Political Quotes

“I have spoken many times in this Chamber about human health from my perspective as an orthopedic surgeon. Today, I am here to talk about a different crisis that is facing our Nation. Earlier today, 24 of my colleagues joined me in introducing a bill to combat chronic wasting disease in cervid populations across this country. Chronic wasting disease is a terrible degenerative brain disease. It affects captive and wild deer, elk, moose, and caribou in at least 26 States and several Canadian Provinces. It is highly contagious and always fatal. In my home State of Wyoming, chronic wasting disease was first detected back in 1985. Since then, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has partnered with scientists, State wildlife managers, and Federal Agencies to understand how the disease spreads. Many other state agencies have forged similar partnerships to study the same things. Over the last 34 years, their work has shown that the disease is spread by prions, but how these prions actually infect animals remains a mystery. The disease can be transmitted through nose-to-nose contact, through animal waste, or through carcasses of infected animals. Some studies have suggested that prions can remain in affected soil for up to 16 years. Well, there is a lot we still don't know about the disease, including the risk to humans. Chronic wasting disease is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, like bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.…”