By K.J. Schricker
Reporter, Carbon County Comet
It is Big Game Hunting season and this subject comes with Halloween implications of cannibals and zombies. When people hear about food borne brain-wasting diseases, thoughts of a zombie apocalypse are never far behind. Mad Cow Disease and Creutzfeld-Yakov Disease are prion based conditions that cause brain damage. Creutzfeld-Yakov has a far more egregious note in that it was discovered in tribes in the Far East that give a sinister turn on dinner invitations.
Teal Cufaude and Keaton Weston are the principal biologists in the area, monitoring the conditions of the local big game herds. There are Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) boxes at the ranger station where hunters can deposit heads from harvested animals so samples of the retropharyngeal lymph nodes can be extracted to be checked for signs of prions and CWD. Incisors are also removed for a cementum annuli test. The teeth grow layers, similar to tree rings. The scientists use this information to see if there is a direct correlation between Chronic Wasting Disease and the age and sex of the animals.
The disease was discovered in 1960 in captive deer, it was thought to be the product of the diet of the captive deer. It was not until 1981 that a free-ranging deer was discovered with this disease in Wyoming and Colorado. Today, it has been found in a total of 405 counties, and every county in Wyoming.
There is a degree of mystery here in that it is not certain as to the means of communicability. It is believed that it could be transmitted by the exchange of bodily fluids. CWD is caused by an imperfect protein, it’s difficult to find the true cause.
If you are out in the bush and viewing wildlife, you can spot animals with prion-based wasting diseases by:
1. Drastic weight loss
2. Stumbling and lack of coordination
3. Lack of caution around humans and dogs
4. Listlessness
5. Drooling
6. Excessive thirst and urination
7. Drooping Ears.
Whether hunting or camping and tramping around in the woods with a camera, these animals need to be reported to the Fish and Game as soon as possible. Being observant and vigilant could bring to light the clues needed to solve the mysteries of this disease.
