Slashdot Mirror
Investigating Chronic Wasting Disease
windows writes "The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch has an article in today's newspaper on efforts by many states to test for chronic wasting disease. The disease affects deer and elk, and is similar to Mad Cow Disease in how it destroys brain tissue giving it a spony appearance under a microscope. Due to the rapid spread of the disease recently, most states are enlisting the assistance of hunters to provide brain stems of deer, to test for the disease. The purpose of this study is just to determine how far geographically the disease has spread. It is not yet understood how the disease is spread or if it is a threat to cattle or humans."
Buy gun
Go hunting
Shoot deer
Eat deer
Die a slow lingering death from prions
Profit the human race!
"[CRW] is similar to Mad Cow Disease in how it destroys brain tissue giving it a spony appearance under a microscope."
This just in: researchers have found symptoms of Chronic Wasting Disease in various Slashdot editors. Details at 11.
Warning, do not panic over CWD. That isn't to say don't worry about it, because it is potentially serious. However it is not something to panic about.
CWD has been known for 30 years in elk. Someone needed a story for a slow news week. Because of the story people start worring, and getting meat that would not have been tested before tested. Suddenly we find it all over, and conclude it is spreading like wildfire. However there was never a widespread study of where CWD is before this year, so it is incorrect to say it is spreading. Many experts belive (Note, they all admit we know little about this) that it has been everywhere for years. Other experts think that it is spreading. However we do not know.
The key point is we know very little about it. What we do know is bad, but that isn't much. Enough to insite the idiotic masses into panic, but I like to believe the /. readership is smarter than that. Take reasonable precautions, and go on with life.