Did it make the jump?

[Btaylor]

It’s interesting for sure. CJD is pretty rare..probably not a coincidence that these two guys both died from it. I am not aware of any reason CWD CANT infect a human. Hasnt been proven yet, but it would be fairly difficult and logistically impossible to prove conclusively that it can’t infect humans. My personal belief is that people have probably died from CWD and it is attributed to something else. Not every 60 year old guy that dies gets an autopsy. Lots of small hospitals out there that people die in.

That being said I know I am more likely to die driving to and from hunting, and probably by lightening or a grizz…but I’ll get my deer tested in endemic areas for peace of mind.

CWD aint new. They have been studying it for 50ish years now and to my knowledge there is no evidence of species jump. Can or will it happen? Maybe, but it's not like there isnt already a lot of study data, that so far doesnt support the idea presented in the article.

 

[Shō[t]gun]

Soooooo much missing information here. I would be concerned if I heard that a whole family that had been eating a deer got diagnosed, but this seems a bit more like coincidence. There are chicken, beef, cheese, and produce recalls every day for potentially deadly viruses and bacteria. Even an overabundance of caution away from venison only leads you to options with well-known risks.

 

[willfrye027]

CWD aint new. They have been studying it for 50ish years now and to my knowledge there is no evidence of species jump. Can or will it happen? Maybe, but it's not like there isnt already a lot of study data, that so far doesnt support the idea presented in the article.

I think the news article sensationalizes but that’s to be expected.

The fact that two deer hunters in an (assuming) endemic CWD area died of CJD..when the incidence is 1-2 cases per million people..is very suspicious. With new diseases you have to start somewhere. if you understand prion diseases it would not be surprising they can infect human brain tissue. There’s been sporadic CJD cases linked to eating squirrel brains in the US. I see no logical reason CWD is not able to infect a human. Just because it has not been well described does not mean it’s not happened in the past and can’t happen again. These are very rare diseases after all and we will likely never see “definitive” research.

 

[long hunter]

All you guys that’s getting jumpy about this might as well quit deer hunting and take up knitting. Anyone ever think to look into the political affiliations of the original publisher, perhaps a poor move to save Bambi from all the mean hunters. You know it takes guns also Been hunting and eating deer since before I was able to carry a gun got old enough to carry a rifle and continued to kill them on my own and still do a little bit of common sense in field dressing and meat care will go a long ways as well as processing your own from regular butcher cuts to sausages, bologna and jerky, lot of times that’s was what was on the table if not maybe a boiled potato. Same for a lot of the folks I grew up around, Too much info left out of this for offering a solid conclusion.

 

[Fowl Play]

I think the news article sensationalizes but that’s to be expected.

The fact that two deer hunters in an (assuming) endemic CWD area died of CJD..when the incidence is 1-2 cases per million people..is very suspicious. With new diseases you have to start somewhere. if you understand prion diseases it would not be surprising they can infect human brain tissue. There’s been sporadic CJD cases linked to eating squirrel brains in the US. I see no logical reason CWD is not able to infect a human. Just because it has not been well described does not mean it’s not happened in the past and can’t happen again. These are very rare diseases after all and we will likely never see “definitive” research.

Suspicious and should be looked in to for sure. But I still feel like it would be more likely they both ate some ribeye from the same “Mad Cow” which is a known transmission case for CJD, then caught it from infected venison.

 

[Will_m]

Maybe this is the news we need to correct point creep.

 

[idelkslayer]

The article doesn't make any direct connection between consuming infected deer meet and CJD. It did get me curious about human exposure to CWD prions and I found an angle I had not considered before. CWD prions are in the soil, aren't humans being exposed to CWD prions just by being in contaminated areas?

"Scientists believe CWD proteins (prions) likely spread between animals through body fluids like feces, saliva, blood, or urine, either through direct contact or indirectly through environmental contamination of soil, food or water."

If CWD prions are present in the soil and viable for infection for years, it seems like humans are being exposed to the prions whether they eat deer meat or not. It's in the plants and soil all around infected areas. You're exposed when you breath in infected dust or touch your mouth or nose after coming in contact with infected soil.

Apparently plants can intake prions from the soil in sufficient concentration to cause lab mice to develop neurological diseases. And prions have been found in barley

Plants can take up CWD-causing prions from soil in the lab. What happens if they are eaten?

www.cidrap.umn.edu

Exposure through meat consumption is probably more concentrated but there are other ways to be exposed to prions.

I really have no idea if this is something to be concerned about.

 

[RyanT26]

It's prions, not a virus. So you'd need to be cooking your meat at 900+ degrees for hours to do anything to it. So cooking temperatures won't do anything to it.

This is my question not necessarily directed at you. If you take a CWD infected deer to your local butcher and they grind it, cut it in to steaks or whatever would the prions then be present at that facility?

 

[Shō[t]gun]

This is my question not necessarily directed at you. If you take a CWD infected deer to your local butcher and they grind it, cut it in to steaks or whatever would the prions then be present at that facility?

Good point, and a misinformed knee-jerk CDC reaction could put a lot of butchers out of business. Not sure many (if any) could make it through a complete season of keeping the lights on with no income.

 

[JohnJohnson]

This is my question not necessarily directed at you. If you take a CWD infected deer to your local butcher and they grind it, cut it in to steaks or whatever would the prions then be present at that facility?

I would think that's a reasonable conclusion, sure. Hypothetically if things ever got bad, processors would probably have to partner with state government entities for on-site testing of the deer they have ready to process so they could avoid that. Again, in a hypothetical situation that's as-yet unproven.

