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Chronic wasting disease (mad cow disease-BSE) has shown up in deer in the State of Wisconsin, USA.
Another 14 deer with chronic wasting disease have been found in Wisconsin, all within the area where the fatal brain disease
was discovered a year ago, the state Department of Natural Resources
reported Friday.
The new cases bring the total number of diseased deer found in the Mount
Horeb area to 204.
Like in the BSE situation in Great Britain, the state is saying there is no danger to humans if they are eaten. There is a one billion dollar hunting business in the state that is threatened by the discovery of the prion disease in dear.
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The first deer to be found infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) in New York is also the first outside the U.S. Midwest or Rocky Mountain region.
Chronic wasting disease is said to not harm humans. It is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy disease like mad cow disease.
Reuters
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http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/newyork040405.cfm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/firemen040505.cfm
http://cfapp.rockymountainnews.com/cwd/killer/index.cfm
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Bill Wennell
USDA Meat & Poultry Inspector
BiblicalTruths2000@Juno.com
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I want to recommend the following site for BSE (mad-cow news):
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow
The old BSE news site that I use to go to died, so I now regularly visit this one. If you know of another BSE news site then post it here. I regard "mad cow", "mad pig", "mad goat", "mad deer", etc., as a most interesting phenomenon and the fulfillment of God removing his protecting hand froma godless world.
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CWD spreads to a new area in Canada. Star Phoenix
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The discovery of chronic wasting disease in a mule deer in the Sacramento Mountains in June has prompted the State Department of Game and Fish to require deer and elk hunters observe restrictions regarding the
handling of animals harvested in some areas of southern New Mexico. The origin of CWD in New Mexico is unknown. The disease has been found in 12 wild deer in New Mexico since
2002, when it first was discovered at the main headquarters housing area of White Sands Missile Range east of Las Cruces. To date, no CWD-infected elk have been found in New Mexico, although the disease has been found in wild and captive deer and elk in eight states and two Canadian provinces. Source: New Mexico Game and Fish Dept.
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CWD infected meat served at banquet
Updated: 4/6/2005 6:14 AMThere's Word out of Oneida County that meat from one of the two deer with chronic waste disease was recently served at the Verona Fire Department's sportsman's banquet.
The Oneida County Health Department says the herd owner who donated the meat to the Fire Department didn't know the deer had the disease. And there's no cause for alarm. Health officials want people to know the disease hasn't been found to affect humans. But they still want to hear from people who may have eaten venison at the banquet.
Full Story
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"Health officials want people to know the disease hasn't been found to affect humans." Yes, peace and safety is the word for those who still eat the flesh of cows, sheep, and deer. Sadly the truth will come to the front when it is too late for many. Adults may act foolishly, but they ought to have some concern for their children in this matter. Eating the flesh and eggs or drinking the milk of sick animals produces disease in humans.
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"It’s a time-honored principle of wildlife management that when you feed wildlife, you pay a big price for it. For elk hunters—and everybody else who likes seeing elk—that bill will soon be due because Wyoming’s feedgrounds double as a Chronic Wasting Disease time bomb ready to explode."
“That’s true,” answers Robert Hoskins, president of the Dubois Wildlife Association . “It is a time bomb...We’re just waiting for CWD to hit. We’re doing everything we can to stop the feeding, but we are rebuffed every time. The livestock industry is in complete control of this whole thing.”
“It’s an eventuality,” agrees Tom Roffe, chief of wildlife health and veterinarian for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Bozeman. “It’s not a matter of if, but when.” New West Net
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The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) announced today that a mule deer buck taken by a hunter in game management unit (GMU) 102 has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). This is the first case of CWD to be found in GMU 102, which is located in southern Yuma County. The deer was taken near the headwaters of Black Wolf Creek.
Are we starting to get excited about what is happening? Not yet? OK, just keep watching. And if you are still asleep, let me reassure your with another statment from the same report. "Federal and state health officials have found no connection between CWD and human health."
But, for those who wonder if there is a possibitlity.....the report does say "As a precaution, they recommend that humans not consume meat from animals that appear ill or test positive for the presence of disease, including CWD."
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Sixteen additional cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) have been detected in northern Illinois through sampling of hunter-harvested deer during the state’s 2005-06 deer seasons. The new cases include two deer taken by hunters in Ogle County, the first time CWD has been detected there.
“The Department of Natural Resources continues intensive sampling for CWD as part of our effort to slow the spread of the disease in our wild deer herd,” said Paul Shelton, manager of the IDNR Forest Wildlife Program.
Chronic wasting disease was first discovered in Illinois in November 2002 and to date Illinois has detected 112 positive cases.
