Prion diseases are an indiscriminate, incurable group of illnesses that stem from misfolded proteins. As of this article's posting, there are no cures for prion disease and, more disturbingly, a minimal understanding as to what actually causes the disease. Some factors are known, such as genetics and environmental contamination. However, a vast majority of cases are spontaneous. With the current spreading of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among deer populations around the world, many scientists wonder what could happen if this disease began transmitting to other mammals, possibly even humans, similarly to how mad cow disease did. With six countries across three different continents reporting the same crisis, one has to wonder just how widespread this issue is. Some American counties have reported upwards of 80% of their deer population are infected. The concentration of cases in America is rather concerning due to the country's affinity for hunting. There is also the fact that CWD has been identified as transmittable from mammal to mammal not only through contaminated meat, but also fecal matter as well. Within the science fiction & fantasy community there has long been discussion over what real world illness most closely resembles the zombie "virus." Some forms of media portray it as something akin to rabies mixed with ebola (28 Days Later), others to cordyceps fungi (The Last of Us Franchise). However, with the recent CWD epidemic, prion diseases are becoming real contenders for a zombie-esque pandemic.