Chronic Wasting Disease

The prion responsible for causing Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in ungulates (deer, elk, etc.) can lay dormant on plants and leaves for years until it's ingested. It can lay dormant in the dirt after the animal sheds saliva or other bodily fluids. If plants grow through that soil, even years later, it can harbor prions inside of it. Then, when the plant is eaten by another deer, the cycle starts all over again. Deer hunters are now being told to bring carcasses into a disposal facility after dressing the deer for meat so that they can be disposed of correctly. Even burning the carcass won't get rid of that pesky folded protein.