What is chronic wasting disease? Affecting Animals.

Chronic wasting disease, a deadly brain infection that affects animals like deer, is spreading more in Canada. Recently, it has shown up in a province for the first time.

On Thursday, the B.C. government revealed the discovery of two cases of the disease in deer located south of Cranbrook. The infection has already been identified in 34 U.S. states and four other Canadian provinces.

This highly contagious disease impacts animals in the cervid family, such as moose and elk, causing brain infection. Symptoms vary from significant weight loss to paralysis and pneumonia, leading to affected animals being isolated from the rest of the herd.

Researchers expressed concern about the worrisome spread of the disease as it poses a threat to deer and elk populations. The increasing spread also raises the risk of it affecting other animal species.