Washington [US], #December 27: The discovery of the first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD), also known as 'zombie deer' disease, in Yellowstone National Park (USA) raises concerns about the risk of zoonotic disease. People.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Control (CDC) confirmed the first case of CWD in Yellowstone National Park, based on test results in November on a mule deer carcass, according to Fox News.
What is chronic wasting disease?
The carcass of a male mule deer was found in a Wyoming state park. The US National Park Service (NPS) said the animal had been implanted with a GPS device since March to serve the deer population survey. Based on GPS equipment , rangers discovered the mule deer died in mid-October.
Test results of biological samples from mule deer carcasses showed that the animal had CWD before death. CWD is a progressive degenerative brain disorder that cannot be treated, has no vaccine, and can lead to death. The disease has been recorded in deer, moose, and elk in the northern regions of the United States, Canada, Norway, and Korea.
Some scientists also call CWD the "zombie deer" disease, because it leads to changes in the brain and nervous systems of infected subjects. The CDC says infected animals may lose weight, walk unsteadily, become lethargic and exhibit neurological symptoms, according to The Guardian. These symptoms can take up to a year from the time the infected animal appears.
Now, American scientists are warning of the risk that the disease can spread from animals to humans, although no specific cases have been recorded in practice.
Risk of transmission from animals to humans
As mentioned above, CWD is a deadly neurological disorder that includes mad cow disease (BSE). "The mad cow outbreak in the UK provides an example of how terrifyingly the situation can change overnight when an animal-to-human spillover event occurs," The Guardian quoted Dr. Cory Anderson. He is co-director of the CWD program of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota (USA).
According to Dr. Cory Anderson, even more worrying is that there is currently no way to treat the disease effectively and easily, either for infected animals or infected environments. He noted that once a habitat is infected, it is difficult to eliminate the pathogen.
Pathogens can persist for many years in soil or on surfaces. Scientists discovered that it is impossible to eliminate pathogens in the environment using disinfectants, formaldehyde , radiation, and combustion at temperatures near 600 degrees Celsius.
On its website, the CDC says some animal studies show that CWD is a threat to some primates, such as monkeys, if they eat meat from animals with CWD or come into contact with brain or body fluids. bodies of infected animals. "The above studies raise concerns about possible risks to humans," according to the CDC website.
The Guardian newspaper quoted statistics from the Alliance for Public Wildlife (USA) estimating that humans slowly ate 7,000 - 15,000 animals infected with CWD in 2017. This number is expected to increase by about 20. %/year.
"We are talking about the risk of a similar situation (like the mad cow epidemic). No one is saying that it will definitely happen, but it is important that people must prepare for that possibility," Dr. Anderson warns.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
