HowfastandhowfarisitspreadinginPA?Well,thePennsylvaniaDepartmentofAgriculturerecentlyannouncedthatawhitetaildeerthattestedpositiveforCWDinnorthwesternPAwasfoundonly5milesfromtheNewYorkborder!And5milesisjustashortwalkforwhitetailbucks,andonlyalittlelongerwalkfordoes.OnMay27,CornellUniversityCollegeofVeterinaryMedicine’sNewYorkStateAnimalHealthDiagnosticCenterissuedanalertcontainingthisinformation.AndKrystenSchuler,awildlifediseaseecologistwithCornell(andoneofthetopresearchersregardingCWD)statedthattheinfecteddeerthatwasfoundsoclosetotheNYborderwillrequireathoroughinvestigationtomakesureitdidnotinfectwilddeerinsideNY.ItismyunderstandingthatthereiscurrentlysomekindoffenceinplacebetweenPAandNYinthatarea.Idonotknowanythingaboutitwithrespecttoheightorhowlongitcurrentlyis.Heck,Ididn’tevenknowifitwasalreadythereinplace.ArcGISWebApplicationButIhavewitnesseddeerjumpingoveran8-footfenceattheoldSenecaArmyDepot.IcanonlyhopethefenceattheNYborder,ifitexists,ishigherthanthat.Ifnot,thenitisonlyamatteroftimebeforeCWDonceagainarrivesin thisstateifitisnotalreadyhere.Icannotover-stressthisincrediblydangeroussituation.Pennsylvaniaappearstoalreadybealostcausebecauseof theinfectionbeingsowidespread.Theyhaveablossomingherdofelkthatisabreathtakingsighttobehold,anditisrightinthemiddleoftheplottedCWDareaonthemap.Whatistohappentoit?Thespectacularlyimpressivedeerhuntingpossibilitiesacrossthestatecouldeventually(ifnotsooner)becomealosttreasureonlytobefondlyremembered.Butjustasimportant,whatisgoingtohappeninNY?Ofcoursenooneknowsforsure,butalreadythedangerofawidespreadCWDinfectionisrealbecausewesimplydonotknowifanyotherinfecteddeerhavealreadymadeitintothestate.Thestateborderisalongone,andthereareotherknowninfectionareasinPennsylvaniathatarenotthatfarbelowthestateline.Willweneedtobuildafencethatisbothdeer-proofandcontinuousforallofthatdistance?Somanyquestions,andwewillhavetowaitpatientlyformostoftheanswers.Chronicwastingdiseasehasincreasinglyplaguedstatewildlifeandagriculturalagencieswithnosustainablesolutioninsight.NewYorkstateistheonlystatetohaveeliminatedCWDafteritwasdetectedinthewildin2005andhastakenpreemptiveriskminimizationactionstopreventtheintroductionofthediseaseinrecentyears,includingbanningimportationoflivecaptivedeerandintactdeercarcasses.Whatifahuntershootsadeernearthesuspectedarea?Coulditpossiblyhurtthepeoplewhomighteatthemeat?Ifprecautionsaretakenduringtheprocessing,themeatissafetoeat.Rubberglovesshouldbeused,andthemeatshouldbecutoffthebones.Huntersshouldavoideatinganypartofadeer’stissuesknowntoharbortheCWDprions.Theseincludethebrain,spinalcord,eyes,spleentonsils,andlymphnodesfromanyareaswheretheCWDhasbeenfoundandidentified.LikeIstatedatthebeginning,IhadhopedIwouldneverhavetowritethiscolumn.ButnowIhavenochoiceinthematter.Thereisastormbrewinginthismagnificentstatethathasalreadybrokenovermuchofthecenterofourcountry.Andbecauseofthelogisticsinvolved,thereislittleornohopeforanyreprieve.Thatsaddensmeevenmore.LenLisenbeeistheDailyMessenger’sOutdoorColumnist.Contacthimatlisenbee@frontiernet.netViewCommentsViewComments