Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a disease that kills deer, elk, reindeer and moose or, cervids. Misfolded prion proteins can spread among cervids through saliva and excrement. These proteins may remain viable in environments for decades. The parallels to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has scientists monitoring CWD more closely as it has spread to 20 or more states in the wild deer populations.
Source: JAVMA, August 29, 2018. Link.
Dr. Jennifer House said the evidence so far suggests hunters and people who eat meat from deer and elk are at no increased risk of developing the disease. But she noted that, in one of two studies, some macaques fed prion-contaminated meat developed the disease.