In the United States, a “zombie virus” is beginning to spread among deer, which is characterized by a severe course and almost 100 percent mortality. Scientists fear that the virus may mutate and start infecting humans.
According to according to The Guardian, the disease cannot be treated by any currently known methods and is highly contagious. The corpse of a male deer was found in Yellowstone National Park, which was found to be infected with the “zombie” virus.
Where did the name come from? The disease is a type of mad cow disease. The functioning of the brain is impaired, animals stop responding to stimuli and wander around the territory lost until they die. The mortality rate is 100%.
This is the first proven case of “chronic wasting disease” (CWD), as the disease is officially called, in the most famous wildlife refuge in the United States. Caused by prions, it is a special class of infectious pathogens. The disease gradually spread across North America. At first, it was hunters who sounded the alarm, but now it is a matter of concern for both the scientific community and doctors.
Prions provoke degenerative changes in the brain and nervous system. Animals lose weight, move uncertainly, they develop excessive salivation and lethargy, and their eyes become “empty.
So far, only deer are sick, but doctors and scientists are increasingly concerned that the CWD virus will mutate and become capable of infecting humans.
Even more dangerous is the fact that the environment is being contaminated, and the pathogen is extremely difficult to destroy. It can live for years in different environments, is not afraid of disinfection, radiation, and cannot be burned even at a temperature of 600 degrees.