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Here is the problem. There are too many deer so they pass on diseases to each other more easily. How do you cut down on the number of deer? Hunting of course, but if deer have sicknesses then less people will hunt them increasing the deer herd, increasing disease (not to mention car/deer accidents). Kind of a vicious circle without any viable answers. (While I would not eat deer I am very pro hunting, as everyone should be IMO)
Brother Sherwin
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The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has found eight new cases of chronic wasting disease in deer in Utah. The disease has spread to the central portion of the state, a new area of infection. The total known infected deer now stands at 26 in the state.
Salt Lake Trib
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The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa has verified the preliminary lab test conducted last week, which was positive for Kansas’ first occurrence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a wild deer. CWD has been documented in ten states.
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Mad cow disease could spread through urine, Swiss study
Researchers from the University Hospital of Zurich have found that prions can be spread through urine. Prions are proteins that cause mad cow disease, CJD and scrapie.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=32053
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It's official, prions found in the meat of animals.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/CWD013006.cfm
While they are treating CWD and BSE as seperate diseases, consider the source!
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Bill Wennell
USDA Meat & Poultry Inspector
BiblicalTruths2000@Juno.com
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It has been thought that urine might be the route of transmission of TSEs in the deer and elk. It is spreading quickly. Now, if it is transmitted in this manner in the cervid population, then why not in cattle? And sheep?
So, what does this mean to you and me? We live in an area where there are deer, cattle, and sheep. If prions are transmitted through urine, then you may want to consider the exposure of yourself and children to this fatal disease. The number one concern for some may be their water supply. Closely followed by the possbile contamination of their food.
Going beyond this, many feel safe because they do not come in direct contact with deer, sheep, or cattle. It will come as a surprise to some, but if humans are likely to contract CWD from deer, then why not animals that are not thought to get the disease? Like AIDs it appears that we have seen one of the plagues that will continue to spread in this world until Jesus comes.
Pets are at risk for contracting TSEs and if so and urine is a vector then more care will need to be taken for our children. It is becoming more dangerous to come in contact with animals. It used to be that eating the flesh and drining their milk was a high risk, now we are probably seeing that there is no safety in coming in contact with any of their bodily fluids. Something that parents need to consider along with all the other increasing dangers in this world.
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There comes a time when we just have to decide what is an acceptable risk. For instance if, in fact urine is something what transmits these diseases then are we to say not more playing in the woods, lawns and other place where deer urinate? No of course not because we will say the benefits out weigh the risk.
I'm an avid backpacker and I take the risk of contracting West Nile, does that stop me? No, do I take precautions? No not really because the risk is very small.
Same with getting diseases from pets, the chances are very low so we take an acceptable risk and have pets, some of which share the bed with us.
Acceptable risk is something everyone of us weighs in on every single day of our lives but it is usually a unconscious action.
Brother Sherwin
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Yes, I tend to agree. I am of the opinion that if we go around telling our children they cannot play in certain areas, or that they have to give up "fluffy", we will do more injury than anything.
How do you think that child will remember christianity when years down the road he fondly remembers "fluffy" and then remembers that "Jesus" made him give up "fluffy"?
Also, if we avoid the woods and rivers and streams, as well as parks and lawns, etc...then we are creating an atmosphere of fear for ourselves and our families.
We were warned not to eat the meat of animals. We were not warned off of contact with animals.
If we communicate to our children that we are so fearful of our environment, how can we expect them to grow into a relationship of trust with the Lord?
If we present fear in our daily lives..."don't do that"...we are not being a good witness to our children, families, or friends. We need to trust the Lord at some point. That may be different for every person, but we have to make a stand somewhere.
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The transmission of disease through bodily fluids is not something new. What is new is that the diseases of both animals and man are becoming more dangerous. Washing one's hands has always been important, but today it is different than two hundred years ago. If we do not want to touch human blood, how much more animal blood. The same goes for other bodily fluids.
Each one of us will have to decide how we are going to protect our families from infectious material.
There is new information out today from Black Hills South Dakota. Thirteen elk and eight deer were tested for CWD. Four elk were found to have CWD. "Since 1998, 123 deer and 34 elk in Wind Cave National Park have been tested for CWD. Of those animals, eight deer and eight elk have tested positive for CWD.
And here is the peace and safety message: "How the disease is transmitted is unknown, although at this time there is no evidence CWD can be transmitted to humans." The Black Hills Pioneer
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One more thought about contact with animals. When the bird flu comes, if it does, then we may wish to change our attitude towards birds in the house. When mad cow hits your area, then you may wish to keep your cow out of the kitchen. When we find that cats have "mad cat disease" we may want to limit our children's exposure to cats. On the other hand, some may wish to do nothing.
