However, experiments have demonstrated that such a transfer is extremely difficult. Cattle that mingle with deer and even ingested the pathogen failed to develop the disease. Only when the CWD pathogen is injected directly into the brains of test animals do they become infected. Hunters are urged to exercise certain cautions. Among these is to avoid animals that appear sickly and to use protective gloves while field dressing animals in the area of concern.
Animals lose weight and control of body functions and often appear disorientated.
Death occurs within weeks or months of infection. Meanwhile, the ongoing DOW testing program showed the disease still is confined to the same relatively narrow territory in the northeast. More than 1,500 animals have been tested in various other parts of the state, all with negative result. Officials don't know why the disease hasn't spread, nor do they understand where it came from or why it is limited to this narrow band overlapping the two states. The level of infection varies from 1 to 15 percent in fairly specific zones, with an average of about 5 percent of the overall deer herd in the target area.