West Virginia Finds First Case Of Chronic Wasting Disease
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) has received confirmation that a road-killed deer in Hampshire County tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).
The positive sample was collected from a two year old male deer in Hampshire County as part of a long-term statewide CWD surveillance effort. The Hampshire County deer tissue sample was first tested at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens, Georgia, and then confirmed as positive for CWD by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
“This is the 1st known occurrence of CWD in West Virginia,” said Director Frank Jezioro. “Upon receiving this confirmation, we initiated our CWD Response Plan, which is designed to effectively address this important wildlife disease issue.”
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal brain wasting disease found in deer and elk, and, like mad cow disease, it belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
The disease is thought to be caused by abnormal protein particles, called prions, that slowly attack the brain of infected deer and elk, causing the animals to progressively become emaciated and display abnormal behavior. There is no known treatment for chronic wasting disease.
Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that the disease poses a risk for humans or for domestic animals.
The West Virginia CWD Response Plan is designed to determine the prevalence and the distribution of chronic wasting disease through enhanced surveillance efforts, and then make plans to wipe it out in the state.
The plan calls for communication and coordination with the public and other agencies on issues relating to chronic wasting disease and the steps being taken to respond to this disease.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study located at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has tested 1,320 free ranging deer from West Virginia for chronic wasting disease since 2002, and the Hampshire County deer is the only animal found to be infected.
Chronic wasting disease was first recognized in 1967 in Colorado, and it has since been found in captive herds in nine states and in two Canadian provinces and in free-ranging deer or elk in nine states and one province. Earlier this year, the disease was found as far east as New York.
While it is not known exactly how CWD is transmitted, lateral spread from animal to animal through shedding of the infectious agent from the digestive tract appears important, and indirect transmission through environmental contamination with infective material is likely.
Jezioro said he is confident a solution will be found. “We are most fortunate to have scientists and veterinarians stationed at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, including some of the foremost wildlife disease experts in the world, available to assist us in this effort.”
Provided by the Environmental News Service.
