cwd-project

[cwd-project]

Works Cited:

1. Writer, S. (2019, December 12). What is Chronic Wasting Disease?. Oskaloosa Herald (IA).

Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/177CFB2FAD0DF750.

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, November 30). What is rabies? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 17, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/about.html.

3. U.S-Acquired Human Rabies with Symptom Onset and Diagnosis Abroad, 2012. (2012).

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 61(39), 777–781. http://libezp.lib.lsu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.24845839&site=eds-live&scope=site&profile=eds-main

4. https://www.cdc.gov/prions/index.html

5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2819871/

6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012792/

Chronic Wasting Disease - What it is and potential transmission

[Img Descr: Diagram showing how CWD affects the organs of deer. Source]

Introduction - What is Chronic Wasting Disease?

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose in parts of the USA, Canada, and South Korea. It causes an infected animal to lose body weight and functions, as well as act abnormally until it eventually dies. The disease is known to transmit to other deer or elk via direct contact or contact with bodily fluids (which coincidentally, animals with CWD tend to lose more of). While no human has gotten CWD (yet), it is still encouraged for hunters to get their game tested (1).

[Img Descr: Spread map showing where CWD has been found in America, showing data from 2000, 2010, and 2019. Source]

Question: What are prions?

Prions are a type of disease that causes neurodegenerative disorders (4), meaning disorders that rot your brain. They can affect humans and animals alike, and “are distinguished by long incubation periods” and “a failure to induce inflammatory response” (4). This means that they take a long time to take hold in the body, and do not cause inflammatory responses like swelling. Prions, like CWD, will not show any symptoms until it has fully taken hold of the patient's brain.

[Img Descr: Zoomed in depiction of a prion. Source]

Question: Can it be transmitted to humans?

The transmission of CWD to primates has been recorded in multiple studies. One study from 2009 that was successfully repeated in more recent years tested this by inoculating CWD into two species of monkey, squirrel monkey and macaque, through intracerebral and oral means. It was found that while squirrel monkeys were highly likely to get CWD, with "7 of 8 CWD isolates induced a clinical wasting syndrome within 33–53 months."(5), macaques showed no signs of having the disease even after 70 months, even when exposed to either route(6). With humans being evolutionarily closer to macaques than squirrel monkeys, it was determined that it was likely humans were also resistant to CWD. Of course, this does not prove 100% that humans can not get the disease, it is most likely that, as of now, chronic wasting disease cannot be transmitted to humans.

Question: What are the possible effects?

While CWD hasn’t been detected in humans, there are diseases that we can compare to see how CWD might affect humans. One disease we can compare is rabies. Both diseases are contracted in the same way, using bodily fluids, particularly saliva in Rabies' case (2). Comparing Rabies and CWD, you can see that both are diseases that affect the brain, and will ultimately end in death (1 and 2). Both also have abnormal behavior as a symptom, meaning we could infer that if CWD becomes transmissible to humans, that they will experience the same abnormal behavior that deer and elk experience. Additionally, once a human becomes positive for rabies, it is almost impossible to recover (3). While there are a few cases of survival (2), there are not enough cases to be hopeful. Comparing this to CWD, which does not have a cure, it would be more justifiable to make a vaccine, like the rabies vaccine, than to look for a cure.

[Img Descr: Picture of a deer infected with CWD. The deer is extremely emaciated due to the disease, and was later confirmed to be infected. Source]

In conclusion, there are many things to know about CWD. Chronic Wasting Disease is a serious prion disease that affects animals in the deer family, such as moose and elk. While there is currently no evidence of CWD being transmissible to humans, with the frequency of the disease and popularity of venison as a food, it would be impossible to say with complete certainty that humans will never be able to get this disease. With this in mind, comparing it to somewhat similar diseases can help us speculate how CWD could affect human populations. For now, as prevalent the disease is in deer, there is no evidence of humans having a prion based zombie apocalypse anytime soon.

[cwd-project]

Chronic Wasting Disease - What it is and potential transmission

[Img Descr: Diagram showing how CWD affects the organs of deer. Source]

Introduction - What is Chronic Wasting Disease?

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose in parts of the USA, Canada, and South Korea. It causes an infected animal to lose body weight and functions, as well as act abnormally until it eventually dies. The disease is known to transmit to other deer or elk via direct contact or contact with bodily fluids (which coincidentally, animals with CWD tend to lose more of). While no human has gotten CWD (yet), it is still encouraged for hunters to get their game tested (1).

[Img Descr: Spread map showing where CWD has been found in America, showing data from 2000, 2010, and 2019. Source]

Question: What are prions?

Prions are a type of disease that causes neurodegenerative disorders (4), meaning disorders that rot your brain. They can affect humans and animals alike, and “are distinguished by long incubation periods” and “a failure to induce inflammatory response” (4). This means that they take a long time to take hold in the body, and do not cause inflammatory responses like swelling. Prions, like CWD, will not show any symptoms until it has fully taken hold of the patient's brain.

[Img Descr: Zoomed in depiction of a prion. Source]

Question: Can it be transmitted to humans?

The transmission of CWD to primates has been recorded in multiple studies. One study from 2009 that was successfully repeated in more recent years tested this by inoculating CWD into two species of monkey, squirrel monkey and macaque, through intracerebral and oral means. It was found that while squirrel monkeys were highly likely to get CWD, with "7 of 8 CWD isolates induced a clinical wasting syndrome within 33–53 months."(5), macaques showed no signs of having the disease even after 70 months, even when exposed to either route(6). With humans being evolutionarily closer to macaques than squirrel monkeys, it was determined that it was likely humans were also resistant to CWD. Of course, this does not prove 100% that humans can not get the disease, it is most likely that, as of now, chronic wasting disease cannot be transmitted to humans.

Question: What are the possible effects?

While CWD hasn’t been detected in humans, there are diseases that we can compare to see how CWD might affect humans. One disease we can compare is rabies. Both diseases are contracted in the same way, using bodily fluids, particularly saliva in Rabies' case (2). Comparing Rabies and CWD, you can see that both are diseases that affect the brain, and will ultimately end in death (1 and 2). Both also have abnormal behavior as a symptom, meaning we could infer that if CWD becomes transmissible to humans, that they will experience the same abnormal behavior that deer and elk experience. Additionally, once a human becomes positive for rabies, it is almost impossible to recover (3). While there are a few cases of survival (2), there are not enough cases to be hopeful. Comparing this to CWD, which does not have a cure, it would be more justifiable to make a vaccine, like the rabies vaccine, than to look for a cure.

[Img Descr: Picture of a deer infected with CWD. The deer is extremely emaciated due to the disease, and was later confirmed to be infected. Source]

In conclusion, there are many things to know about CWD. Chronic Wasting Disease is a serious prion disease that affects animals in the deer family, such as moose and elk. While there is currently no evidence of CWD being transmissible to humans, with the frequency of the disease and popularity of venison as a food, it would be impossible to say with complete certainty that humans will never be able to get this disease. With this in mind, comparing it to somewhat similar diseases can help us speculate how CWD could affect human populations. For now, as prevalent the disease is in deer, there is no evidence of humans having a prion based zombie apocalypse anytime soon.

[cwd-project]

List of references/works cited:

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news%2F177CFB2FAD0DF750

https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/about.html

http://libezp.lib.lsu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.24845839&site=eds-live&scope=site&profile=eds-main

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2819871/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012792/

First Draft

Introduction - What is Chronic Wasting Disease?

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose in parts of the USA, Canada, and South Korea. It causes an infected animal to lose body weight and functions, as well as act abnormally until it eventually dies. The disease is known to transmit to other deer or elk via direct contact or contact with bodily fluids (which coincidentally, animals with CWD tend to lose more of). While no human has gotten CWD (yet), it is still encouraged for hunters to get their game tested. 

Question: Can it be transmitted to humans?

