Zombie Disease Could Affect People in The U.S.
Anthony Hernandez
Mission Specialist I Volunteer at Scobee Education Center (NASA-STEM)
We have heard of the television show "The Walking Dead," where the world goes into chaos, and people are infected and turn into Zombies, chasing and hunting other humans, turning them into food. Zombie chaos is much closer than what people realized. The Zombie Deer Disease, also known as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and this sickness is rapidly increasing at an alarming rate; it may have a significant impact on the public health of humans. Public health authorities have taken over 800 samples of elk, moose, and deer in Wyoming.
(CDC) Center for Disease Control and Prevention, since November 2023, has discovered neurological conditions in at least 31 states, including Canada, affecting moose, elk, and deer. The misfolded proteins have caused normal proteins in the brain to become abnormal. The prion disease that has affected the brain of animals for some time has been resistant to traditional decontamination processes or disinfection methods, such as radiation, extreme heat, and formaldehyde. Prions disease first broke out in the United Kingdom in 1986; since 1995, 178 people died from a variant form of this disease. Since 1986, millions of cattle have had to be destroyed.
According to reports from Animal Health Service, in 2017, between 7,000 and 15,000 infected animals were eaten, and the study was completed in 2019. Infection is not being transmitted by animals eating dead animals; even the animals who do not eat dead animals can still be exposed or infected through water, soil, and other environmental sources that have been contaminated. Scientists are concerned about what they have discovered from the samples of animals that were infected, as the Prison disease can evolve into a more fatal disease that can be 100% fatal.
According to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, what is prion disease? The disease comprises several conditions in which the infection can change the normal proteins to fold the brain's tissue abnormally, which can affect both humans and animals. The disease can often be transmitted to humans by eating infected meat products. The prion disease that affects humans is also known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). So far, there are reports of about 300 cases per year.
Sporadic CJD can develop suddenly without any signs and can strike individuals around age 60, and the tissue can be infected during a medical procedure, such as cornea transplants. Symptoms can accelerate into a severe disability and, in some cases, cause the death of a person within one year.
Variant CJD is where a prion eats infected meat, which can affect younger people. A variably protease-sensitive prionopathy (VPSPr) is extremely rare, is sensitive to the digestion system, and will significantly affect people around age 70. Especially families that have a history of dementia. Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease (GSS). It is a sporadic infection but can typically affect people age 40. Kuru is a disease seen in New Guinea, caused by a person eating human brain tissue; today, it is a rare occurrence. Fatal insomnia is a rare hereditary disorder that has been known to cause sleep difficulty; it is a form of sporadic disease that is not inherited.
Prion disease has the following symptoms such as the following: Rapidly developing dementia, difficulty walking and changes in gait, confusion, muscle stiffness, difficulty speaking, hallucinations, and fatigue. Prion disease cannot be cured, but some medications can slow the progression. Once a person is infected, the symptoms can be severely debilitating. Medical equipment has to be appropriately cleaned and sterilized to prevent the spread of infection. If a person has CJD, it is highly recommended not to donate any organs or tissues. An infected person can also experience a reduction of cognitive abilities, personality change, aggression, and stare looks that seem the person is no longer the person they used to be, giving the appearance of the person acting like a Zombie.
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