News Excerpt:

Zombie deer disease, a chronic wasting disease caused by prions, is spreading across North America, Scandinavia, and South Korea.

About Zombie Deer Disease:

• It is a chronic wasting disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose.
• It can affect animals of all ages and may take over a year before an infected animal develops symptoms, including drastic weight loss (wasting), stumbling, listlessness and other neurologic symptoms.
• There are no treatments or vaccines for the disease.
• It spreads between animals through body fluids like faeces, saliva, blood, or urine, either through direct contact or indirectly through environmental contamination of soil, food or water. 
• It can spread quickly between deer populations. 
• It can also infect humans and pose a risk to wild populations.

Why is it called zombie deer disease?

• Zombie deer disease is a fatal neurological illness affecting deer, elk, moose, and related species. 
• It's caused by abnormal proteins called prions, which damage the brain and nerve tissues. 
• Symptoms include emaciation, disorientation, lethargy, and abnormal behaviour, earning it the nickname "zombie" due to affected animals exhibiting staggering gaits and vacant expressions.