chronic wasting disease

noun

veterinary medicine

: a progressive, fatal prion disease of deer, elk, and moose that is characterized by weight loss, tremors, lack of coordination, drooling, excessive thirst, and listlessness

Since it was first identified two decades ago in deer in Colorado, chronic wasting disease has spread to a dozen states (including New York) and two Canadian provinces.

—Sandra Blakeslee

Scientists have identified a handful of diseases caused by misfolded proteins called prions, including mad cow disease, scrapie in sheep, and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk.

—Nathan Seppa

—abbreviation CWD

Examples of chronic wasting disease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In an abundance of caution to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease, 12 states prohibit the use of natural deer urine and permit only synthetic scents. —Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, 7 Nov. 2024

Generation of human chronic wasting disease in transgenic mice CWD-Info.org. —Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 5 Nov. 2024

The letter also notes that lions help curb the spread among ungulates of chronic wasting disease, a highly contagious prion disease, by removing sick animals. —Byhannah Richter, science.org, 1 Nov. 2024

Roadkill also places a physical and environmental burden on waste management facilities to take in hundreds of carcasses annually, some which could spread chronic wasting disease. —Cleo Krejci, Journal Sentinel, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above