Cronic Wasting Disease

CWD is an always-fatal nervous system disease found in cervids (deer, elk, moose, reindeer). It can be transmitted through direct animal to animal contact, contact with saliva, feces, carcass parts of an infected animal, and can even spread through soil that has been contaminated with any of the above tissues or fluids.  To date, it has been found in wild or captive cervids in 25 states, three Canadian Provinces, Norway, and South Korea. Source: CWD-INFO.org 

 The disease is not caused by a virus or bacteria. CWD is one of a family of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. These diseases are the result of a naturally occurring protein, called a prion, that becomes misfolded and thus resists being broken down by the body the way normal proteins are. When these misfolded proteins are introduced into a healthy cervid, they multiply by causing the animal’s normal and healthy prion proteins to misfold and begin damaging the animal’s nervous system. This process may take as long as two years before the animal begins to show outward signs of the disease.  Source: CWD-INFO.org 

You will likely never see animals exhibiting symptoms of CWD. Animals in the late stages of CWD are often emaciated, show erratic behavior, and exhibit neurological irregularities. However, due to the long, slow advancement of the disease, infected animals are almost always killed by predators, vehicles, hunters, or other diseases well before symptoms of CWD get bad enough for a person to recognize. Be aware of your states’ regulations to know how to report a sick animal if you ever encounter one.  Source: CWD-INFO.org

CWD is not infective to humans. Current research indicates that there is a robust species barrier that keeps CWD from being readily transmitted to humans. Several other species don’t seem to contract CWD either, like cattle and pronghorn. However, laboratory studies have shown that the CWD infective prions can be forced to morph into a form that may be infective to humans, and it has been shown that other primates (macaques) can contract the disease by consuming meat from CWD infected deer. Therefore, it is recommended that humans not consume meat from infected animals.  Source: CWD-INFO.org 

The best way to manage CWD is to prevent its introduction into new areas and limit its spread. To date, CWD has persisted, spread, and increased in prevalence in nearly every area where it has been introduced. Since there is no vaccine for a prion disease like CWD, the options for managing CWD are extremely limited. The most effective strategies, by far, are those that eliminate ways CWD can travel to new areas by infected animals or infected animal parts. Ideally, there should be no animals moving from infected areas to uninfected areas. In places where CWD is present, cervid populations should be managed to reduce their potential to congregate or increase in unnaturally high numbers.  Source: CWD-INFO.org 

After Jan. 31, 2019, no baiting or feeding will be allowed in the Lower Peninsula.
The chronic wasting disease is a contagious, neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose. It causes a degeneration of the brain resulting in emaciation (abnormally thin), abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death. CWD is fatal; once an animal is infected there is no recovery or cure. To date, there is no evidence that CWD can be naturally transmitted to humans or other animals. It is caused by a normal protein, called a prion, that folds incorrectly and can infect other deer. It is transmitted through direct animal to animal contact or by contact with saliva, urine, feces, blood, carcass parts of an infected animal or infected soil. Prions are extremely resistant in the environment and can stay infectious for years.