Maryland national parks see 1st cases of ‘zombie deer disease’

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Deer at two national parks in Maryland tested positive for a highly contagious and fatal brain disease known as “zombie deer disease,” the first such cases detected at national parks in the state, officials said Tuesday.

Two deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) at Antietam and Monocacy national battlefields during recent operations to reduce the white-tailed deer population to protect and restore native plants and preserve historic landscapes, the National Parks Service said.

CWD is a prion disease that can cause weight loss, stumbling, listlessness and neurological symptoms, according to the CDC. It has been spotted in deer, elk, reindeer and moose in areas of the U.S., Canada, Norway and South Korea. Symptoms can take up to a year to develop.

While these two cases mark the first CWD-positive detections at national parks in Maryland, officials said the disease has been present in the state since 2010. 

‘ZOMBIE DEER DISEASE’ CONCERNS SCIENTISTS OVER POSSIBLE SPREAD TO HUMANS

Two white-tailed deer at Antietam and Monocacy national battlefields in Maryland recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease. Officials say these are the first cases detected at national parks in the state. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images, File)

National parks in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., all participate in a CWD monitoring program to monitor the health of wildlife, parks officials said. All results were negative until this year.

The Monocacy National Battlefield is located in Frederick, Maryland. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

CWD is fatal to infected animals, and so far, no treatments or vaccines have been discovered.

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The CDC states that while there have been no reported CWD infections in people, some studies have suggested that it could pose a risk to humans.

Chronic wasting disease has been found in deer, elk, reindeer and moose in areas of North America, Canada, Norway and South Korea. (J. Irwin/Classicstock/Getty Images)

Officials recommended that meats from animals infected with or suspected of being infected with CWD not be eaten.

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In November, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming confirmed its first case of CWD after discovering a deer carcass in the park. The fatal brain disease had spread across Wyoming since the mid-1980s and is now found in most of the state, parks officials said at the time.