But, each ought to have the information about the infectious nature of the diseases that are spreading around the world. Don't we all agree on this? :)
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The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) has confirmed that two legally harvested bull moose from northern Colorado have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Those who think that their range fed cows and chickens are free from disease need to reconsider.
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Canada's CWD is spreading. Meridian Booster
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Study: Disease Among Deer Spread in Saliva
A study in Science confirms what scientists have long suspected--that chronic wasting disease is spread in deer through saliva.
The disease which is similar to mad cow disease, is easily transmittable among deer (and elk, and ,moose, also) and the saliva route explains why: grazing an area that has been grazed by another deer may lead to infection.
The study, by researchers from Colorado State University and other institutions, also found prions, the infectious agent, in deer blood. --The Press-Enterprise, Dec. 22, 2006, Riverside Calif.
Suzanne
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How does this affect our children who play in a yard where deer and elk both graze regularly?
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Hi Sister Esther:
The prions are only dangerous when eating the meat of Deer and Elk. What can be a problem if they are allowed to graze on your land is the ticks and lyme disease.
Then again I am not sure if ticks who have sucked on the deer blood and then bite into a person could have a problem with prions or mad cow disease as well.
Something to think about??
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Liane, the Zoo Mama
Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
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Why can a deer infect another deer with silva and not a human? I think that it has been shown that there are numerous risks for infection with BSE besides in our food.
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Update - December 21, 2006
Alberta is about half-way through testing for the provincial chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance program for 2006-07. Three additional cases of CWD in wild deer have been confirmed, out of about 1,600 deer tested. This brings the total to 16 cases in wild deer in Alberta since the first case in September 2005.
The three new cases involve deer taken during the recent hunting season in areas monitored for CWD. A male mule deer from along the Red Deer River (wildlife management unit [WMU] 151) tested positive, as did two female mule deer taken west of Edgerton and south of Chauvin (in WMU 234).
source
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Myers:
Why can a deer infect another deer with silva and not a human? I think that it has been shown that there are numerous risks for infection with BSE besides in our food.
That was my concern Brother Richard. I thought perhaps children might get the saliva on their hands then in their mouths.
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Just curious has there been any connection with CWD to humans yet? As speak YET, I do believe that many disease from animals are now and will continue to pass to humans. It is not if for some, but a matter of when for all.
It interests me that we yet to have the mass slaughter of cows as did England several years ago due to Mad Cow Disease, but we are running out of time and it will happen soon.
Right now the government is hinding and trying to keep the tide of what will happen because of the monitary disaster that would follow.
I was reading on the topic of meat and it hit me when they said that what people are eating is dead cells. The second the animal is slaughter the cells begin to die. Are they keeping the slaughter houses cold enough for the meat, but then again the workers working in such a situation what of them?
Just thinking when I realized that it is not millions of animals slaughtered around the world for food, but billions.
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Liane, the Zoo Mama
Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
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This is an older story that I just ran across. April 2002.
Minneapolis resident from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) otherwise might be unremarkable except for this: Boss got the disease at an unusually young age, 39, and he regularly consumed venison, including deer meat from Wisconsin.
Last month, chronic wasting disease, an always-fatal brain disorder that affects deer, elk and other cervids, was found in the Wisconsin deer herd. The disease is similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, an always-fatal brain disorder that affects several hundred people in the U.S. every year. source
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It is more wide-spread than first imagined. Thank you for this article.
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Three Additional Deer Test Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease
In Hampshire County, West Virginia
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today that
three more free-ranging white-tailed deer in Hampshire County, West
Virginia, tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This brings the
total number of CWD-positive deer found in Hampshire County to 13. These
most recent samples were collected from a total of 101 adult deer taken in
March and April by DNR personnel as part of an ongoing and intensive CWD
surveillance effort. The three CWD-positive deer were collected within the
CWD Containment Area located north of U.S. Route 50 in Hampshire County. The
CWD laboratory testing was conducted by the Southeastern Cooperative
Wildlife Disease Study, which is located at the University of Georgia’s
College of Veterinary Medicine in Athens, Georgia.
When CWD was first confirmed in Hampshire County in September 2005, the DNR
immediately implemented its CWD – Incident Response Plan. As part of that
plan, the DNR has been engaged in intensive CWD surveillance efforts
designed to determine the distribution and prevalence of the disease. These
surveillance efforts have included carefully planned and coordinated deer
collections within Hampshire County by CWD deer collection teams comprised
of Wildlife Biologists, Wildlife Managers and Conservation Officers within
the DNR. “These deer collection teams have continued their efforts to gather
appropriate samples within the surveillance area to accurately determine the
prevalence and distribution of CWD,” said DNR Director Frank Jezioro.
