To the editor:
Further to your article “Chronic wasting disease spreads” I wonder if other hunters have seen moose or deer in the bush around Thunder Bay that display symptoms?
Signs of the disease include excessive salivation, loss of appetite, progressive weight loss, excessive thirst and urination, listlessness, teeth grinding, holding the head in a lowered position and drooping ears.
The danger of the disease is it can jump to humans. In Minnesota, Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the center for infectious disease research and policy at the University of Minnesota has sounded the alarm. In a recent article in “Northern Wilds,” he believes “it's just a matter of time until there is a deer-to-human transmission.”
The article goes on to note that when it jumps to humans and the patient is operated on, “the hospital removes all the equipment associated with the procedure... Meat producers can't effectively decontaminate their facility...Osterholm said prions (modified protein) can persist in the environment in the environment for hundreds and even thousands of years.”
The article indicates that the MNRF is monitoring the spread of the disease? Allowing clear cutting so close to our communities encourages deer to quickly replace moose. The CWD rapidly jumps from infected deer to moose.
I believe the MNRF should actively inform the public how it is monitoring the spread of CWD. Further, clear-cutting encourages spread of the disease, therefore, should it be limited as a forestry practice?
Paul Filteau,
Thunder Bay
