Deadly ‘zombie deer’ disease could evolve to affect humans, warn scientists

Scientists have long feared about the deadly and incurable prion diseases jumping into humans and a new shocking report has detailed on how the scary “zombie deer” disease could evolve to affect humans, a threat that could perhaps start another pandemic. In the report obtained by DailyMail, scientists have mentioned that the disease has already begun manifesting itself in feral pigs.
Although a very rare chance, if this happens, the disease also known as

Chronic Wasting Disease

that primarily affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose, could possibly lead to dementia-like symptoms and ultimately death in humans.

“We have some limited data now suggesting that feral pigs might be infected,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, a top infectious diseases researcher at the University of Minnesota told The Daily Mail. “If they can get infected, surely it’s possible domestic swine could also become infected? What would that do to the swine market? What would that do to the cattle market? These are huge issues.”
The report funded by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources warns that the disease could spread to humans when a hunter kills a deer. Also cooking the meat doesn’t ensure the virus is killed. The disease causes drooling, confusion, dementia, unsteadiness, aggression, and weight loss in infected animals, and the symptoms may be seen about a year after infection. The disease can spread through saliva, urine, blood, and feces.

Scientists are especially concerned as the disease has been spreading rapidly and is now found in at least 33 states — including Wyoming, Wisconsin, Colorado and areas of Pennsylvania.

“We know that people are being exposed [to CWD] through consumption [of meat] with prions,” Dr. Osterholm told a local media outlet.

What is Chronic Wasting Disease and why is it deadly?

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) doesn’t have a cure or vaccine so far and may develop new strains in the future that may affect humans, fear researchers. CWD is a type of

prion disease

. These diseases occur when proteins normally in the body misfold, causing symptoms that eventually result in death. CWD affects many different species of animals with hooves. Other prion diseases in animals are bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cows and scrapie in sheep and goats, according to CDC.

What has led to the current concerns?

Concerns about the virus infecting humans arose in April 2024 after several people were diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). The CDC later confirmed that no cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) had been reported in humans. CWD is caused by misfolded prions in the brain that disrupt cellular communication, leading to the disease.
Chronic wasting disease is fatal, incurable and highly contagious with dangerous symptoms like weight loss, loss of coordination and other neurological symptoms. The disease spilling over to humans can create a health emergency nobody is ready to handle yet, fear experts.

What the experts are saying

“The BSE (mad cow) outbreak in Britain showed how things can get chaotic overnight when a spillover event occurs, say, from livestock to people. We’re talking about the potential of something similar happening. No one is saying that it’s definitely going to happen, but it’s important for people to be prepared,” Dr. Cory Anderson, who co-directs the Center for

Infectious Disease Research

and Policy told The Guardian.
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