“Our initial CWD surveillance data suggests the disease is located within a
relatively small geographic area located near Slanesville, West Virginia,”
noted Jezioro. This is encouraging news from a wildlife disease management
perspective. “Based upon these findings, we have implemented appropriate
management actions designed to control the spread of this disease, prevent
further introduction of the disease and possibly eliminate the disease from
the state,” Jezioro added.
The following disease management strategies have been implemented by the DNR
within the affected area of Hampshire County.
· Continue CWD surveillance efforts designed to determine the prevalence and
distribution of the disease;
· Lower deer population levels to reduce the risk of spreading the disease
from deer to deer by implementing appropriate antlerless deer hunting
regulations designed to increase hunter opportunity to harvest female deer;
· Establish reasonable, responsible and appropriate deer carcass transport
restrictions designed to lower the risk of moving the disease to other
locations;
· Establish reasonable, responsible and appropriate regulations relating to
the feeding and baiting of deer within the affected area to reduce the risk
of spreading the disease from deer to deer.
“Landowner cooperation throughout this entire surveillance effort in
Hampshire County continues to be fantastic,” Jezioro said. “As we strive to
meet this wildlife disease challenge and implement appropriate management
strategies, the support and involvement of landowners, hunters and other
interested members of the public will continue to be essential.”
CWD is a neurological disease found in deer and elk, and it belongs to a
family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The
disease is thought to be caused by abnormal, proteinaceous particles called
prions that slowly attack the brain of infected deer and elk, causing the
animals to progressively become emaciated, display abnormal behavior and
invariably results in the death of the infected animal. There is no known
treatment for CWD, and it is fatal for the infected deer or elk. It is
important to note that currently there is no evidence to suggest CWD poses a
risk for humans or domestic animals.
CWD was first recognized in 1967 in Colorado, and it subsequently has been
found in captive herds in ten states and two Canadian provinces and in
free-ranging deer or elk in eleven states and two provinces. The source of
infection for wild and captive deer and elk in new geographical areas is
unknown in many instances. While it is not known exactly how CWD is
transmitted, lateral spread from animal to animal through shedding of the
infectious agent from the digestive tract appears to be important, and
indirect transmission through environmental contamination with infective
material is likely.
“Our well-trained and professional staff of Wildlife Biologists, Wildlife
Managers and Conservation Officers is working diligently to fully implement
the DNR’s CWD – Incident Response Plan which is designed to effectively
address this wildlife disease threat,” Jezioro said. “We have some of the
best wildlife biologists and veterinarians in the world, including those
stationed at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens,
Georgia, working collaboratively on this situation.”
More information on CWD can be found at the DNR’s website: www.wvdnr.gov and
the CWD Alliance website: www.cwd-info.org.
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"It is important to note that currently there is no evidence to suggest CWD poses a
risk for humans or domestic animals."It is more important to note that there is no evidence to suggest CWD does not pose a risk to humans and domestic animals. Common sense dictates that humans and domestic animals not eat sick animals. Transmissible spongiform disease crosses species boundaries. The evidence suggests that people are contracting CJD from animals infected with spongiform disease. Deer, elk, cows, sheep, and other infected animals pose a risk to human and pet health.
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A mule deer taken by a hunter east of Sheridan (Wyoming) near Ucross has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
The brain disease is known to affect moose, deer and elk and has been found in southeastern Wyoming for a number of years. But the positive test is the first found in hunt area 23 in northeast Wyoming.
(Government officials are still trying to ignore the risk to human health, but they are beginning to try and cover themselves by taking some precautions....even though there is no risk. :( )
"Game and Fish recommends that hunters in those areas transport only the cut and wrapped meat, boned meat, animal quarters or other pieces of the animal with no portion of the spinal column or head attached. That also can include hides without the head, cleaned skull plates (with no meat or nervous tissue attached), and antlers with no meat or other tissue attached.
The head, spine and other nervous tissue should be left at the site of the kill or disposed of in an approved landfill.
There is no evidence that CWD is a human health risk. But, to avoid any such risk, organizations recommend that parts or products from any animal that looks sick or tests positive for CWD not be eaten, Mischke said." source
But, go ahead and eat any meat from an animal that does not look sick. Well, a dead deer, doesn't look sick. And, since there is no risk, then you may go ahead and eat the meat even though it tests positive for CWD. Or at least don't eat the bone portions, unless you believe us that there is no evidence to suggest a danger to humans.
B
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Have we considered domestic dogs and cats? It is happening with other species.
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Cats have it. Dogs most likely. :( That means they would be a vector for transmission to humans. Their food is a source of transmission.
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This world is growing old!
The spread of CWD continues. Chronic wasting disease in Saskatchewan wild deer is on the increase, prompting the government to step up efforts to curb its spread.
