Chronic Wasting Disease

Recent News

November 15, 2007 - More Deer Heads Needed from Units 1, 2C, 2D, 2E and 2L

North Dakota’s Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program in the eastern third of the state is off to a good start, as nearly 500 deer have been sampled for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis.

“The cooperation from hunters has been truly remarkable,” said Dr. Erika Butler, wildlife veterinarian for the Game and Fish Department. “This proves how important this issue really is.”

Butler said the quota has been reached from deer units in southeastern North Dakota, but more heads are needed from units in the northeast. “We are still seeking deer heads from units 1, 2C, 2D, 2E and 2L,” she said. “We need roughly another 300.”

Hunters are reminded that those participating in this effort, and whose deer have been sampled, will have their names entered in a drawing for five muzzleloaders and 100 Sagen Saws.

The odds of winning a prize increases with each additional head a hunter has sampled, Butler said. “With one head your chance of winning a prize is approximately one in ten. With two, it is one in five,” she said.

Every head sampled must have either the deer tag attached, or a new tag can be attached with the license number, deer hunting unit and date harvested included. Skull caps and antlers can be removed. Fawns will not be tested.

How can my deer be sampled?
If your deer was harvested from the designated sampling area and is a yearling or older, deer heads may be dropped off at voluntary drop-off locations listed below.  Heads will also be collected from cooperating meat processors and taxidermists throughout the region. 

• Brocket – KO Bar
• Cavalier – Ugly’s Tavern
• Devils Lake – North Dakota Game and Fish District Office, 7928 45th St. SE
• Fordville – Waldo’s Bar
• Forest River – Tom’s Lounge
• Grand Forks – Ted’s Taxidermy, 1202 Shakespeare Rd.
• Hannaford – Remedy Bar
• Jamestown – North Dakota Game and Fish District Office, 3320 E. Lakeside Rd.
• Munich – Dave’s Joint
• Nekoma – Pain Reliever
• Rock Lake – Cahill’s Pub
• Walhalla – North Dakota Forest Service Office, 101 5th St.
• Wolford – Corregidor Bar

October 31, 2007 - Eastern North Dakota Deer Hunters!
Enter Drawing to Win a Muzzleloader or Sagen Saw

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will continue its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2007 hunting season by sampling deer from units in the eastern third of the state.

Samples from hunter-harvested deer will be tested for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis from units: 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F1, 2F2, 2G, 2G1, 2G2 and 2L. Participating hunters whose deer have been sampled will have their names entered in a drawing for five muzzleloaders and 100 Sagen Saws (see map and questions and answers for more details).

How can my deer be sampled?
If your deer was harvested from the designated sampling area and is a yearling or older, deer heads may be dropped off at voluntary drop-off locations listed below.  Heads will also be collected from cooperating meat processors and taxidermists throughout the region. 

• Brocket – KO Bar
• Cavalier – Ugly’s Tavern
• Devils Lake – North Dakota Game and Fish District Office, 7928 45th St. SE
• Fargo – Fleet Farm, 3730 36th St. S
• Fordville – Waldo’s Bar
• Forest River – Tom’s Lounge
• Grand Forks – Ted’s Taxidermy, 1202 Shakespeare Rd.
• Gwinner – Johnnie B’s Bar & Grill
• Hannaford – Remedy Bar
• Jamestown – North Dakota Game and Fish District Office, 3320 E. Lakeside Rd.
• Munich – Dave’s Joint
• Nekoma – Pain Reliever
• Rock Lake – Cahill’s Pub
• Walhalla – North Dakota Forest Service Office, 101 5th St.
• Wolford – Corregidor Bar

What information has to be attached to the head?
Every deer head sampled must have either the deer tag attached or a new tag can be filled out and attached with the following required information: license number, deer hunting unit, and date harvested. Any deer without the required information will not be sampled.

Who is eligible for prizes?
The Department will randomly select winners from the list of all hunters whose deer were sampled during the 2007 sampling efforts. Whether the deer head was collected at a meat processor, taxidermist, or voluntary drop-off location does not affect eligibility for the drawing.

