CWD is nicknamed ‘zombie deer disease’ because it causes parts of the brain to slowly degenerate to a spongy consistency and animals will drool and stare blankly before they die. There are no treatments or vaccines, and the disease is 100 percent fatal.
What are zombie deer?
What is referred to as “zombie deer” are actually deer infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD), which is a prion disease. Deer with CWD can appear very unsteady, stumbling a lot, and are often very thin. They may also show other symptoms related to neurological damage.
Prions are proteins that cause other proteins to unfold. Some describe them as virus-like proteins. When they infect a person or an animal they cause severe neurological damage. This leads to serious symptoms that get worse over time including unsteadiness, loss of the ability to speak or walk or swallow, and weight loss.