In a concerning development, scientists are sounding the alarm about the potential spread of a condition known as chronic wasting disease (CWD), often referred to as “zombie deer disease,” from animals to humans. Over the past year, around 800 cases of CWD have been identified in deer, elk, and moose in Wyoming, USA. The disease manifests with disturbing symptoms in animals, including drooling, lethargy, stumbling, and a vacant stare.
Experts are describing CWD as a “slow-moving disaster” and are urging governments to prepare for the possibility of it jumping from animals to humans. Drawing parallels with the mad cow disease outbreak in the UK, where 4.4 million cattle were slaughtered in the 1980s and 1990s due to infected feed, researchers highlight the unpredictability of spillover events from animals to humans.
In the US, where thousands of CWD-infected animals are consumed annually, concerns are rising about the potential human impact. The disease is notoriously challenging to eradicate once it infiltrates an environment, persisting for years in soil or on surfaces and proving resistant to various disinfection methods.
Adding to the urgency, biotech company Ginkgo Bioworks warns of the broader threat of zoonotic diseases, those transmitted from animals to humans. Their research indicates that such diseases could cause 12 times as many deaths in 2050 as they did in 2020, with increasing epidemics attributed to climate change and deforestation.
As epidemics have seen a consistent rise over the past decades, scientists emphasize the need for proactive measures to address the potential consequences of diseases like CWD making the jump to humans. The risk, they say, is not one to be underestimated, and preparedness is key to averting a potential crisis.