Two hunters may be the first Americans to die from “zombie deer” disease.
Researchers have warned for years that the nearly 100 percent fatal chronic wasting disease (CWD) — which leaves deer confused, drooling and unafraid of humans — could jump from animals to humans.
But a new study theorizes that it has already happened — in two hunters who died in 2022 after eating contaminated deer meat.
One of the victims, a 72-year-old man, suffered from ‘rapid confusion and aggression’, and also had epileptic seizures.
Because CWD is so contagious, when one deer is confirmed to have died from it, an entire herd is infected. Pictured: A deer in Kansas showing signs of CWD
At least 32 states in America and parts of Canada have seen reports of a virus called ‘zombie deer disease’ that could potentially spread to humans
His condition rapidly deteriorated and he died within a month.
After his death, he was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a brain-wasting condition likened to mad cow disease.
CJD is caused by misfolded proteins – when proteins do not fold into the correct shape – called prions.
After infection, prions travel through the central nervous system, leaving prion deposits in brain tissue and organs.
The hunter’s friend also died from the disease, but there were limited details about his condition in the study published last week in the journal Neurology.
The investigators are from Texas, but details about where the deaths occurred are also unknown. DailyMail.com has contacted the researchers for comment.
Like CWD, CJD is caused by misfolded prions, although patients are most likely affected randomly.
However, researchers believe that because of a history of both hunters eating meat from that infected herd, they could have actually developed CWD.
“Although causality remains unproven, this cluster highlights the need for further research into the potential risks of consuming CWD-infected deer and its implications for public health,” the team wrote.
The following CDC map shows the counties in which CWD has been detected. This includes 436 counties in 32 states
It can take more than a year for an infected animal to develop symptoms
Research suggests that it is possible that prions in CWD that attach to elements of the environment could cause prion properties to be altered, including how contagious the disease is and its potential to infect other species or even humans.
It can take more than a year for an infected animal to develop symptoms, including drastic weight loss, stumbling and lethargy.
CWD is nicknamed ‘zombie deer disease’ because it causes parts of the brain to slowly degenerate to a spongy consistency and animals will drool and stare blankly before dying.
There are no treatments or vaccines and the disease is 100 percent fatal.
The exact route of transmission is not yet fully known, but it is believed that the disease is spread from animal to animal by eating feed or water contaminated with infected feces or by exposure to carcasses.
Direct contact, including saliva, blood, urine and even antler velvet during the annual molt, can also contribute to the transmission of the pathogen.
Any deer that dies on a farm should be tested for chronic wasting disease.
Because the disease is so contagious, if one animal tests positive, the entire herd is considered infected.
The condition is believed to only infect animals such as deer, elk, reindeer, caribou and moose.
Chronic wasting disease was first discovered in 1967 in Colorado in captive deer.
It has now been found in animals in at least 32 states, four Canadian provinces and four other countries abroad, according to the CDC.
The three states with the largest distribution of CWD-infected deer are Kansas (49 counties), Nebraska (43 counties), and Wisconsin (43 counties).
The most recent case in deer occurred last fall in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife.