‘Zombie deer’ disease may have killed two people

A worrying health alert comes from Texas, where two hunters died after eating deer meat contaminated with chronic wasting disease, also known as “zombie deer disease.” This pathology, known as ‘mad cow disease’, is caused by prions, misfolded proteins that cause damage to brain tissue.

The first of the two men, 72 years old, is died after showing symptoms of rapid confusion and aggression, while the second died at a later date and showed similar symptoms. An autopsy revealed that the latter suffered from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a form of prion disease.

Given the rarity of prion diseases in humans, doctors speculate that deer may have transmitted the disease to humansmarking a possible, though unconfirmed, zoonotic leap from the animal kingdom to the human kingdom.

This finding raises significant concerns, as chronic wasting disease affects deer, elk, and elk and is transmitted relatively easily between these animals through bodily fluids such as blood or saliva. Despite the concerns, research shows that many continue to consume meat from infected animals. potentially increasing the risk of human exposure.

The case, published in the magazine Neurologycalls for further research and increased surveillance, especially in areas where the deer population is known to be infected. Experts emphasize the need to carefully evaluate the situation public health risks associated with consumption of contaminated venison and to consider stricter preventive measures to protect people from possible zoonotic transmission of prions.

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