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intromission76 t1_jb14na9 wrote

Reply to comment by TurtleBearSalamander in Why does Chronic Wasting Disease(CWD) makes deer skinny, even if they eat? by Canisventus

How do hunters distinguish them?

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Kelend t1_jb1li7a wrote

>How do hunters distinguish them?

You can send the brain, or other nerve material to be tested. However, there are no known cases of CWD spreading to humans.

Most wildlife agency offer this for free, as tracking infected deer, is a concern for them.

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muskytortoise t1_jb4anaz wrote

I think it's important to note that prions take years to show symptoms when mentioning no known cases.

I also wonder if people who are less likely to send their hunted meat in for testing are also less likely to receive diagnosis in case of an infection for various social, financial and personal reasons? To clarify, I'm talking about people who for various reasons refuse to see doctors and when they finally encounter one might be misdiagnosed due to lack of prolonged contact or seeing limited number of doctors who might miss the symptoms due to the rarity and lack of experience.

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adaminc t1_jb1m0mj wrote

Tongue hanging out, excessive slobbering, being a bit listless while walking similar to someone that is drinking alcohol, looking thinner than they should be. Other than that, you can't tell if it has CWD, and just have to hope it doesn't.

That said, you can chop off the head, and send it in to local facilities that will test it, this is actually encouraged, so the authorities can better map infected populations. In the meantime, you just let the meat sit in your freezer until they report back.

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