The case is the first confirmed episode of the disease to be found among Missouri's estimated herd of 1.4 million deer.
Chronic wasting disease is similar to mad cow disease that affects cattle. Officials aren't exactly sure what causes the fatal disease or how it spreads, though they fear that other deer could be infected. Already other states have closed their borders to the import of deer bred in Missouri.
It's not believed that humans can contract the disease, though an outbreak could ruin Missouri's draw as hunting destination.
As the P-D informs this morning:
The positive test sent a shudder through Missouri's 39 big-game hunting operations and 272 licensed deer breeders, whose operations provide hunters with so-called shooting bucks.We spent a good two minutes search YouTube for video of deers with chronic wasting disease. We couldn't find any good footage, though we did discover his clip of a "wasted" deer.
