Chronic debilitating disease could switch from deer to man



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(Photo: WKRN)

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WKRN) – As chronic debilitating disease spreads in Tennessee, the disease could pass from deer to humans.

"In the back of my brain, is this a problem? The answer is yes," said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center at News 2.

The anxiety grows as the MDC spreads.

"It's spread among deer in the United States over the last decade."

At present, the CWD is present in more than two dozen states, according to the TWRA.

"It's a disease that affects the brains of deer, renders them non-functional and will eventually result in their death," explained Dr. Schaffner.

MDC is very similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or CJD in humans, two prion diseases.

"There is a concern because the two diseases are similar.Is it possible that this is called a prion, it's like a virus, could it blow up some species? possible to move from deer to humans? It's theoretically possible, is not it? " It has not been found yet, theoretically possible and therefore monitored and studied carefully for 10 years or more, "he said.

If MDC passed to humans, experts say it would be through the consumption of contaminated deer meat.

"The incubation period between the time of exposure, probably by consuming contaminated meat from deer, for example, and the development of the disease can take years."

If MDC is detected in humans, the number of human cases could be considerable.

"If there was deer transmission to humans, the first case would be the first, but there would be another, and then another, so that the public health problem would be more explicitly defined in the first place. time, "said Dr. Schaffner.

CWD was discovered in Tennessee a few months ago. The TWRA confirmed having confirmed the disease in three counties; Fayette, Hardeman and Madison.

To try to contain the disease, the agency has set up a management area encompassing eight counties.

At the state level, TWRA was able to analyze samples of nearly 54 hundred deer during the 2018-2019 deer hunting seasons. They plan to have all these results by the end of the month. TWRA then plans to complete the final elaboration of the MDC's long-term management plan.

The TWRA has information on where you can test your deer on their website.

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