Posted on 01/27/2006 9:35:14 AM PST by girlangler
Infectious prions found in deer meat Research finds the matter, which causes chronic wasting disease, in muscle. It had been thought to be only in nervous-system tissue. By Katy Human Denver Post Staff Writer
A person who eats venison could swallow the proteins shown to cause a deadly brain disease in deer, elk and moose, researchers reported today.
Their article in the journal Science represents the first time scientists have found the proteins that cause the affliction, chronic wasting disease, in the meat and muscle of deer.
Previously, it had been found only in the brain, spinal and lymph tissues. Health officials have long reassured hunters they would not be exposed to the disease as long as they did not touch or eat those parts.
A Colorado expert on the disease said the discovery doesn't necessarily mean that Colorado hunters should change their practices or that venison eaters should change their habits.
There's still no evidence that a person has caught a brain disease by eating a sick deer, said the expert, Mike Miller, a veterinarian with the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
In the Science article, Colorado and Kentucky scientists said they had found "significant" amounts of disease-causing prion proteins in the hamstring muscle of deer dying from chronic wasting disease.
When injected into laboratory mouse brains, the muscle tissue caused wasting disease.
"People who are handling or consuming deer meat are going to be at risk to consuming prions," said Glenn Telling, a molecular biologist at the University of Kentucky and co-author of the study.
Scientists still don't know whether the deer prions can sicken people, Telling said, but the finding "raises the stakes."
Prions that cause a similar disease - mad cow - have never been found in cow muscle tissue.
Even so, a few people who ate mad-cow-infected beef have caught and died of a deadly brain disease, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob.
"People are more likely to
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run a risk of exposure to chronic wasting disease proteins" through deer meat than they are to ingest mad-cow proteins by eating beef, Telling said. "It's clearly there in the meat, but in very small quantities," said Miller, also a co-author of the new paper.
"We've been saying for 10, 11 years now, 'Don't consume deer or elk that appear to be sick,"' Miller said. "If anything, this confirms that our standing recommendations are appropriate."
John Pape, an epidemiologist with the state health department, agreed.
He just submitted a paper showing that the incidence of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in Colorado is no higher than it is elsewhere, even in places without chronic wasting disease.
"We can't exclude that possibility, that a rare (human) case could occur, but it's certainly not occurring at a high rate," Pape said.
The new study suggests that experts can monitor the incidence of chronic wasting disease by taking muscle samples from wild animals, Telling said.
Previously, the only reliable tests for the disease involved killing deer, elk or moose to test brain, lymph or spinal tissue.
Staff writer Katy Human can be reached at 303-820-1910 or khuman@denverpost.com.
Very interesting post. Thanks for putting it up.
We leave their heads when we take them in to be tagged. The DNR will test them for free. They just need a sample of the brain or spinal cord fluid. The deer hangs in the shed for a few days, while we're awaiting the results. And if it has a really nice rack, we hang around and WAIT for the results, LOL!
The deer we harvest are on our own land. The nearest CWD deer are a few counties over, but we just want to stay ahead of this.
I don't consider testing our deer for CWD to be any more of a hassle than washing purchased fruits and vegetables well after they come home from the grocery store. I don't buy much 3/4 of the year because I do have a 1/4 acre organic garden and an orchard. It just makes sense to me all the way around, to be safe about your food, CWD or not. :)
(I'm not a freak about it; I have just gotten into the habit about being smart about what I feed myself and my family. The exceptions to that rule would be Cheetos and inexpensive beer, LOL!)
Oops. More guesswork in white coats.
