Written by: Emily Lecea
Edited by: Claire Shudde, Colter Giem, Hannah Kim, Ryan Schildcrout
Illustrated by: Jessica Li
Watch out for deer! It’s a common enough saying, one that’s a half-joking, half-serious warning for a legitimate danger on the road. Deer are overpopulated in many areas in North America, largely driven by a lack of predators, increasing the danger of an encounter on the road, causing the majority of the 1.8 million vehicle collisions each year attributed to wildlife. Venison is a common American meat, and hunting is popular, often seen as a method for population control, but not all meat is safe for consumption, thanks to the rise of a prion disease. Prions are essentially infectious misfolded proteins that can cause disease by accumulating in the brain, leading to cell death. In recent decades, a prion disease known as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has become increasingly prevalent in deer populations – and could, potentially, cause disease in humans as well.
Continue reading “Watch Out for Deer: The Rise of Chronic Wasting Disease and the Potential Risk to Humans”
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