There have been cases of MCD crossing the species barrier and causing CJD in humans who ate tainted beef, so it may also be possible for CWD to do it as well, but it has never been documented. I beleve it's actually necessary to ingest the protien though, so as long as your not getting the stuff in you mouth, it shouldn't be an issue. A form of CJD called Kuru, and MCD are both transmitted through healthy individuals eating infected individuals. With humans, through cannibalism and with livestock, through feeding byproducts like meat and bone meal. CWD was kind of a mystery, as it involves wild herbivores, but they now believe the infection is shed through saliva and waste, contaminating the vegetation. Animals outside of the deer family, but housed alongside infected deer, have not been shown to contract the disease, nor has it been seen in carnivores that prey upon deer. All the diseases are caused by prions, which are renegade protiens that take over the cells machinery to reproduce themselves. They are even simpler than a virus, and are unaffected by cooking. Scientists believe that they all arose originally from genetic mutations, as there are known genetic forms of the diseases, but in some cases, the defective protiens are able to replicate themselves if ingested by another animal. CWD occurs in the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes of deer, but you can safely eat the other parts. MCD transmitted to humans is believed to be the resullt of nervous tissue incorporated into hambuger. I would say, keep your gloves on, and don't get it in your mouth, whether or not it's been cooked yet. JMHO Jude
