A strange and highly contagious disease is increasingly targeting the deer of Canada. Seeing the symptoms of the disease, veterinary doctors are calling it ‘Zombie Disease’. Doctors say that it is chronic wasting disease (CWD) found in deer, which is very contagious.
The disease has so far spread to at least two Canadian states – Alberta and Saskatchewan. According to health experts, the first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) was found in the US in 1960. However, the first case of CWD in Canada was found in 1996 at a reindeer farm in Saskatchewan and soon spread to wild deer. Later, when all the infected animals were killed, then this infection could be stopped.
“There has been an epidemic of CWD in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The epidemic is spreading through deer in prairie and parkland,” said Margo Pybus, a wildlife disease expert with Alberta’s government. The disease has been declared a pandemic in both Canadian states.
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There is no cure or vaccine for the disease
According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), CWD is a deadly disease that spreads to deer, reindeer, sika deer, moose deer and other species of deer. It is fatal to animals and there is no cure or vaccine. Symptoms of this disease include excessive salivation of animals, lack of coordination in their movements, unusual behavior, excessive urination and weight loss.
According to health experts, this virus attacks the brain, spinal cord and many cells of deer. An attack on the brain upsets the deer’s brain balance and they become very angry. After being infected with the virus, they suddenly lose weight and eventually die.
This disease can spread to humans too!
Health experts have also warned that this “zombie disease” can also be transmitted to humans by eating the meat of infected deer, and deer hunters are particularly vulnerable. However, not a single case of this infection has been reported in humans so far. Although experts say that as the corona virus came to humans through bats, the government should take all measures to prevent it.