Saskatchewan Environment is encouraging hunters to kill more deer this year and to turn in the animal heads for testing, said Marv Hlady, a wildlife specialist with the department.
Chronic wasting disease was first discovered in Saskatchewan's wild deer population in 2000. Chronic wasting disease was first discovered in Saskatchewan's wild deer population in 2000.
(Courtesy Julie Huckabay)
The fatal "brain wasting" disease affects deer, elk and moose. Since testing began in the province in 1997, 150 deer have tested positive, with 2006 posting the highest number at 47. source (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2007/11/13/cwd-hunt.html)
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CWD continues its spread in the US.
CWD Update in Illinois:
Ongoing surveillance for the presence of chronic wasting disease in wild deer in Illinois last fall and this winter has detected 24 deer testing positive for CWD. The IDNR has received results on tests of more than 4,100 deer which were harvested by hunters or taken by IDNR personnel as part of the 2007-08 deer season sampling program. The testing has identified the first positive case of CWD from Stephenson County in northern Illinois. The other most recent cases of CWD were found in deer from Boone (7 deer), DeKalb (6) and Winnebago (10) counties. Results are still pending on more than 2,000 additional samples collected since last fall. The first case of CWD detected in Stephenson County came from a deer taken west of Freeport. IDNR staff members are collecting additional samples from deer in Stephenson County to determine if other sick deer are present. The IDNR began more intensive sampling of deer for chronic wasting disease after the first deer with CWD were found in Boone and Winnebago counties in 2002. Since then, Illinois has recorded a total of 213 deer positive for the disease in Winnebago (89 deer), Boone (82), DeKalb (22), McHenry (16), Ogle (2), LaSalle (1) and Stephenson (1) counties. CWD is a fatal neurological disease found in deer and elk. It is not known to be contagious to livestock or humans.
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Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk is endemic in a tri-corner area of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, and new foci of CWD have been detected in other parts of the United States. Although detection in some areas may be related to increased surveillance, introduction of CWD due to translocation or natural migration of animals may account for some new foci of infection. Increasing spread of CWD has raised concerns about the potential for increasing human exposure to the CWD agent. The foodborne transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans indicates that the species barrier may not completely protect humans from animal prion diseases. Conversion of human prion protein by CWD-associated prions has been demonstrated in an in vitro cell-free experiment, but limited investigations have not identified strong evidence for CWD transmission to humans. More epidemiologic and laboratory studies are needed to monitor the possibility of such transmissions. source (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/03-1082.htm)
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The following is not good news. It presents evidence that we have to be concerned about bodily fluids in regards to spongiform diseases. This has implications for our health when at the doctors, dentists, etc.
In summary, we confirm prionsialia in CWD-affected deer by bioassay in cervidized mice and demonstrate for the first time infectious prions in the urine of these cervids by both bioassay and sPMCA. We are currently evaluating urine and saliva from individual animals in hopes of identifying predisposing factors, such as genotypic background and underlying pathology, which may contribute to prionuria and prionsialia. Concurrently, we have begun to explore the tissue origins and protease sensitivity of the infectious prions as well as the onset and duration of shedding in these bodily fluids.
Nicholas J. Haley1, Davis M. Seelig1, Mark D. Zabel1, Glenn C. Telling2, Edward A. Hoover1*
1 Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America, 2 Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America
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Few are concerned and even fewer understand the importance of the spread of this disease. But, it continues to broaden its infectivity.
Where has CWD been found?
To date, the disease has only been found in deer, elk, and moose in North America. CWD is known to occur in free-ranging deer, elk, or moose in Alberta, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. CWD also has been diagnosed in captive deer and elk in Alberta, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and most recently in Michigan.
As of January 20, 2010, CWD has been detected and confirmed in one deer in Virginia. It was a female deer killed by a hunter in November 2009. It was taken in Frederick County on private land less than 1 mile from West Virginia, west of Gore, Virginia. This is within 10 miles of where CWD was discovered in Hampshire County, West Virginia in 2005. While this is Virginia's first case, Hampshire County, West Virginia has had a total of 62 deer detected with CWD (see their January 15, 2010 update on West Virginia DNR's website).
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CHEYENNE - Two deer harvested on Oct. 15 in deer hunt areas 47 and 51 in the Bighorn Basin have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a brain disease known to affect some deer, elk and moose. One deer, a mule deer buck, was harvested in area 47 in the Durphy Gulch area. The other CWD positive, a white-tailed doe, was harvested in area 51 near the Horse Creek/Shell Valley Road.
Personnel at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Laboratory analyzed samples taken as part of the department's annual CWD survey and discovered positive results for the two deer.
