Eating wild deer unsafe

Foodconsumer.org - Biological Agents ^ | January 27, 2006 | John Soltes

[LurkedLongEnough]

Deer and elk that are infected with mad cow-like disease, known as chronic wasting disease (CWD), carry infectious agents called prions in their leg muscles, indicating that those handling and eating infected deer meat may contract the same disease, University of Kentucky researchers reported on Jan. 26 in the journal Science.

This newfound evidence is shocking because the public has been informed that the infectious prion protein for CWD was only present in parts of the nervous system such as brains and backbones. It was thought in the past that only nervous tissues from infected deer were susceptible to spreading the disease.

Previous studies found that mice injected with brain tissue from infected deer get brain wasting disease, indicating that nervous systems are the risky material. The current finding shows that eating infected deer muscles can also be a way for the disease to spread to humans.

In the study, mice injected with extracts from leg muscles of deer infected with chronic wasting disease were found to suffer the same disease, proving that the infectious prions are present in leg muscles, not just nervous tissues.

Glenn Telling, the lead researcher from the University of Kentucky, said that these findings may prove venison can carry chronic wasting disease to humans.

"We don't know how the infectious prion goes from the central nervous system into the muscle," Telling was quoted as saying by Newsday.

"But it raises the possibility that hunters could be exposed to prions by consuming or handling (deer) meat."

Chronic wasting disease is a serious disease that has affected deer and elk throughout North America. It has already been found in both wild and captive deer and elk in many states including Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, New York, Wyoming, and West Virginia.

The finding will raise much concern about meatpackers and hunters that continually deal with venison meat. In addition, the muscle part of the deer is commonly used in food meals and dishes.

"Anybody who may be handling or eating infected deer may be inadvertently exposed," Telling was quoted as saying to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Last year, chronic wasting disease was found in captive deer in New York. The state officials said that no evidence indicates humans get brain wasting disease by eating infected deer meat. The current study is expected to affect the government's advisories on deer meat consumption.

State officials, namely Wisconsin Department of Health's epidemiologist James Kazmierczak, are stating that nothing new has to be done to avoid the spread of the chronic wasting disease. They now call for the destruction of any animal carrying the disease, whether the infection is in the brain or leg muscle although these special precautions might not be taken seriously by everyone, according to Kazmierczak.

It is known that people who consume beef from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) can get the human form mad cow disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or vCJD, which have victimized more than 100 people worldwide.

The new evidence suggests the transmission may not be necessary because the meat is tainted with the risky material such as brain tissue, but because the meat may contain infectious agents.

However, that turns out not to be true. One of the alarming characteristics of m ad cow disease is that prions are not found in the leg muscle.

So far, it has not been unclear where the deer chronic wasting disease comes from. It may be a result of spontaneity or transmitted from other animals. If the latter holds true, the prion may be changing when it makes the jump from animal-to-animal.

The Associated Press reported that Judd Aiken, a prion researcher at the University of Wisconsin, believes that no one should eat venison from areas that are suspected of infection. He believes that this precaution should be practiced even in areas where negative tests have come about.

However, the real risk may not be as it appears to be. Chronic wasting disease does not transmit into mice with human prions, indicating that humans may be more resistant to the disease, the New York Times cited Dr. Telling as saying. Also oral transmission of the prion protein is less efficient than injecting prions into the brain.

The transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agents or prions are extremely resistant to heat, ultraviolet light, ionizing radiation, normal sterilization processes, and common disinfectants that normally inactivate viruses and bacteria, according to United States Department of Agriculture. No one should expect that ordinary cooking methods kill the agents.

[humblegunner]

brain wasting disease

This explains much!

[Rudder]

Bad, bad news for Ohio.

From the Ohio Dept. Natural Resources:

"Deer hunting in the state was already off to a good start with both early archery and youth deer-gun season figures up from 2004. When combining the results from the first six-weeks of archery season, the youth season and opening day, a total of 89,276 deer have been killed so far this deer hunting season - compared to 87,893 last year at this time. In all, hunters took a total of 216,443 deer during all of last year’s hunting seasons.

Deer hunting contributes an estimated $266 million to Ohio's economy each year and helps to support thousands of jobs. Venison is delicious and nutritious meat, low in fat and cholesterol. It is the number one wild game served by hunters in Ohio. Deer hunters also contribute thousands of pounds of venison to organizations that help feed less-fortunate Ohio residents through special programs."

There are more deer in my county than people, we are literally overrun with them and they pose serious road hazards. If this article is accurate, then states like Ohio will have a serious deer problem on their hands.