What is chronic wasting disease?
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal, neurological disease, characterized by spongy degeneration of the brain. It affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and has recently been confirmed in a moose. CWD belongs to a group of diseases called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE), which includes Scrapie in sheep and goats, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (commonly known as “mad cow disease) in cattle, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans. It is suspected that the agent responsible for causing TSEs is an abnormal protein called a prion. There is currently no treatment or vaccine available.
