(NewsNation) — Scientists are warning a virus dubbed the “zombie deer disease” could potentially spread to humans after Yellowstone National Park saw its first case last month.
Zombie deer disease, or chronic wasting disease (CWD), is caused by prions that leave animals drooling, lethargic and emaciated, stumbling with a telltale blank stare, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The prions, abnormal transmissible pathogens, cause changes in the hosts’ brains and nervous systems. The disease can spread through deer, elk, moose, caribou and reindeer and is fatal with no known treatments or vaccines, according to the Guardian.
A deer carcass in Yellowstone National Park tested positive for the highly contagious disease, causing some scientists to sound the alarm about possible risks to humans.
“The BSE outbreak in Britain provided an example of how, overnight, things can get crazy when a spillover event happens from, say, livestock to people,” Dr. Cory Anderson told The Guardian. Anderson is a program co-director at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
No known case of CWD in humans has ever been recorded, according to Fox News.
“We’re talking about the potential of something similar occurring. No one is saying that it’s definitely going to happen, but it’s important for people to be prepared,” Anderson said.
He added that it is worrying that there is no known way to eradicate it, “neither from the animals it infects nor the environment it contaminates.”
The CDC says CWD could pose a risk to certain non-human primates, like monkeys, that eat meat from CWD-infected animals, according to some studies.
“These studies raise concerns that there may also be a risk to people,” the CDC website reads. “Since 1997, the World Health Organization has recommended that it is important to keep the agents of all known prion diseases from entering the human food chain.”
The fatal brain disease can be found all across Wyoming. Park officials estimate 10-15% of the mule deer that migrate to the southeastern section of Yellowstone in the summer have the disease. Despite the widespread nature of the disease, the long-term effects on deer, elk and moose are unknown.