The transmission of CWD to primates has been recorded in multiple studies. One study from 2009 that was successfully repeated in more recent years tested this by inoculating CWD into two species of monkey, spider monkey and macaque, through intracerebral and oral means. It was found that while spider monkeys were highly likely to get CWD, showing signs of the prion disease “within 33-53 months”, the macaques showed no signs of having the disease even after 70 months. With humans being evolutionarily closer to macaques than spider monkeys, it was determined that it was likely humans were also resistant to CWD. Of course, this does not prove 100% that humans can not get the disease, it is most likely that, as of now, chronic wasting disease cannot be transmitted to humans.

Question: What are the possible effects?

While CWD hasn’t been detected in humans, there are diseases that we can compare to see how CWD might affect humans. One disease we can compare is rabies. Comparing Rabies and CWD, you can see that both are diseases that affect the brain, and will ultimately end in death. Both also have abnormal behavior as a symptom, meaning we could infer that if CWD becomes transmissible to humans, that they will experience the same abnormal behavior that deer and elk experience. Additionally, once a human becomes positive for rabies, it is almost impossible to recover. While there are a few cases of survival, there are not enough cases to be hopeful. Comparing this to CWD, which does not have a cure, it would be more justifiable to make a vaccine, like the rabies vaccine, than to look for a cure. 

In conclusion, there are many things to know about CWD. Chronic Wasting Disease is a serious prion disease that affects animals in the deer family, such as moose and elk. While there is currently no evidence of CWD being transmissible to humans, with the frequency of the disease and popularity of venison as a food, it would be impossible to say with complete certainty that humans will never be able to get this disease. With this in mind, comparing it to somewhat similar diseases can help us speculate how CWD could affect human populations. For now, as prevalent the disease is in deer, there is no evidence of humans having a prion based zombie apocalypse anytime soon.

[cwd-project]

First Draft

Introduction - What is Chronic Wasting Disease?

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose in parts of the USA, Canada, and South Korea. It causes an infected animal to lose body weight and functions, as well as act abnormally until it eventually dies. The disease is known to transmit to other deer or elk via direct contact or contact with bodily fluids (which coincidentally, animals with CWD tend to lose more of). While no human has gotten CWD (yet), it is still encouraged for hunters to get their game tested. 

Question: Can it be transmitted to humans?

The transmission of CWD to primates has been recorded in multiple studies. One study from 2009 that was successfully repeated in more recent years tested this by inoculating CWD into two species of monkey, spider monkey and macaque, through intracerebral and oral means. It was found that while spider monkeys were highly likely to get CWD, showing signs of the prion disease “within 33-53 months”, the macaques showed no signs of having the disease even after 70 months. With humans being evolutionarily closer to macaques than spider monkeys, it was determined that it was likely humans were also resistant to CWD. Of course, this does not prove 100% that humans can not get the disease, it is most likely that, as of now, chronic wasting disease cannot be transmitted to humans.

Question: What are the possible effects?

While CWD hasn’t been detected in humans, there are diseases that we can compare to see how CWD might affect humans. One disease we can compare is rabies. Comparing Rabies and CWD, you can see that both are diseases that affect the brain, and will ultimately end in death. Both also have abnormal behavior as a symptom, meaning we could infer that if CWD becomes transmissible to humans, that they will experience the same abnormal behavior that deer and elk experience. Additionally, once a human becomes positive for rabies, it is almost impossible to recover. While there are a few cases of survival, there are not enough cases to be hopeful. Comparing this to CWD, which does not have a cure, it would be more justifiable to make a vaccine, like the rabies vaccine, than to look for a cure. 

In conclusion, there are many things to know about CWD. Chronic Wasting Disease is a serious prion disease that affects animals in the deer family, such as moose and elk. While there is currently no evidence of CWD being transmissible to humans, with the frequency of the disease and popularity of venison as a food, it would be impossible to say with complete certainty that humans will never be able to get this disease. With this in mind, comparing it to somewhat similar diseases can help us speculate how CWD could affect human populations. For now, as prevalent the disease is in deer, there is no evidence of humans having a prion based zombie apocalypse anytime soon.