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

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??

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!!!

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.

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.

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

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??

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

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

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

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

what are the symptoms to look for? and what species are prevalent to having CWD?? I really want to do more research on this the ODFW has attributted this to herd decreases but how do you tell with pacific blacktail ??? they are real hard to study..

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

I only know what the doctor told me, that I contracted it from getting the blood into a cut on my hand, since I had not been bitten by any ticks.

As to the other guide, he was simply going on what the doctors had told him as well.

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

Here in Northwestern PA we check constantly. We are told CWD hasnt reached us yet but in keeps ranging closer & closer. I dont wear gloves. Have thought about it but dont. I dont feel threatened because a deer infected with CWD just looks nasty. I am told, they sometimes foam from the mouth & thier fur is very matty. But those are in severe cases. I have also heard that deer infected with this disiese can look like a healthy deer for a month or so after getting CWD. So just becareful.

Tim

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

lots of good info :)thanks heres my buck with my son

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

great info ....we should get college biology credits for reading this post

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

CWD in Illinois has not shown up this year, but they are still testing many deer, it is all non-mandatory testing this year, you do it if you want to! But I have not heard of any deer being sick this year! It is a healthier herd this year! Since it is a disease that attcks the brain, and CANNOT be transmitted into the meat, I am not afraid of it all! I do where the gloves, but I am nto afraid of eating the meat!

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

I'm in one of the CWD zones in Wisconsin. This is our second season knowing about the disease. Last year lots of hunters did not hunt, or eat venison because of fear of the disease. This year things are closer to normal and our zone had one of its highest harvest rates in recent years (mostly due to the "earn a buck" rule where you must shoot a doe, then you get a tag to shoot a buck).
At our resistration station almost evey doe and some bucks had their heads lopped off to be sent in for testing. We should know in about a month or so the results. Since this is our second year it will be interesting to see how much the disease has spread.
I am not worried about contracting CWD. I butcher my own deer along with the deer of several friends. Other than some mild facial twitches I ffffeell ffffine.
Maybe Strut & Rut can shed some more light on this but from what has been stated by the University of Wisconsin, U of Iowa, and the Wisconsin DNR is that a human could actually eat the brain of an infected deer and not catch the disease (however they are reccommending to NOT eat the brain, spinal column, or bone marrow. Mmmmm bone marrow stew.). For those of you that don't live in a CWD area, don't give it a second thought. Just watch our state and see what's happening. If a bunch of Packer fans turn into flesh eating zombies remember you will have to shoot us in the head to kill us.

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

Hey thanks for that input let us know the results of the test's please Mr. Handles Hey a little sipping whiskey usually calms those face twitches right down... Heres teds deer go to ted nugent.com he has alot of hunting related stuff[8D];)

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

When I referred to putting down sick animals, I mean any animal that has obvious symptoms of being "sick". The big problem with CWD is that by the time the animal is showing symptoms, the disease has been with the deer for probably more than 2 years. A sick animal can pass the disease onto other animals in the wild, creating epidemics---happened with turkeys and blackhead disease in multiple states years ago...

For research, you can just type CWD into a Google search. Go to Wisconsin's DNR site, they did have some good links. Go to the USF&G site, the USDA site, and there was a CWD panel formed about 2 years ago---it operates out of one of the western states, Colorado I believe...

As for the deer infected, I know it has been found in Elk, Mule Deer and Whitetails. I do not recall ever reading anything about Blacktails being infected. Contact your state DNR directly, they will know and should be able to point you in a direction for more info.

And as previously stated, there is no conclusive link that shows positive evidence that eating CWD contaminated meat will give a human vCJD. However---do you want to take that chance---I don't!! Just stay away from the nervous tissue and the bone marrow, follow normal sanitary precautions and most of us will be fine. For CWD infected areas, follow what your state DNR mandates...

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

In the latter stages of CWD. the animal will be thin and look rough. In the earlies stages there may not be much for sighns of the deasease. There has been no proven cases that eating the meat can spread the dease to humans. There is however no proof that it cannot be. I always wear gloves but mostly to make cleaning my hands and arms easier. I would not be afraid at all of eating the meat from a healthy looking deer. CWD has been found in most states but to a lesser degree in some than others. Much depends on how many deer the test. Some states don't want to find it so they don't test as many deer. There is quite a bit of info online about CWD. Do a search.

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

see alot of misinformation in these posts. Number one it is still not known if the prion is the cause or a symptom. Two as for people not hunting in cwd zones most I have spoken with quit not because of cwd but because they only eat what they harvest. and after taking a doe they would be done. Without the chance for even taking a buck earn a buck knock down hunter numbers. Three most of the cwd zones did not have extremely large kills actualy below average for ten year kill. Stay away from WI dnr site they only give you the info on cwd that supports their claims and agenda. For unbiased info type caids ( citizens against irrational deer slaughter) into your search. Also cwd has been found in Illinois it also did not slowly spread east it moved from wyoming to WI IL in big jump no states in between. But that is probably do to the extensive testing done in these areas, over 1000 deer tested in small area to find initial case. SO dont assume it is not in any area until large number of tests are done in a small area. I dont worry about cwd other than what WI dnr policys are going to ruin.

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

I'm with rcw280. Not every deer is tested so we are assuming by the number game.
I'm going to continue to eat what I harvest. I believe it is much tastier, cleaner, safer than anything that comes from the grocery store.

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

Definately concerned. I posted some pics of sick deer I saw behind my house. State biologist didn't think it was disease but said he wouldn't mind doing a post mortom on that deer. I have set out a couple mornings hoping to take her with the crossbow but havn't seen her again. I havn't check the game cam i a while so I may have some more pictures out there. I wear some long black industrial rubber gloves I found at a local store. I just don't like my hands filled with guts.

David

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

Just an update on testing. Last year in Columbia county WI over 1000 deer were tested with no positives. This 400 tested and at least one postive.:( IN Rock county no positives last year but one this year. So until extenseve testing is performed don't believe it can' be in your area.

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

Past CWD, I think wearing protective gloves is a good thing to protect you from whatever.

RE: Chronic Wasting Disease
 

despite all the rhetoric does any one know how deer contract CWD ? it seems cows got it from eating ground up beef parts ?? my poor little girl doesn't want to eat hamburgers now and there is still no proof humans can get it with out eating the nervous system products?? right ?? correct me if i'm mistaken please,, ok.. thanks by the way "HUNT ON"