Why Zombie Deer Disease Is a Biological Nightmare

What the film says

1. CWD is a prion disease, related to mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and scrapie, caused by misfolded proteins.

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2. CWD was first identified in 1967 in captive mule deer at a research facility in Colorado.

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3. CWD was confirmed in Yellowstone National Park in 2023.

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4. A 2025 Scientific Reports study (Mathiason's CSU group) found infectious CWD prions in fetal and maternal-fetal reproductive tissues of free-ranging white-tailed deer, evidence of in-utero transmission.

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5. No case of CWD transmission to humans has been confirmed.

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6. Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota has warned about potential spillover of CWD to humans.

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7. Variant CJD from BSE killed 178 people in the United Kingdom.

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8. The mad cow disease (BSE) outbreak in Britain led to the slaughter of millions of cattle.

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