Q. What is Chronic Wasting Disease and how do deer, elk and moose catch it?
A. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is one type of a class of diseases called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, or TSEs, that infect members of the deer family, including deer, elk, moose, and caribou. TSEs are caused by infectious, mis-folded prion proteins, which cause normal prion proteins throughout a healthy animal’s body to mis-fold, resulting in organ damage and eventual death. These prions are found throughout bodily tissues and secretions and are shed into the environment before and after death. When oth...
