Can humans get chronic wasting disease from eating deer meat?
James Olson
Updated on March 27, 2026
Hereof, can humans get chronic wasting disease from deer?
No cases of CWD have been reported in humans, but studies have shown it can be transmitted to animals other than deer, including primates, according to the CDC. For humans, eating infected deer meat would be the most likely way for it to spread to people, the CDC says.
Also Know, can CWD be transmitted to humans? Spread. but it is noted that as of 2013, although CWD prions were transmissible within the cervidae family, CWD was not transmissible to humans or to cattle.
Correspondingly, what happens if you eat deer meat with chronic wasting disease?
The disease causes the brains of infected animals—including deer, elk, caribou, and moose—to slowly deteriorate. In the end, the animals can seem like zombies, with symptoms like drooling, aggression, extreme weight loss, stumbling, and tremors. The condition is always fatal and there is no treatment.
What diseases can you get from eating deer meat?
The diseases associated with deer include Q fever, chlamydiosis, leptospirosis, campylobacterosis, salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis, and giardiasis.