Below you will find information about reporting sick deer that are suspected of having CWD.
Here are some facts about CWD taken from What Is Chronic Wasting Disease? | Department Of Natural Resources Division.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease of deer, elk, and moose caused by misfolded proteins called prions. These defective prions damage brain and nervous system tissue, eventually causing the animal to die. CWD is in the same family of diseases as “mad cow disease,” however, CWD has never been documented in people. There are no vaccines or treatments – all deer that get CWD will get sick and die.
There has never been a human case of CWD. Since CWD was first documented in the 1960s in Colorado and despite its having spread to 36 states and 5 Canadian provinces, no case of prion disease in a person has been linked to consumption of venison. However, out of an abundance of caution, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises hunters to test deer in areas with CWD before consuming them and to avoid consuming deer that test positive. More information from CDC can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-wasting/about/index.html
Once infected with CWD, deer may not show symptoms for over a year but can still spread the disease to other deer. Deer that look healthy can be CWD positive because visible symptoms do not appear until the animal is nearing death. Even then, CWD cannot be diagnosed by symptoms alone since other ailments can cause deer to exhibit similar signs. Symptoms include dramatic weight loss, droopy head and ears, and excessive drooling along with neurological signs such as loss of fear of humans, reluctance to move, and other abnormal behavior. However, many common diseases or injuries can cause these symptoms, including hemorrhagic disease (often called “bluetongue”), brain abscesses, and being hit by a vehicle. Often, once symptoms begin to appear, the infected deer dies from other causes such as predators, vehicles, or other diseases before dying of CWD.
