CWD...are we over-reacting?

[ERdeerhunter]

Just looking for a discussion here. I'm not trying to be ignorant or anything, I just want to hear some opinions.

Minnesota's deer population is rumored to be more than 1 million animals. We have possibly one case of CWD reported. There is no known transfer of the disease to humans. Why do we invest so much time and energy into a disease that affects about 0.000001% of the population and has no known adverse effects on human health? Infintely more deer will die of starvation this winter than CWD. In the past year, my father-in-law and uncle have been diagnosed with Lyme's disease, both likely from handling deer carcasses. Why do we not concentrate our finances and efforts into other problems that more adversely affect deer populations and human lives?

Just looking for thoughts and ideas.

[shooter72]

+1

[mrklean]

agree, yeah its horrible but there are other things to worry about with our herd.

[jkcmj]

Agreed. This disease was first discovered by scientists in 1960s in a captive herd of mule deer in colorado, but these deer came from the wild originally, so obviously it likely was naturally occuring prior to the 1960's. Once identified, testing has so far confirmed that it exists in atleast 13 other states and 2 canadian provinces that they know of.

Since that time they have not figured out how it is transmitted, but believe it is animal to animal, not genetically passed on, although, they are not sure about that either.

So, what we appear to have is a naturally occuring disease, with no known link to humans, that does not appear to have any real affect on deer populations, species survival, or any negative long term affects on the overall deer population... So what seems to be the problem here... I believe the issue may be that we are spending all kinds of money testing for this!

I really have no issue with the testing to see over time if it is spreading, but I do not understand why they don't do this on game farm animals while alive, so they can study whether or not it is passed on genetically, or if it is present in Saliva, etc, before or only after clinical sign are apparent. Now they could test the meat from the PineIsland deer, see if any stayed viable when the meat was processed. Likely the hunter left some of the small glands in the meat when grinding or cutting out hind roasts etc. I see more value in that type of thing, than trying to kill as many deer in the surrounding areas.

[Dave S]

I say keep testing and if needed, cull some deer from the herds over the course of the year. Technology has come a long way since 1960 or even since the 90's. If any part of the state can handle the culling of the deer herd for research, it's the area where the alleged infected deer was shot and south east from there.

Sitting back and allowing this to spread more than it possibly already has is a huge mistake IMO.

[lakevet]

Since that time they have not figured out how it is transmitted, but believe it is animal to animal, not genetically passed on, although, they are not sure about that either.

So, what we appear to have is a naturally occuring disease, with no known link to humans, that does not appear to have any real affect on deer populations, species survival, or any negative long term affects on the overall deer population...

Check out www.cwd-info.org

It may help answer some questions for those interested in the latest facts. It is regularly updated with the most current info and research results

lakevet

[jkcmj]

I just spent(wasted) a large amount of time to find that they have learned nothing to date, and all of the information is theories based on other diseases of similar makeup. I could not find one instance on the site where they list anything new being discovered or confirmed at all about CWD. Am I missing something?

[matchset]

+1

[hockeybc69]

Ignore it everyone. It will be fine.....

[Dave S]

Ignore it everyone. It will be fine.....

+1 on the sarcasm.

We may not see a dramatic decrease in deer population due to CWD because the deer are more than likely able to reproduce after they've been infected. With many deer producing twins and triplets, it still helps maintain a population, although it could be sick animals. How long should we wait before it finally takes the dramatic turn for the worse......if it isn't bad enough the way it is.

Enough of my soapbox.....Time to go hug a Redwood.

[honker23]

No we are not over reacting. IF this is transferred to humans you will die, there is no cure for this. I think it is responsible to try to prevent this from crossing over. If you just had a headache for a day and then were fine it wouldn't be such a concern. But since it is deadly I'd like them to sacrifice a few deer to try to contain and eliminate this from MN. JMO

[mitch]

Not trying to rip you honker23, I don't think we are over reacting either, but what evidence do you have that says IF a human contracted CWD they would die? This is how rumors are spread. It helps to back up your facts with a source.

There has never been a case of a human getting this disease. That said I'm wouldn't encourage people to eat deer that look sick or tested positive for CWD. I'm not saying it's not possible for a human to get it, we just don't have enough research into the disease to know for sure.

Here is some info from the CDC about the research of CWD being transferred to humans.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol10no6/03-1082.htm#ris

[TooTallTom]

Isn't CWD a close cousin of BSE ("mad cow")? The Brits are having fits about that...

