Chronic Wasting Disease

[Robin]

Well, here is another gut punch.

DEC Announces Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Livingston County Wild Deer

NYSDEC announced it identified a positive case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a wild deer harvested in the Town of Sparta, Livingston County. This is the first occurrence of CWD in a wild deer in New York State since 2005.

dec.ny.gov

This is the southern part of the county I hunt. God help us.
Robin

 

[Vapor]

If they are right, nothing will really stop it. It'll keep coming until all the lower 48 deer have it. Everywhere.

The only solution in my mind is to get the herds of wood bison back into the east haha. Them we don't have to worry about meat.

 

[Catskillkid]

I'm not an expect, but aren't there places out west that have it bad but the herd still survives? Still bad news know. Prions really scare me. I think they'll be the source of the zombie apocalypse someday.

 

[spat]

I'm not an expect, but aren't there places out west that have it bad but the herd still survives? Still bad news know. Prions really scare me. I think they'll be the source of the zombie apocalypse someday.

In theory, over time a resistance will develop.

How long that takes is the real question.

 

[Vapor]

In theory, over time a resistance will develop.

How long that takes is the real question.

There isn't really a "resistance". This isn't a living invader. It's just a mis folded protein. The immune system has no idea to even look for it. It's highly heat resistant and things like standard chemical sanitizers do nothing.

There is a genotype of deer out there that it kills less quickly. They make it to 3-4 before it takes them out. The problem is you still don't get the mature mother's who are really good and rearing fawns. You'll also never get those prize bucks.


I think trophy hunting is kinda silly anyways. I don't care if people pass up small bucks but I mostly used to like eating the things.


They still claim cwd meat has never infected a human. Still, do you want to take the risk? I don't.

 

[spat]

There isn't really a "resistance". This isn't a living invader. It's just a mis folded protein. The immune system has no idea to even look for it. It's highly heat resistant and things like standard chemical sanitizers do nothing.

There is a genotype of deer out there that it kills less quickly. They make it to 3-4 before it takes them out. The problem is you still don't get the mature mother's who are really good and rearing fawns. You'll also never get those prize bucks.


I think trophy hunting is kinda silly anyways. I don't care if people pass up small bucks but I mostly used to like eating the things.


They still claim cwd meat has never infected a human. Still, do you want to take the risk? I don't.

Doesn't really matter the why or the how it kills them.

Evolution will either find a way to be resistant to it, or the species will go extinct. There isn't another option.

If you think misfolded proteins are hard to build a resistance to, there are bacteria that have evolved resistance to ionizing radiation.

So, maybe they'll develop something that let's their immune system recognize the bad proteins.

Maybe they'll just stop using that protein all together, so there's nothing to misfold.

Maybe they'll develop an alternate version of the protein that just doesn't misfold like that.

Maybe they'll just get to where they can live with that disease long enough to reproduce anyway.

But, eventually, something will come along.

 

[Vapor]

Doesn't really matter the why or the how it kills them.

Evolution will either find a way to be resistant to it, or the species will go extinct. There isn't another option.

If you think misfolded proteins are hard to build a resistance to, there are bacteria that have evolved resistance to ionizing radiation.

So, maybe they'll develop something that let's their immune system recognize the bad proteins.

Maybe they'll just stop using that protein all together, so there's nothing to misfold.

Maybe they'll develop an alternate version of the protein that just doesn't misfold like that.

Maybe they'll just get to where they can live with that disease long enough to reproduce anyway.

But, eventually, something will come along.

It's simple selection pressure. The exact Codon is 96. If they are heterozygous with 96s they live a little longer with the disease. It's not perfect resistance and they still die.

No offense, but I laid out the reproductive issue. They still mate but lack parental experience/fawn maturity success decreases. This overall lowers the species fitness.

You wrote and essay to say natural selection will take its course. Cervids, all of them, will adapt or go extinct. Those two sentences cover it.


My main point was to paint the picture that this isn't a virus, a bacterial infection, or fungal infection. There's no real cure. No antibodies, no antibiotics, no magic bullet. I honestly find it fascinating. Much different than anything we normally studied in the early 2000s when I was in college. Mostly wishpered in hushed tones and sidebared by my genetics and organic chem professors.

All the management DNRs do, and they e admitted this, only slows down the inevitable. Within 50-100 years it will be highly prevalent and for the foreseeable future of our grandchildrens lifetimes, maybe generations beyond that. What does that mean? Probably a decrease even further in interest in hunting as both fear of cwd and cfj increases along with a decline in large, old trophy bucks.


The question is whether it's better to manage the disease and slow the inevitable, or to do nothing and let natural selection takes its course on a unobstructed time scale.

They are managing it right now because of the concern over economic impact. A lot of money is made on licenses, gear, and travel. I think state governments are terrified to lose that.