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

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above