After a review of available scientific data, the World Health Organization in December 1999 stated, "There is currently no evidence that CWD in cervidae (deer and elk) is transmitted to humans." In 2004, Dr. Ermias Belay of the Center for Disease Control said, "The lack of evidence of a link between CWD transmission and unusual cases of CJD, (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a human prion disease) despite several epidemiological investigations, suggest that the risk, if any, of transmission of CWD to humans is low." Nonetheless to avoid risk, both organizations say parts or products from any animal that looks sick and/or tests positive for CWD should not be eaten.
For more information on chronic wasting disease visit the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance website at www.cwd-info.org. Wyoming Fish and Game (http://gf.state.wy.us/services/news/pressreleases/10/10/25/index.asp#bookmark1)
Notice the difference in statements. Now there is some attempt to cover their intelligent assessment by expressing the thought that it is not good to eat the flesh of these animals. Anyone with a iota of common sense would think it foolish to eat the flesh of a sick animal much less one that may have Mad Deer Disease.
The disease, CWD, continues to spread from the original area of infection. And, it is also noted that deer and elk in captivity in many areas are coming down with CWD. You don't suppose it has something to do with the human prepared diet for these poor creatures? Do you think they are putting animal protein in the feed?
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We continue to report on CWD because it is spreading rapidly. It endangers deer and elk and other species including humans. It infects the ground the deer travel on therefore we all ought to be concerned. Some do not understand how dangerous this and other prion diseases are. The human feeding of these animals needs to be stopped. There is a large crisis on the horizon in Wyoming. Yellowstone National Park has a large elk herd that is a sitting target for this disease. According to elk biologist Bruce L.Smith, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researcher who spent 22 years at the National Elk Refuge, it is in danger.
The refuge is a reservoir that continues
to fuel the prevalence of brucellosis
and is a sitting duck for the arrival
of a pathogen more frightening —
chronic wasting disease, the prion-related
scourge that some have labeled
Mad Deer and Mad Elk disease.
In the middle of “Where The Elk
Roam,” Smith recalls public comments
he delivered at a CWD forum
in Jackson back in 2004:
“When I began talking about the
threat of CWD arriving at the National
Elk Refuge and adjacent Wyoming
elk feedgrounds, my concern was generally
met with three reactions: apathy,
denial that such a thing would
ever happen, or anger that I dared
suggest such a far-fetched notion.”
Had he worked for the state, he
surely would have been muzzled. He
points out how outfi tters, who insist
on propping up elk herds using artifi -
cial feed, continue to advance the fairy
tale that absence of proof equates to
absence of risk.
Indeed, in recent weeks amid reporting
in the News&Guide on
the threats that unnaturally
congregating elk represent
for wildlife health
and the integrity of the
ecosystem, state offi cials
continue to imply CWD
will never get here.
Smith calls attention
to an absurdity — that
while Wyoming continues
to check tissue samples
collected from harvested
big game to see if CWD
has arrived, it doesn’t halt the practices
that could turn a CWD spark
into an inferno.
“If the worst should happen, chronic
wasting disease would create 23 hot
spots [the elk r.efuge plus the number
of state-run feedgrounds] for infection
of cervids throughout the Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem,” he writes, noting
that Wyoming would be given a
black eye for helping to spread CWD
to adjacent states.
“Wyoming’s obduracy would earn
national media attention as diseased
animals are euthanized to
stem the spread of disease,” he adds.
“To those who pooh-pooh this scenario
and trumpet the benefi ts of
artifi cially maintaining elk, the rejoinder
is simple: better a smaller
elk herd than an overstocked range
riddled with disease.”
source (http://www.brucesmithwildlife.com/pdf/Wilkinson%20review%20in%20JHN&G.pdf)
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We love deer and elk. We also want a good economy. But, our main concern with the spread of CWD is that of human health. To date, it appears that none of the government health agencies are doing anything about the spread of CWD. The government agencies are still saying that there is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans. Neither is there any evidence that it cannot. We know that it can be transmitted by urine and that prions survive in the soil.
But, there is concern by some that the spread needs to be stopped. What is the concern? The economic impact on commercial captive herds. This is probably where the disease began by the feeding of food made from other animals.
"U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) urged the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take smart steps to implement a new rule that could help states battle Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) among deer. The occurrence of the disease, which is akin to Mad Cow disease among deer, has concerned many across the state. Annually, Pennsylvania deer and elk farms pump $40 million into the state’s economy.....In addition to their importance to the Commonwealth’s ecosystem, deer and elk are important to Pennsylvania’s economy. For example, Pennsylvania ranks second among States for annual deer and elk farm sales, totaling $40 million per year. Deer and elk hunting also has a substantial effect on the State’s economy. CWD threatens the deer and elk species as well as the sustainability of these industries. It is imperative that Federal, State and local officials continue to work together to address this alarming disease." Senator Robert Casey's Website (http://www.casey.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=28b11d8f-6d0d-441f-a458-618d1905c6b8)
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How long before the deer in your area will spread spongiform disease? It continues to spread throughout the US. It was just found in Texas for the first time. Are they in your garden?
