A recent study published by scientists at the National Institute of Health demonstrated that prions responsible for chronic wasting disease in elk and deer are highly unlikely to affect humans.  The conclusion is based on studies of the specific prion responsible for the degenerative neural condition in Cervids applying an in vitro model.

This conclusion is significant given the increasing incidence of chronic wasting disease among wild and farmed deer in the U.S. An outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the U.K. during the 1980s was responsible for at least 180 documented cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob (vC-J) disease, the human counterpart of the prion infection.  The outbreak in cattle resulted in a collapse of the beef industry in the U.K. and ultimately the downfall of the Conservative Party in power. The Department of Agriculture that initially downplayed the significance of the cattle infection and minimized the risk to consumers was restructured.

The studies conducted by NIH showed “substantial resistance or a barrier to the propagation of infection” using the in vitro model.  It is, however, possible that individual genetic susceptibility could result in the emergence of vC-J in some people. It is self-evident that consumption of meat from affected deer and elk should be avoided.