Chronic wasting disease explained
MISSOURI (KBSI) – A disease similar to mad cow disease is affecting deer in Missouri.
The Missouri Conservation Department encourages hunters to have their deer tested for Chronic Wasting Disease.
CWD is a prion disease similar to mad cow disease-but in deer and elk. It was first found in Missouri in 2012 and has slowly grown and affected more deer since. There is no known cure and if it continues to spread it could vastly affect the deer population in Missouri.
Kieth Cordell is the Ecological Health Specialist for Missouri Conservation Department. He gives more insight on what this disease looks like.
“When it becomes disease causing and symptoms show up the deer look emaciated,” said Cordell. “They get thin. They get droopy head. They slobber. They don’t want to eat and once they show those symptoms, they usually succumb to those disease fairly quickly,” said Cordell.
Some counties in Missouri held mandatory CWD testing on November 11 and 12 during the opening weekend of firearms deer seaons. It is no longer mandatory to have your deer tested but the Missouri Department of Conservation urges hunters to still continue testing their deer. There are free deer head drop off sites listed all over Missouri.
“In Missouri it’s not very prevalent yet,” said Cordell. “We have been monitoring for the disease since 2002. Wwe didn’t pick it up in wild herd until 2012 but we are surveying and monitoring. Where we find it, we come in and do some management actions to try to keep that disease from spreading.”
The disease can be spread through deer noses and found in their enviroment. At this time there has been no reported affect to humans consuming deer infected with CWD.
To find a CWD testing site near you, go to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website.
Chronic Wasting Disease | Missouri Department of Conservation (mo.gov)
