Wikimedia Commons/Charles J Sharp
Wikimedia Commons/Charles J Sharp
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says that chronic wasting disease has been confirmed in eight Iowa counties and has been found in at least 24 states, according to KWQC News.
Chronic Wasting Disease is also known as "zombie deer disease." The disease infects the nervous systems of deer and elk, and is always fatal. The condition creates holes in an animal's brain, making its outward appearance like that of a zombie, and it's spread through deer-to-deer contact.
Wildlife biologists are worried about the speed at which the disease is spreading. Dale Garner, who leads the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau spoke about the effect that the disease has on deer.
"They lose all fear of humans," Garner said. "They're lethargic. They salivate. It's a disease that you can't get rid of. There's no cure so far. As long as you have deer on the landscape and it continues to spread from animal to animal, you'll probably have more."
The current priority at the moment is to control the spread of the disease, according to Garner.
"Until we find a silver bullet, we just want to control the spread of the disease to the best of our ability," Garner said. "Hunting does that by eliminating some of those animals, and that's what controls populations."
No human cases have ever been reported.
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