There might not be any evidence yet for CWD being communicable to humans, but it would really be a bear to be the first recorded case of deer-to-human transmission of CWD. I guess I'm for going a bit too far to the cautious side for just that reason.

And based on what I've seen documented of the disease in deer, "not dead" isn't something I'm willing to settle for.

[HandGunner]

heres how i see it...

i got H1N1 only one in MN to have it. I sneeze now someone else gets it. see were im goin here?

see just because it dosnt affect us it will affect the animal we love to pursue. if this CWD is harming deer why wouldnt we wanna stop it? some ppl are like you hunt u kill deer why should you care about trying to stop the CWD? well i do love to hunt them thats for shur, but thats not the point. its called the Great outdoors you just have to understand the true meaning of hunting, i want the future to have healthy deer so i can keep hunting. its some what a lifecycle and to some its looked at as barbaric but to me its just so majestic and beautiful and i want to do what i can to help make it stay like that for as long as this new evolving world will let it.

[B. Amish]

Isn't CWD a close cousin of BSE ("mad cow")? The Brits are having fits about that...

and how many people have stopped eating beef since they were informed about mad cow?

[hockeybc69]

I gaurantee you that if mad cow was reported locally that there would be recalls of meat and a ton of people not be eating it until there was some level of security.

Same reaction that this CWD is going to get(except the recall of course).

[B. Amish]

did folks stop duck hunting because of bird flu?

did folks stop going outside because of west nile?

we really don't know if this is the first time CWD has been in MN before. yes, it's the first time a deer has tested positive, but that doesn't mean it's never been here before. deer die all the time in the wild, for reasons unknown to us.

if a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

if a deer dies in the woods from CWD and nobody is there to test it, does it cause pandomonium?

[hockeybc69]

If you owned land adjacent to the infected area, would you sit at the table relishing that juicy piece of meat laying on your plate? Or would you have a small discomfort just wondering???? Or would you have it tested before you even ate it?

If we had ducks laying dead on our slough, you can bet I probably wouldnt have hunted/eaten ducks there at that time.

I hunt Ottertail County. So am I worried about my deer next year? Heck no. Not in the least.

Bottom line, there is an issue here and anyone that is in that immediate area I will bet is going to have some hesitations for a while. Nothing wrong with that either.

[Dave S]

Bottom line, there is an issue here and anyone that is in that immediate area I will bet is going to have some hesitations for a while. Nothing wrong with that either.

Count me in. I hunt 7 miles from where the deer was shot. I know what all of the online info says about CWD being transmitted to humans. Doesn't mean it won't happen at some point. I'm just not willing to be the first statistic.

That should make some happy since there will be 5 more deer that I will be leaving for the next person to shoot this next season.

[TooTallTom]

Isn't CWD a close cousin of BSE ("mad cow")? The Brits are having fits about that...

[HarleyK50]

Gentlemen, I am sorry to inform you, but CWD is a very serious disease that IS and has transfered to humans. CWD or BSE, also known as Cruetzfeld Jakob disesase in humans is caused by a misfolded protien in the brain called a prion. When this prion misfolds it creates a tiny hole in the brain of the infected organism, as these prions multiply many holes are created, causing alzheimers like symptoms in the victim. The problem is it takes a very long time for enough holes to form to begin causing problems, leaving many cases diagnosed as Alzheimers. Another interesting fact is that these prions are nearly indestructible. Mayo Clinic This is a link to the Mayo Clinic I researched when I studied the disease in school. This is very serious and all necassary precautions shoul be taken. I would take the word of the Mayo Clinic over anyone else.

[B. Amish]

they aren't the same disease, they are all prion dieseases but not the same.

mad cow, CWD, CJD, and scrapies are all prion diseases. they are not one and the same.

[HarleyK50]

They are all variants of the same disease. They all transfer to humans and animals alike, and are nearly indestructible. Read the Mayo link!

[Bear55]

Gentlemen, I am sorry to inform you, but CWD is a very serious disease that IS and has transfered to humans.

Strait from the DNR HSOforum:

"The National Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have found no scientific evidence that CWD is transferrable from animals to humans; "

Not that they couldn't be wrong but I wouldn't go around making wild statements.

[B. Amish]

They all transfer to humans and animals alike,

where does it say they all transfer?