What is a CWD case?

What is a CWD case?

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a chronic and fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose. This disease belongs to a family of disease referred to as Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs).

What is a CWD test?

Reliable detection of CWD requires diagnostic testing of the lymph nodes found in an animal’s head and neck; there is no recommended CWD test for live deer. CWD-infected deer can appear healthy and spread the disease to other deer for 18 months or longer before they begin to show notable symptoms.

What does CWD mean?

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose.

What happens if my deer tested positive for CWD?

Strongly consider having the deer or elk tested for CWD before you eat the meat. If you have your deer or elk commercially processed, consider asking that your animal be processed individually to avoid mixing meat from multiple animals. If your animal tests positive for CWD, do not eat meat from that animal.

Do mule deer get chronic wasting disease?

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, neurological illness occurring in North American cervids (members of the deer family), including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose.

How did CWD begin?

The origin of CWD is unknown, and it may never be possible to definitively determine how or when CWD arose. It was first recognized as a syndrome in captive mule deer held in wildlife research facilities in Colorado in the late 1960s, but it was not identified as a TSE until the late 1970s.

How do you detect CWD?

Currently, definitive diagnosis is based on IHC testing of the obex area of the brain stem or the medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes. Gross lesions seen at necropsy reflect the clinical signs of CWD, primarily emaciation and sometimes aspiration pneumonia, which may be the primary (acute?) cause of death.

How can you tell if a deer is CWD?

These may include:

  1. drastic weight loss (wasting)
  2. stumbling.
  3. lack of coordination.
  4. listlessness.
  5. drooling.
  6. excessive thirst or urination.
  7. drooping ears.
  8. lack of fear of people.

What is CWD caused by?

What causes CWD? The infection is believed to be caused by abnormal proteins called prions, which are thought to lead to brain and neurological damage and the development of prion diseases.

Can humans get CWD from deer meat?

No cases of CWD have been reported in humans, but studies have shown it can be transmitted to animals other than deer, including primates, according to the CDC. For humans, eating infected deer meat would be the most likely way for it to spread to people, the CDC says.

How do I know if my deer has chronic wasting disease?