Chronic wasting disease found in two deer in Idaho | Idaho News

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) – Idaho Wildlife managers say two deer killed in north-central Idaho have tested positive for the chronic wasting disease. This is the first time that the contagious and fatal neurological disorder has been detected in the condition.

The Idaho Department of Fisheries and Game announced Wednesday that the two male mules were killed near Lucille last month, and hunters have tested the animals’ lymph nodes as part of a program Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Volunteer.

Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, can also infect elk, moose and caribou and has been confirmed in 25 states, the Lewiston Tribune reported.

Toby Boudreau, head of the Fish and Game’s Wildlife Bureau in Boise, said the two deer were killed about a quarter of a mile apart. He was “very surprised” that Idaho’s first positive tests came from an interior region, not a border region Montana, Wyoming Where Utah – States which have experienced cases of the disease.

CWD has been documented in wild deer by Colorado in 1981 and in Wyoming in 1985. The first detected case of CWD in Montana dates back to 2017.

Symptoms of the disease include excessive salivation, drooping head or ears, tremors, low body weight, and unusual behavior, such as not being afraid of humans. It belongs to a family of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the chronic wasting disease has never been detected in humans, and it is not known whether humans can contract it. Still, the CDC recommends that people who hunt in areas where the disease is known to be widespread get their animals tested for CWD and not to consume meat from animals that test positive.

Idaho’s CWD surveillance program aims to detect a 1% prevalence of the disease 95% of the time. Boudreau said the state will establish a CWD management zone in the region, examine animal migration patterns and determine if additional sampling is needed.

“Our strategy is sort of focusing on the need to keep the prevalence as low as possible,” he said. “When we keep the prevalence low, we can slow the spread. “

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