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Posted on September 30 2016 @12:08 p.m.
The Brillion News
MADISON – A white-tailed deer on an Oconto County hunting preserve has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), State Veterinarian Dr. Paul McGraw announced on Friday, September 30.
The National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, reported the final test results back to the state.
The animal was an 18 month old female and was one of more than an estimated 1,450 deer in the 1,363-acre preserve. The deer was born on the premises and killed on the preserve.
Samples were taken in accordance with Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s (DATCP) rules, which require testing of farm-raised deer and elk when they die, go to slaughter or are killed.
More than 1,000 deer from this preserve have been tested for CWD since 2010. The sample originally tested positive at a regional laboratory and required a confirmatory test at the NVSL. The DATCP Animal Health Division’s investigation will look at animal movement records, but since the deer was born on the preserve, there will not be any trace back investigations of any other herds.
The business will be allowed to conduct hunts on the quarantined preserve, because properly handled dead animals leaving the premises do not pose a disease risk.
Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal, neurological disease that affects members of the deer family, such as white-tailed deer and elk.
CWD is caused by an abnormal protein, called a prion. The disease causes a degeneration of brain tissue, which slowly leads to death. CWD has no vaccine or cure and is 100-percent fatal. There is no evidence that humans can be infected with CWD.
The photo accompanying this story was provided by the Kansas Department of Wildlife.