Chronic Wasting Disease
11-30-2003, 05:18 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: The socialist state of Massachusetts
Posts: 1,146
Chronic Wasting Disease
With all the talk about chronic wasting disease....are you fella' s (gals too), concerned about the health implications for you and your family as consumers of venison?
Secondly, here in New York State, our Department of Environmental Conservation tells us all to wear latex gloves while field dressing a deer. I have never done that. Do you folks all take that precaution?
Clint
11-30-2003, 10:26 PM
#2
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: G.P. Oregon
Posts: 311
RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
real good question i haven' t read much on this subject, my friend says his wife is real concerned with it . i wouldn' t shoot a deer that looked sick i guess although i would hope the fish and wildlife dept would know if the problem exsisted to the point that it was a thing to worry about. the only places ive heard of it being a problem was with real crowded deer populations and or game farms??? is it a big risk in your area??
11-30-2003, 11:28 PM
#3
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: South Central Missouri
Posts: 3,112
RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
Clint I guide in Illinois and we are told that the deer harvested here cannot be taken accross state lines unless they are deboned. Mounts have to be done here and then shipped to the hunter(unless they want to take their chances of getting caught. (and it is a federal crime to transport them from a state know to have CWD)
Several yrs ago I contracted lime disease from cleaning a deer and it is nothing you want to catch. Last year another guide I work with caught West Nile Virus from cleaning deer.
If they are telling you to wear rubber gloves, then by all means wear them. They are cheap and I wear them " now" , but they don' t keep you from getting blood on the rest of your arms.
YOUR CHOICE!!!
Several yrs ago I contracted lime disease from cleaning a deer and it is nothing you want to catch. Last year another guide I work with caught West Nile Virus from cleaning deer.
If they are telling you to wear rubber gloves, then by all means wear them. They are cheap and I wear them " now" , but they don' t keep you from getting blood on the rest of your arms.
YOUR CHOICE!!!
12-01-2003, 03:24 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,256
RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
You get lime disease from a tick, you get west nile virus from a mosquito and there never has been a documented case of chronic wasting disease in humans. Scientists have found out that Chronic Wasting Disease is spread by a mutant protein called a prion. The prions are found in the marrow, the brain, spinal column, and various glands, not in the meat. A researcher out west fed these glands from known CWD infected animals to a mountain lion for 3 years. It still hasn' t shown signs of the disease. Put gloves on if it makes you feel better, but don' t worry about it.
12-01-2003, 07:53 AM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: WV USA
Posts: 146
RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
I agree with wingbone. You can' t get Lyme or West Nile directly from the animal. Its IMPOSSIBLE. Its takes the insect vector to spread it. Since CWD hasn' t been found in NY and since there is no proof of human transmission, I wouldn' t worry about the gloves. Now if I lived in Colorado or Wisconson, now maybe I would think about gloves. It is true that CWD is caused by prions, but unfortunately not enough is known about transmission. Taking precautions is prudent.
12-01-2003, 08:21 AM
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: G.P. Oregon
Posts: 311
RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
the fish and wildlife haven' t said yea or nay around here is CWD working it' s way to the west?? can' t add much except ive heard just bone out the meat .. wvvet are you a animal dr or military vet??
12-01-2003, 08:23 AM
#8
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Georgia
Posts: 2,032
RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
i feel like i am in biology class, talk to some people in wisconsin i hear they are having a major problem with CWD, i dont know about the over population part because we have alot of deer in the southeast, still scary
12-01-2003, 09:14 AM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: south western, wy USA
Posts: 496
RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
cwd has been around for over a quarter of a century now
it is not a new desease it is just making headlines
to date there still has not been a case where it was transmitted to humans
it is alot like mad cow desease but it does not transmit to cattle therefore it is not the same and i truly believe it is unable to transmit to humans
(there is many cattle ranches in wyoming where deer and cattle intermingle along with substancial amounts of open range if it was transmittable it would have happened by now)
i live with it in my back yard. i will not shoot a sick looking dear but that doesnt have anything to do with CWD i would not eat a sick looking animal of any sort cow pig etc
it is not a new desease it is just making headlines
to date there still has not been a case where it was transmitted to humans
it is alot like mad cow desease but it does not transmit to cattle therefore it is not the same and i truly believe it is unable to transmit to humans
(there is many cattle ranches in wyoming where deer and cattle intermingle along with substancial amounts of open range if it was transmittable it would have happened by now)
i live with it in my back yard. i will not shoot a sick looking dear but that doesnt have anything to do with CWD i would not eat a sick looking animal of any sort cow pig etc
12-01-2003, 10:35 AM
#10
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 1,906
RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
Gloves are recommended as a barrier against any blood-borne pathogen. A good idea---but even as a biologist, I never use ' em...
As for CWD, I finished a report on the incidence, dispersal, pattern and possible health impacts a year ago.
A pretty scary disease, it actually has been around since the late 60' s/early 70' s. It is caused by a prion, which is a misfolded protein. This protein is very heat stable---up to hundreds of degrees C---with the general symptoms of neural and physical degeneration. The primary problem with analyzing the disease is the long latency period between infection and clinical symptom observation---up to 5 years in deer. Variant Crutzfeld-Jacob (vCJ) disease, prion in nature, has exhibited latency periods from 5-20 years in humans (most recently from the bovine Mad Cow outbreak in Europe). Tonsillar biopsies are being developed to detect CWD---now, the only true diagnosis is full necropsy of brain tissue which reveal the prion and " amyloid" plaques, similar in nature to those plaques observed in human patients with Alzheimer' s disease.
Mode of transmission is still very suspect. One very potential mode of transmission is via saliva and possibly urine, hence the elimination of baiting/baitpiles in areas with high infection rates. Prions can survive through high heat, and may live in soil indefinitely. There does seem to be a genetic factor, in that the infected victim may be genetically susceptible to 1) a genome which recognizes the prion sequence, and 2) a genome which is actually capable of replicating the prion structure.
If you live in a suspect area, the following recommendations were put forth approximately 1 year ago by many Western scientists and conservation departments:
1) Do NOT cut through any bone, especially the vertabra & spinal column.
2) Do NOT cut into the head cavity for any reason.
3) Wear latex gloves, and inspect/change regularly
4) Clean all knives and cutting surfaces with ethanol regularly
5) De-bone all cuts and freeze immediately
6) If desired, send small sample to state for processing/testing for CWD
ON a side note: I would personally put down any animal that appears sick, especially in an infected/suspected area. Contact your DNR immediately, and describe the situation. I' m not sure about other states, but in the Northeast you can request and usually obtain another tag upon surrendering the infected carcass.
Letting a sick animal roam your woods is a dangerous practice which should be avoided at all cost.
S&R
As for CWD, I finished a report on the incidence, dispersal, pattern and possible health impacts a year ago.
A pretty scary disease, it actually has been around since the late 60' s/early 70' s. It is caused by a prion, which is a misfolded protein. This protein is very heat stable---up to hundreds of degrees C---with the general symptoms of neural and physical degeneration. The primary problem with analyzing the disease is the long latency period between infection and clinical symptom observation---up to 5 years in deer. Variant Crutzfeld-Jacob (vCJ) disease, prion in nature, has exhibited latency periods from 5-20 years in humans (most recently from the bovine Mad Cow outbreak in Europe). Tonsillar biopsies are being developed to detect CWD---now, the only true diagnosis is full necropsy of brain tissue which reveal the prion and " amyloid" plaques, similar in nature to those plaques observed in human patients with Alzheimer' s disease.
Mode of transmission is still very suspect. One very potential mode of transmission is via saliva and possibly urine, hence the elimination of baiting/baitpiles in areas with high infection rates. Prions can survive through high heat, and may live in soil indefinitely. There does seem to be a genetic factor, in that the infected victim may be genetically susceptible to 1) a genome which recognizes the prion sequence, and 2) a genome which is actually capable of replicating the prion structure.
If you live in a suspect area, the following recommendations were put forth approximately 1 year ago by many Western scientists and conservation departments:
1) Do NOT cut through any bone, especially the vertabra & spinal column.
2) Do NOT cut into the head cavity for any reason.
3) Wear latex gloves, and inspect/change regularly
4) Clean all knives and cutting surfaces with ethanol regularly
5) De-bone all cuts and freeze immediately
6) If desired, send small sample to state for processing/testing for CWD
ON a side note: I would personally put down any animal that appears sick, especially in an infected/suspected area. Contact your DNR immediately, and describe the situation. I' m not sure about other states, but in the Northeast you can request and usually obtain another tag upon surrendering the infected carcass.
Letting a sick animal roam your woods is a dangerous practice which should be avoided at all cost.
S&R