Chronic wasting disease
Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose. It has been identified in some areas of North America, including Canada and the United States, Norway and South Korea.
Pronunciation
Chronic wasting disease: /ˈkrɒnɪk ˈweɪstɪŋ dɪˈziːz/
Etymology
The term "chronic wasting disease" is derived from the disease's progressive and debilitating nature, which causes a chronic loss of body condition, leading to wasting and eventually death.
Symptoms
Symptoms of chronic wasting disease include dramatic weight loss (wasting), stumbling, listlessness and other neurological symptoms. CWD can affect animals of all ages and some infected animals may continue to appear healthy for long periods of time before exhibiting symptoms.
Transmission
Chronic wasting disease is believed to be transmitted through prion proteins, which are misfolded proteins that can cause normal proteins to also misfold. These prions can be found in the saliva, urine, and feces of infected animals, and can also be present in the soil and vegetation where these substances have come into contact.
Related Terms
See Also
- Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- Kuru (disease)
- Fatal familial insomnia
- Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Chronic wasting disease
- Wikipedia's article - Chronic wasting disease
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