-Caveat Lector-
CBS News On Mad Deer -
'Wasting Away In The West'
By Vince Gonzales
CBS News Correspondent
http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,268241-412,00.shtml
http://www.purefood.org/meat/cbsmaddeer.cfm
1-31-01
* Disease Similar To Mad Cow Is Affecting Wild
Deer, Elk In U.S. * Chronic Wasting Disease Is In
Wild Herds In Neb., Colo., Wyo. * The Disease Was
First Noticed In Colorado In 1967
(CBS) - In the second report in a three-part series,
CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports
on a mad cow-like disease that destroys the brain
and is killing deer and elk in the American West.
Although there's never been a case of mad-cow
disease reported in the United States, a very similar
disease that destroys the brain is killing deer and
elk in the American West and it's spreading.
Wyoming state veterinarian Tom Thorn said that
mad cow disease drew a lot of attention to it. "What
we watch for in an affected deer is kind of a hollow
look in their eyes, they drink a lot. They don't eat
very much."
They waste away, which is why the always-fatal
disorder is called Chronic Wasting Disease, or
CWD. The animals also behave strangely, losing
their fear of humans as CWD destroys their brains.
But an infected animal can look totally normal in the
early stages of the disease, when an autopsy can
detect it.
CWD was first noticed at a Colorado research
facility in 1967. Mike Miller with the Colorado
Division of Wildlife told a government committee
recently, "What we are seeing is an epidemic
occurring in slow motion."
Scientists say the epidemic is slowly spreading
among wild deer and elk in Nebraska, Wyoming and
Colorado, where at least 15 percent of some wild
herds are infected. It's also been found on game
farms in five states and one Canadian province.
In a video produced by wildlife officials in Colorado
and Wyoming, hunters are told, "relatively little is
known about chronic wasting disease." And they're
warned to wear gloves and avoid touching or eating
parts of the animal where the disease is
concentrated: the brain, spinal column, lymph
nodes, tonsil, spleen and bone marrow.
When it was detected in Montana, drastic measures
were taken. Scores of game farm elk were
incinerated. Dozens of deer on nearby land were
hunted by helicopter, killed and tested to keep this
highly contagious disease from spreading.
Hunters are being used to control the spread of
CWD in the wild. In Colorado the hunting season
was extended this year in some disease areas as a
way to try and lower the diseased animal
population. Hunters in some sections of the state
must drop off deer heads for CWD testing. Testing
is voluntary in Wyoming and Nebraska.
Wildlife officials insist that as long as hunters are
informed about CWD and take precautions, the
disease is not a human health threat.
Thorn argues, "You cannot say with 100 percent
certainty that it won't transmit to people, but there
is
no evidence that it will transmit to people."
When asked if he was concerned about CWD,
Thorn said, "No. I've lived here quite a long time.
I've hunted here. I just have not seen any credible
evidence that it's going to kill me or anybody else.
Despite all the official assurances, some hunters
and their families fear eating diseased meat could
infect them with the same fatal brain disorder that's
killing deer and elk.
"I've hunted in this area and I've been eating deer all
my life," said Chris Melani, who shot a deer in
Colorado and, as required, turned in the head for
testing. He says he was told he would be notified
within three weeks if his deer had the disease.
"I didn't get a notice so I figured everything was ok
with the deer. We started eating it," he said.
Melani, and his then-pregnant wife Deb, also sent
some of the meat to a sausage maker who sold it to
other customers. The Melani's gave their sausage
to friends and family as Christmas presents. Then,
almost two months after his hunt, Melani received a
letter.
"I was shocked when I started reading it, recalls
Melani.
His deer had CWD.
"What's done is done. You just go on with your life
and hope it's healthy," Melani said.
But Jay Whitlock didn't get to go on with his life.
Jay, an Oklahoma hunter, was 27 when he
developed a brain disorder similar to CWD and mad
cow disease.
Julie Whitlock said, "Jay's case is not genetic. They
have ruled that out. And they said we'll probably
never know actually how Jay did get it."
Jay Whitlock died a year after CBS News spoke
with him.
His case, and two others, were discussed at a
recent government meeting on Chronic Wasting
Disease.
Although the victims ate deer meat, scientists could
not link their deaths to CWD.
Dr. Ermias Belayof the CDC told the FDA panel,
"However, our conclusions are limited to three
patients and continued surveillance remains very
critical to continue to monitor the possible
transmission of chronic wasting disease to humans."
There is evidence, at least in the lab, that in rare
cases this disease can alter human brain tissue,
almost as effectively as mad cow disease.
The government says, so far, there is no proof any
humans have been infected by deer and elk. But
after the deaths in Europe, no one is willing to say it
can't happen here.
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