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An elk raised in an Oklahoma ranch has tested positive for the so-called "zombie" deer after this animal died from injuries suffered earlier this month, officials said Wednesday.
Routine tests determined that 2-year-old elk were carriers of the disease known as Chronic Debilitating Disease (CDD), according to a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture. Food and Forestry Oklahoma (ODAFF) and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation ODWC).
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The ODWC describes the disease as "a deadly neurological disease that affects the brains of elk, deer, and other species of deer." Symptoms may include drooling, stumbling, aggression, apathy, and insatiable thirst.
There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, which according to officials, is transmitted directly through animal-to-animal contact, but also indirectly through contaminated soil, drinking water or food.
Although there was no documented risk to the health of humans or animals other than deer, experts claimed that it was possible for humans to contract the disease while consuming contaminated meat.
"Studies in animals suggest that MDC poses a risk to certain types of non-human primates, such as monkeys, who eat meat from CWD-infected animals or come into contact with brain fluids." or bodily from infected deer or elk. These studies raise fears of risks for people. Since 1997, the World Health Organization has recommended that it is important to prevent agents of all known prion diseases from entering the human food chain, "says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC).
Elk came from a breeding farm in Lincoln County, officials said. The facility and its associated commercial hunting area have since been quarantined. The Wildlife Department also said it will test wild deer near the facilities.
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The breeder could potentially lose the entire stock and no longer be allowed to breed any species of deer on the property, Veterinary Veterinarian Rod Hall told Tulsa World.
"If we want to have that kind of impact on someone, we want to be sure of it, but at the same time, we'll assume it's okay until we know it differently." That's why we put everything in suspense, "said Hall.
This is the second time that Oklahoma has confirmed its CWD case in farmed elk, officials said. The first case occurred in Oklahoma County in 1998.
Madeline Farber of Fox News contributed to this report.
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