Samples from two mule deer recently taken in far West Texas have been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). These are the first cases of CWD detected in Texas deer. Wildlife officials believe the event is currently isolated in a remote part of the state near the New Mexico border. source (http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/news.detail/ID/ae0c4e99b39fc1d31d1b90ab9283942e)
They are saying that it is good news that it the disease is isolated to one area in Texas. That may be true, but if it is, it will not remain isolated to one area. The infected Mad Deer and Elk are now in 19 states. One could say they are "isolated" in these 19 states, but that would be a lie. They are not isolated at all. They continue to spread to other states. If testing were done on a higher level, the infection would probably be found in more states already. But, like the BSE testing, it is very minimal.
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Is there a lesson for us in the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (Mad Deer and Elk Disease)? I think so. It is spreading across the US. If we cannot stop the spread of CWD, how will we stop the spread of Mad Cow Disease (BSE) or Mad Human Disease (CJD)? We are not stopping it. If Alzheimer's proves to be a spongiform type disease, we already have a major outbreak.
What is the news today on CWD? Another state has been infected.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission today confirmed three hunter-killed deer taken in the 2012 general firearms deer season have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Two were from Blair County; the other was from Bedford County.
“These are the first positive cases of CWD in free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania,” confirmed Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. “The disease was first documented in early October, 2012, by the state Department of Agriculture in a captive deer on an Adams County deer farm.” Penn Game Commission (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=12775&PageID=648010&mode=2&contentid=http://pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/marketingsites/game_commission/content/resources/newsreleases/newsrelease/articles/release__019_13.html)
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Missouri wants to "be a leader in providing a tiny population of rich folks the opportunity to shoot genetically mutated, giant bucks behind a fence." source (http://www.newstribune.com/news/2014/may/04/driftwood-outdoors-making-unwise-move/)
The concern expressed in the article is justified, but notice the issue is not human health, but the economics of the matter. How very sad, while disease is spreading among the deer and elk, so it is spreading among those who eat the deer and elk. Then, they become a danger to the rest of society. Prion diseases cross the specie barrier.
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So called big game hunters that buy and then shoot fenced in trophy bucks to hang on the wall and brag about make me sick. I place them in about the category as pedophiles. Sorry, I know that sounds radical and is a bit off topic but you hit my trigger.
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It is a sad day for our friends in Michigan. The state has been free of CWD in wild cervids. There are now two deer that have been found in the wild with chronic wasting disease (mad deer, elk, moose disease).
May 26, 2015
The Michigan departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) today confirmed that a free-ranging deer in Meridian Township (Ingham County) has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. This is the first time the disease has been found in Michigan’s free-ranging deer population. In 2008 a white-tailed deer from a privately owned cervid (POC) facility in Kent County tested positive for CWD.
The animal was observed last month wandering around a Meridian Township residence and showing signs of illness. The homeowner contacted the Meridian Township Police Department, who then sent an officer to euthanize the animal. The deer was collected by a DNR wildlife biologist and delivered for initial testing to the DNR Wildlife Disease Laboratory at the Michigan State University Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health in Lansing, Michigan. After initial tests were positive, samples were forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for final confirmation. The Michigan DNR received that positive confirmation last week.
To date, there is no evidence that chronic wasting disease presents any risk to non-cervids, including humans, either through contact with an infected animal or from handling contaminated venison. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that infected animals not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
“This is the first case of chronic wasting disease to be confirmed in a free-ranging Michigan white-tailed deer,” said DNR Director Keith Creagh.
Keep deer out of your garden area. Prions infect the soil and can be picked up by plants.
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Michigan DNR.......FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2015
Michigan confirms chronic wasting disease in second free-ranging
white-tailed deer
The Michigan departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) have confirmed a second free-ranging deer in Meridian Township (Ingham County) has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. This second case is a 2-year-old male found less than a mile from the initial positive female deer, confirmed this past May. Genetic testing is being conducted to see if the two deer are related.
“Finding this second positive deer is disappointing, however, not unexpected,” said DNR Wildlife Division Chief Russ Mason. “We will continue with our aggressive surveillance throughout the summer and fall. With the assistance of hunters, we hope to determine the distribution of this disease.”
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“This is the first case of chronic wasting disease to be confirmed in a free-ranging Michigan white-tailed deer,” said DNR Director Keith Creagh. [/color]
Keep deer out of your garden area. Prions infect the soil and can be picked up by plants.
