CWD Could Be Threat to Humans

Health officials have long warned against eating meat from animals infected with chronic wasting disease while at the same time noting that there's no evidence the disease can be transferred to humans - I always wondered about that - new research from Canada casts doubt on the latter assertion and prompted the government to issue a warning - "the potential for CWD to be transmitted to humans cannot be excluded" - this warning is based on preliminary results of an ongoing study - 18 macaques old world monkeys that have genetics similarities to humans have been exposed to CWD in a variety of ways - one of the methods was feeding a couple infected meat - they ended up getting the fatal disease - it takes about 5 to 7 years after you get infected that the disease shows up -

Boy if it turns out that you can get this disease from eating infected deer meat I'm afraid that will end my deer hunting - because you won't be able to tell if a animal in infected unless you have the brain tested and who is gonna do that with every deer that you get - right now this disease has been found in wild deer in a couple counties in southwestern Pa.

What do hunters in Colorado do?
That is where CWD first appeared in North America in the 1967.
Surely, after 50 years of eating Colorado deer, there would be a noticeable spike in Human cases of spongiform encephaopathies in hunters or their families.
There is not!!!

But.... I would be reluctant to eat a deer from Colorado or any other heavily affected area.

Is there a reliable testing process hunters can use?

How many deer are actually infected with CWD? How many deer do you eat in a year?

You are far more likely to die in a car crash than to catch CWD, if you want to stop hunting to protect yourself you might as well stop riding in cars too, gotta protect yourself.

Here is a peer reviewed paper that sums up the facts on CWD. This is worth a read.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/75e...91505a7b4a.pdf

There is a very reliable testing process that you can have done. The ministry does it (selectively), or a veterinarian (for a charge). It is simply necessary to keep the head intact, and the required tissue can be removed. It will not destroy the head in a way that would prevent you from mounting the animal.

Steve Rinella covers this topic at length in this recent podcast with Bryan Richards. This is worth a listen.
http://www.themeateater.com/podcasts...sting-disease/

I am a member of Michigan's Upper Peninsula Citizens Advisory Council to the DNR. This past Wednesday, July 19th, One of the members brought this study to our attention at our bi-monthly meeting. It is a concern, as Wisconsin borders the Upper Peninsula on the South West. Both Michigan and Wisconsin have found CWD in captive cervid herds and isolated free range cervids, especially in South Western Wisconsin. We have strongly enforced laws/regulations banning import of deer that have not been deboned and other parts that concentrate the prions cut out. The question was ask about importing moose meat from Ontario and were told that at this time it is legal to import moose meat into Michigan from Ontario. (Whew!! I have a Moose hunt set up for October).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LeakyBoots

Steve Rinella covers this topic at length in this recent podcast with Bryan Richards. This is worth a listen.
http://www.themeateater.com/podcasts...sting-disease/

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I just finished listening to that episode. It's an eye-opener -- one of my favorite episodes yet.

For those who are interested in the possible human effects, forward to the 1:18:20 timestamp.

If CWD becomes established in Ontario,our Deer hunt will collapse,completely,virtually over night. Nobody in their right mind would ever take a chance with their own or their family and friends health.

MNRF is asking hunters in certain WMUs to participate in testing. I don't know how quickly they can get the results out, but the more people participate, the better.

In the concluding thoughts of that Meat Eater episode, there's mention of carcass management -- not to leave deer remains where other deer or other animals can be exposed to them. Interesting thought.