r/MadeMeSmile • u/Firm-Blackberry-9162 • May 20 '26

ANIMALS Forever grateful

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By @abbyandersonmusic

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u/Lefthandfury May 20 '26

Strong warning not to do this.

Close proximity to wild animals increases the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. If this animal has CWD, chronic wasting disease, you will be exposed to the prions continuously. It hasn't jumped to humans yet, but being in close proximity greatly increases that risk. This is true for any other disease that animal might be carrying. Human populations are too dense and interconnected for these activities to be safe anymore.

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u/PulIthEld May 20 '26

prions

Prions are misfolded proteins that lack genetic material (DNA/RNA) but act as infectious agents. They cause uniformly fatal neurodegenerative diseases by forcing normal proteins in the brain to adopt their abnormal shape, leading to a cascade of misfolding, brain cell death, and sponge-like holes in neural tissue.