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For Immediate Release: Friday, December 30, 2016
Two farmed deer test positive for Chronic Wasting Disease
Routine testing confirms the disease
St. Paul, Minn. — Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has
been identified in a farmed deer herd in Crow Wing County near Merrifield. The
herd of 33 mule deer and 100 white-tailed deer is registered with the Board of
Animal Health. Two, two-year-old female deer were slaughtered on the farm and both
tested positive for CWD. The deer showed no clinical signs of illness.
The Board of Animal Health requires CWD testing of all
farmed deer or elk that die or are slaughtered and are more than 12 months of
age. Routine tissue samples were collected at slaughter from the CWD infected
deer. Those samples were tested at the University of Minnesota's Veterinary
Diagnostic Laboratory and then forwarded to the National Veterinary Services
Laboratory in Ames, Iowa for official confirmation. Those tests confirmed CWD.
"The affected herd has been quarantined," said Dr.
Paul Anderson, assistant director at the Board of Animal Health. "At this
point, our priority is making sure no deer leave or enter the farm while we work
with the owner to determine the best course of action for the herd. We're also
working closely with the Department of Natural Resources and the United States
Department of Agriculture as we develop plans."
“We hope the full extent of the infection is evaluated soon
so overall disease prevalence can be determined for the remaining animals,”
said Dr. Lou Cornicelli, wildlife
research manager for the DNR. “A full accounting of on-farm and movements of
farmed animals will help inform DNR’s overall response to the discovery.”
People who hunt near the infected farm should prepare for
CWD surveillance during the 2017 deer hunting season. The DNR’s
CWD response plan, which establishes general procedures for wild deer
surveillance if CWD is detected in a farmed deer facility, is
available online at www.mndnr.gov/cwdplan.
CWD is a disease of deer and elk and is caused by an
abnormally shaped protein, a prion, which can damage brain and nerve tissue. The
disease is most likely transmitted when infected deer and elk shed prions in
saliva, feces, urine, and other fluids or tissues. There are no known
treatments or vaccines and the disease is always fatal. There is no danger to
other animal species and CWD is not known to affect humans, though consuming
infected meat is not advised.
Information
about Minnesota's farmed deer and elk herds can be found on the Board of Animal
Health website: www.bah.state.mn.us/deer-elk/.
Contact Information:
Michael Crusan, Communications Director
Minnesota Board of Animal Health
651-201-6815
michael.crusan@state.mn.us
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