I'm going to have to replace my sign in the garden " Free deer lunch" and replace it with "Jade Helm Hostile Territory, the Buck Stops Here .... but No Longer.. No Doe will do....... do ." ;D
It is not an easy thing to keep deer out of the garden. The Lord will have to come soon.
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To date, there is no evidence that chronic wasting disease presents any risk to non-cervids, including humans, either through contact with an infected animal or from handling contaminated venison.
No evidence? hmmm... possibly because it's new enough to not completely understand how it works and/or is transmitted. Probably because there has not been a study on CWD in Michigan? How can they say such thing? Wouldn't it be better to sound the alarm and then if further testing turns out ok then announce that it's safe. It seems to me that they have things backwards. How many of thier relatives and friends are they willing to risk? This is odd because then they turn around and warn people from eating it.
How many people this fall who shoot a deer are going to have it tested?
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To date, there is no evidence that chronic wasting disease presents any risk to non-cervids, including humans, either through contact with an infected animal or from handling contaminated venison.
No evidence? hmmm... possibly because it's new enough to not completely understand how it works and/or is transmitted. Probably because there has not been a study on CWD in Michigan? How can they say such thing? Wouldn't it be better to sound the alarm and then if further testing turns out ok then announce that it's safe. It seems to me that they have things backwards. How many of thier relatives and friends are they willing to risk? This is odd because then they turn around and warn people from eating it.
How many people this fall who shoot a deer are going to have it tested?
Hunting tags and all the deer hunting paraphernalia is big business. Been there done that.
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The minister of health in the UK said mad cows would not transmit disease to humans. After all, there was no evidence that it would. And, there is no evidence Leukemia in dairy will infect humans with Leukemia. Why is there no evidence of such things? Because as a USDA research scientist told me "we do not do testing on humans". Well....by allowing humans to eat diseased animals, we indeed are testing them. The problem with cancer and spongiform diseases is the incubation period can be very long. One day before too long, we shall find out that these diseases and Alzheimer's do not just happen, they are coming from animals when humans eat their flesh or their eggs and milk.
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Michigan DNR.......FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2015
The Michigan departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) have confirmed a second free-ranging deer in Meridian Township (Ingham County) has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. This second case is a 2-year-old male found less than a mile from the initial positive female deer, confirmed this past May. Genetic testing is being conducted to see if the two deer are related.
“Finding this second positive deer is disappointing, however, not unexpected,” said DNR Wildlife Division Chief Russ Mason. “We will continue with our aggressive surveillance throughout the summer and fall. With the assistance of hunters, we hope to determine the distribution of this disease.”
This must be getting serious in Michigan. My wife worked with the DNR there a few years ago and the DNR knew the deer population was infected then. About 10 years ago in the neighboring state of Wisconsin the DNR shot 160,000 infected deer in that state. Deer cross state lines.
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cp, that figure does not sound right. Are you saying infected with CWD? Or some other disease? CWD is moving out of the midwest to the rest of the States. It is very serious because it poses a very real threat to humans.
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New evidence about chronic wasting disease leads health officials to reconsider their advice
Canada’s leading pathologist on mad cow disease shook up the deer hunting world this year when she delivered to an international gathering of prion disease experts an alarming study with implications for human exposure to chronic wasting disease (CWD).
By feeding moderate amounts of diseased venison to macaques monkeys over a period of years, Dr. Stefanie Czub found what no one wanted her to find: CWD can be transmitted to non-human primates who are genetically close to humans. Source (https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/health-officials-adjust-advice-hunters-regarding-chronic-wasting-disease)
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cp, that figure does not sound right. Are you saying infected with CWD? Or some other disease? CWD is moving out of the midwest to the rest of the States. It is very serious because it poses a very real threat to humans.
CWD and TB. Are you thinking it was higher or lower.
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Cp, Chronic Wasting Disease has not infected that many dear in the whole US from what I have seen. It is rapidly expanding, but so far the numbers are still relatively low.
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New evidence about chronic wasting disease leads health officials to reconsider their advice
Canada’s leading pathologist on mad cow disease shook up the deer hunting world this year when she delivered to an international gathering of prion disease experts an alarming study with implications for human exposure to chronic wasting disease (CWD).
By feeding moderate amounts of diseased venison to macaques monkeys over a period of years, Dr. Stefanie Czub found what no one wanted her to find: CWD can be transmitted to non-human primates who are genetically close to humans. Source (https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/health-officials-adjust-advice-hunters-regarding-chronic-wasting-disease)
No one wants to hear it, so no one will say it. There is no reason to believe it will not infect humans. It should have been told to hunters years ago. How many even know there is such a thing as Mas Sheep Disease? Very few. Yet, I am sure by now many have been infected by eating Mad Sheep (Scrapie).