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Two men died after shooting and eating an infected deer. The zombie pathogen is already wreaking havoc in Europe.
Austin – Deer are always seen in the USA and Canada infected with the deadly nerve disease “Chronic Wasting Disease” (CWD). Already in 2019, the US state of Nevada fought against the spread of the so-called “zombie pathogen” by asking for help in tracking down sick animals. Now experts are sounding the alarm because the “zombie wild syndrome” has cost the lives of two hunters. They had previously eaten contaminated meat from a deer.
Zombie wild syndrome spreads: Hunter initially diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Doctors at the University of Texas have now examined the two deaths from 2022 in a study. First, the hunters were diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Loud Robert Koch Institute (RKI), this leads to spongy brain changes with significant impairment of mental and motor skills. As with zombie wild syndrome, CJD is caused by pathological prion proteins transmitted from animals to humans.
What are pathological prion proteins?
Pathological prion proteins, also known as PrPSc, are an abnormal form of the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC). These are associated with various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle.
Source: Robert Koch Institute (RKI)
It is difficult to distinguish zombie wild syndrome from CJD, the researchers from Texas reported in the Neurology journal. For this reason, there is no direct evidence that the hunters died of CWD. Nevertheless, they emphasize that a connection between the sick deer and the men is likely. The doctors strongly recommend continuing with the Illness and their effects on the Health to research.
Hunter infected with Zombie Wild Syndrome was confused and aggressive with death
At the same time, researchers warn that zombie wild syndrome is more dangerous than initially thought. One of the hunters died as a result of the disease before he could be treated. His friend, who ate meat from the same deer population, died after a month of observation. “Despite aggressive symptomatic treatment of the seizures and agitation, the patient’s condition worsened,” doctors said.
Particularly explosive: The hunter showed signs of confusion and aggression before his death. The symptoms therefore partially match those of infected deer, which are often reminiscent of “zombies”.. This is where the colloquial name of the zombie disease comes from. According to the Bavarian Hunting Association, animals affected by CWD suffer, among other things, from a lack of coordination due to central nervous disorders, lack of motivation and aggression.
Cases in Europe: Do German hunters have to fear zombie wild syndrome?
The zombie wild syndrome does not only occur in America – the deadly nervous disease is also on the rise in Europe: CWD has already been reported Norway, Finland and Sweden reported. After the first case became known, Dr. Anne Balkema-Buschmann from the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) spoke to the German Hunting Association (DJV) in favor of reintroducing monitoring programs. That was now over eight years ago.
When asked how likely it was that CWD would also be present in… Germany occurs, she replied that Norway’s geographical location does not favor transmission to mainland Europe “very much”. Accordingly, hunters in this country don’t have much to fear. However, Balkema-Buschmann recommends thoroughly cleaning clothing that has come into contact with red deer organs or excrement. It doesn’t matter whether the deer are infected.
Zombie Wild Syndrome was first identified in captive deer at a research facility in the US state of Colorado in the 1960s. It was not until 1978 that the disease was identified as a “transmissible spongiform brain disease” and was then considered a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (abbreviated TSEs). The first detection in wild animals occurred in 1981. (cln)