Chronic Wasting Disease caused by prions (similar to “Mad Cow Disease) is now spreading more widely in Yellowstone park and other areas, among large game animals sometimes eaten by humans.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/22/zombie-deer-disease-yellowstone-scientists-fears-fatal-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-jump-species-barrier-humans-aoe
excerpt: “… The disease is a “slow-moving disaster”, according to Dr Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist who studied the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow disease” – a related prion condition – in the UK, and is director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Dr Cory Anderson recently earned his doctorate studying with Osterholm, focusing on pathways of CWD transmission. “We’re dealing with a disease that is invariably fatal, incurable and highly contagious. Baked into the worry is that we don’t have an effective easy way to eradicate it, neither from the animals it infects nor the environment it contaminates.”
Once an environment is infected, the pathogen is extremely hard to eradicate. It can persist for years in dirt or on surfaces, and scientists report it is resistant to disinfectants, formaldehyde, radiation and incineration at 600C (1,100F). …”