 

[Hnthrdr]

This is my question not necessarily directed at you. If you take a CWD infected deer to your local butcher and they grind it, cut it in to steaks or whatever would the prions then be present at that facility?

Absolutely, and I can’t imagine they are cleaning all grinders… ect, ect between every animal, not at the rate they are getting through critters. I would bet just about everyone has eaten meat that has been tainted with prions. Unless you have a walk in freezer, and hang the animal until you have test results, and only butcher for yourself. Some articles I’ve read state that the prions can exist in the soil for years and years

 

[Customweld]

The article doesn't make any direct connection between consuming infected deer meet and CJD. It did get me curious about human exposure to CWD prions and I found an angle I had not considered before. CWD prions are in the soil, aren't humans being exposed to CWD prions just by being in contaminated areas?

"Scientists believe CWD proteins (prions) likely spread between animals through body fluids like feces, saliva, blood, or urine, either through direct contact or indirectly through environmental contamination of soil, food or water."

If CWD prions are present in the soil and viable for infection for years, it seems like humans are being exposed to the prions whether they eat deer meat or not. It's in the plants and soil all around infected areas. You're exposed when you breath in infected dust or touch your mouth or nose after coming in contact with infected soil.

Apparently plants can intake prions from the soil in sufficient concentration to cause lab mice to develop neurological diseases. And prions have been found in barley

Plants can take up CWD-causing prions from soil in the lab. What happens if they are eaten?

www.cidrap.umn.edu

Exposure through meat consumption is probably more concentrated but there are other ways to be exposed to prions.

I really have no idea if this is something to be concerned about.

I kind of wondered if that is how it spread from Slate Creek down to New Meadows. A truck with mud on it, much like invasive weed seeds

 

[HighUintas]

Winter feeding programs for elk and deer are pointed at for potential spreaders of cwd, which sucks. With all their winter ranges being gobbled up by A-hole humans, they need some way to survive the winter and get enough feed. I'm not sure if it's been definitively found that the feeding programs help spread it, but I think there's at least strong evidence that is the case.

 

[HighUintas]

And if you think about it .... We've been studying it at least 50 years so it's been around at least that long. What about all of the predators and scavengers that feed off the dead infected ungulates? They're going to be spreading it around through feces, etc. The prions that cause it are going to be absolutely everywhere. I don't know if the prions can end up mutating or become different variants that can actually infect other animals.... But it's probably either something we don't need to worry about at all or it's a ticking time bomb before we all die.

 

[Btaylor]

I think the news article sensationalizes but that’s to be expected.

The fact that two deer hunters in an (assuming) endemic CWD area died of CJD..when the incidence is 1-2 cases per million people..is very suspicious. With new diseases you have to start somewhere. if you understand prion diseases it would not be surprising they can infect human brain tissue. There’s been sporadic CJD cases linked to eating squirrel brains in the US. I see no logical reason CWD is not able to infect a human. Just because it has not been well described does not mean it’s not happened in the past and can’t happen again. These are very rare diseases after all and we will likely never see “definitive” research.

Not sure if you have seen this but thought you might find it interesting.

Chronic Wasting Disease Agents in Nonhuman Primates - PMC

Chronic wasting disease is a prion disease of cervids. Assessment of its zoonotic potential is critical. To evaluate primate susceptibility, we tested monkeys from 2 genera. We found that 100% of intracerebrally inoculated and 92% of orally ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Yoder]

Do any of you take meat to be processed for any reason? Do you think they ever processed contaminated meat? Do you think they can kill all the prions on their grinders? Do you think they use the same equipment to process regular meat? Also, if this transfers to humans it could kill hundreds of millions. It takes years for symptoms to develop and it can be transmitted by contact. Urine, blood, sex can all transmit this disease. That's how it's transmitted in deer. You don't have to eat it like mad cow. Thinking about all of that, it makes me not care. I think it will be wide spread and most people will die if it happens. I'm more worried about carbs and sugar killing me.

 

[KsRancher]

I believe if it was going to make the jump to any other critter by now it would have been beef cows. Just think how many deer share salt and water sources with cattle. No I would still not feed CWD infected deer to my family. But I am leaning towards it's not very likely that it's jumping to us

 

[Btaylor]

Do any of you take meat to be processed for any reason? Do you think they ever processed contaminated meat? Do you think they can kill all the prions on their grinders? Do you think they use the same equipment to process regular meat? Also, if this transfers to humans it could kill hundreds of millions. It takes years for symptoms to develop and it can be transmitted by contact. Urine, blood, sex can all transmit this disease. That's how it's transmitted in deer. You don't have to eat it like mad cow. Thinking about all of that, it makes me not care. I think it will be wide spread and most people will die if it happens. I'm more worried about carbs and sugar killing me.

Willfred and the diabeatus will get your azz.

 

[willfrye027]

Not sure if you have seen this but thought you might find it interesting.

Chronic Wasting Disease Agents in Nonhuman Primates - PMC

Chronic wasting disease is a prion disease of cervids. Assessment of its zoonotic potential is critical. To evaluate primate susceptibility, we tested monkeys from 2 genera. We found that 100% of intracerebrally inoculated and 92% of orally ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Had not seen that one, reassuring overall still would make me a little queasy to knowingly eat a CWD deer though

 

[willfrye027]

Willfred and the diabeatus will get your azz.

Yup heart attack is probably what will end up doing most of us in! I wouldn’t mind if that happened while I was deer hunting in some beautiful country..if you had to choose