I remember having some venison once. At the annual canoe trip, one of the guys was grilling. I walked by beer in hand, and started chatting with him. He says, "these look like they're done. Wanna try one?" "Yeah, sure." So he skewers one of these complet mouthfull cubes of meat, sprikles some secret powder on it and hands it to me. "Mmmmm. Wow, that's good. What's the seasoning?" "Oh, secret. I could tell ya, but then I'd have to kill ya." "Mmmmm. Wow, this is really good, what is it? Buffalo?" "Venison." "Nah, get out of here, I hate venison. Mnmnmnmnmnmn, this is really good." "Want another one?" "Yeah, sure." (munch munch munch). "Hey, Ray! What's going on?" "Dude, this guy's got some outrageous beef here, you should try some." "Dude, I know this guy, he's probably feeding you some venison, or antelope or something." "No this is beef, and its really good!" "No, its venision, I shot it myself. Its venison." "Get out of here, venison is gamey, I hate it." "It all depends what the deer eat. I've been feeing 'em corn all year long. They eat that cedar, and it'll get gamey. They eat that cedar and you can marinate the meat all year long and it'll still be gamey. This is venison." "Hey, guys, what's going on?" "This guy's got some great meat here, you should try some." "What, is it venison? I hate venison." "No, you should try some, its really good. Later man." Heard as I was walking away: "Wow! This is really good..."
This from the guy who turned me onto freezing fish in blocks of water. You can pull the fish out of the freezer two years later and it'll be like the day you caught it. I do that with all seafood: smelt, shrimp, trout, salmon, flounder, swordfish, you name it (its in my freezer frozen solid in water).
Yeah, I don't like that chemical stuff in my meat either. I prefer to add that myself, basting with transmission fluid, or spraying the pan with some Raid or Orkin Black Flag if I'm so inclined, but I prefer the meat to be free of those kind of things when I bring it home.
Thanks, Diana, I only see the venison around here when hubby brings it to put in the freezer, after it has already been processed. We know the guy who does the processing.
Hubby says they rarely test the meat unless there is a report, or someone has seen a sick deer. We aren't in an area where there has been a great concern about it so far.
I was reading that the disease progresses at a pretty fast rate, and I'm guessing that symptoms manifest early, but I'd rather the deer be tested to know for sure. I'm in the "rather be safe than sorry" group.
I think you have a very smart "habit". :)
Know what you mean about the Cheetos, and the racks! LOL. The hunters here drive with the tailgates on their pickups down, and stop to show off before they skin them. My husband bagged the "trophy" rack in his club this year, so he'll enjoy that distinction until next deer season, at least. ha.
An earlier poster said something about prions not being the "accepted" theory. I believe that is false and that the prion/protien? theory is accepted. There is another researcher that has been working on an alternative theory. I think, or I know, that more info is available from the Chronis Wasting Disease Alliance at CWD.org or something along those lines. Not hard to find.
But when one looks at a map of CWD and to see the geographical distances between outbreaks, one can wonder. Captive heards are blamed for the disease spread, though the evidence has not been 100%. I asked someone with a bit more knowledge if it could be possible for a spontaneous outbreak--he hadn't heard anything like that. I wondered is another migratory species carried it from zone to zone. Who knows?
I bet that has cut down on your roadkill BBQs!
"My husband bagged the 'trophy' rack in his club this year, so he'll enjoy that distinction until next deer season, at least. ha."
Yep. Our friend JW took a monster buck off of our land this year. He's in the running for the biggest buck in WI this year; made the papers and everything.
In fact, those Venison Fajitas I made for lunch yesterday had a little of that buck in 'em, LOL!
Now, don't be talkin' about Venison Fajitas without sharing the recipe!
"Now, don't be talkin' about Venison Fajitas without sharing the recipe!"
Slice up a sweet onion into strips, and sautee that with about 1 1/2 cups of sliced bell peppers (red, green and/or yellow) in a little bit of olive oil. Set aside. In the same pan, fry up your strips of venison steak. When theyr'e nearly done (doesn't take more than 5 minutes) add a cup or so of salsa, then add back in the onions and peppers and heat through. Sprinkle with chipotle powder, or plain chili powder if you want more "kick."
Serve in a flour or corn tortilla with lettuce, sour cream, cheese, refried beans, etc. Whatever toppings you like.
I'm having them again for lunch today, as I made a huge pan of it the other day. :)
The herbivores I feed prefer tacos, light on the tomatoes, heavy on the lettuce, but only if it includes my homemade salsa. Fajitas now, is another matter altogether. The only chance that this will go away would be to hunt down everything in an affected area, kill it, bag it, dispose of it, and keep animals out of the area. Right now, all they're doing is tracking the disease as it spreads. Until a cure is found, can you think of a better way?
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