A recently published study conducted at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton mapped the pathogen that causes chronic wasting disease (CWD). This analysis shows why humans may be resistant to infections and could help scientists develop vaccines. CWD is an always fatal infection of deer, elk and moose that is spread by contact with an infected animal’s bodily fluids. Instead of being spread by a virus or bacteria, the disease comes from misfolded proteins that lead to brain damage and eventually death. These proteins are incredibly infectious and hard to kill, even surviving in the environment after a sick animal has died. So far, there has been no proven case of the disease infecting a human who has consumed meat from a sick animal. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises against the practice because so much uncertainty surrounds the disease. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will test a hunter-killed deer, elk or moose for CWD for free. These tests are important, as the first case of CWD in a southeastern Montana elk was recently identified. To learn more about the Hamilton lab’s research, check out my story at https://billingsgazette.com/outdoors/byron-caughey-national-institute-of-allergy-and-infectious-disease-rocky-mountain-laboratories-chronic-wasting-disease-prion-hunting-deer-cervids/article_1014f09e-9e0d-11ef-b4c1-1f46c9f1ace0.html.