What about moose and elk? All moose and elk harvested are eligible for sampling regardless of the hunting unit. Moose and elk hunters whose animals are tested will are also eligible for the hunter cooperator drawing.

If I submit more than one deer that is sampled will I be entered into the drawing more than once?
Yes. Every sample tested gives the hunter another “entry” in the hunter cooperator drawing.

Are head-shot animals accepted and can skull caps be removed?
Yes and yes. There are two tissues which can be tested for CWD, the brainstem and lymph nodes located at the back of the neck (medial retropharyngeal lymph node). It is a rare event that both of these tissues have been destroyed; therefore, head-shot animals and animals with skull caps removed will be sampled. Make sure the head is properly and securely marked.

How long will the Department collect deer heads? 
Barrels will be at the designated collection sites by November 9th. The barrels will remain in place until our sampling goals have been met, which is typically the end of November.

Will fawns be collected?
No. Both CWD and TB are chronic progressive diseases which take a long time to develop. Therefore, fawns are highly unlikely to carry either disease.

How will I know if I won a prize?
The Department will notify those hunters whose names were drawn. Hunters will be notified by the end of December if they won.

Will I be notified of the testing results of my animal?
Currently, North Dakota is considered CWD and TB free. In the unlikely event that an animal tests positive for either disease, the hunter will be notified. Hunters will not be notified of negative results.

How long does it take for the Department to get the testing results?
All of the test results should be received by February, 2008.

What are the plans for future CWD and TB testing?
We will sample deer hunting units in central North Dakota in 2008 and western North Dakota in 2009. This allows the entire state to be sampled over a three-year period.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I am hunting in a unit, state, or province not listed above?
North Dakotans hunting in a state or province that has not identified CWD or is hunting in an area within a state or province not listed is asked to follow the guidelines listed above as recommendations to minimize any potential spread of disease.

What Common Sense Precautions Should Hunters Take When Handling Or Processing Deer And Elk?
There is no scientific evidence that CWD can be naturally transmitted to humans. However, as a general precaution, NDGFD and health officials advise that hunters take the following common sense precautions when handling and processing deer or elk in areas known to have CWD:

1. Avoid sick animals. Do not shoot, handle, or consume any animal that appears sick; contact your local wildlife agency personnel.
2. Wear rubber/latex gloves when field dressing carcasses.
3. Do not consume and minimize handling the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils, and lymph nodes of any deer or elk (Normal field dressing coupled with boning out a carcass will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all fatty tissue will remove remaining lymph nodes.)
4. Bone out the meat from the animal.
5. Thoroughly wash hands, knives, and other tools used to field dress the animal. Disinfect tools by soaking them in a solution of 50% unscented household bleach and 50% water for an hour. Afterwards, allow them to air dry.
6. Avoid contact or consumption of any animal that appears sick.
7. Request that your venison is processed separately from other hunter's venison.
8. Bones and unprocessed remains should be disposed through burial, landfill, or incineration.

What Is Chronic Wasting Disease?
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of white-tailed deer, mule deer, and elk. It belongs to a family of diseases known as Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases. Although CWD shares certain features with other TSEs, like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), scrapie in sheep and goats, and Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, it is a distinct disease apparently affecting only deer and elk. It causes damage to portions of the brain; creating holes in the brain cells and causing a sponge-like appearance.

Where Is It Found?
The origin of CWD in unknown and it may never be possible to definitely determine how or when CWD arose. It was first diagnosed in a Colorado elk research facility in 1967 and a few years later in a similar Wyoming research facility. It was later discovered in wild elk and deer near those facilities in Colorado and Wyoming. Until recently, the known distribution of CWD in wild deer and elk was confined to a few hunt areas in northeastern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming, and southwestern Nebraska, but it has recently been found in new areas of these states, as well as in wild deer or elk in western South Dakota, and wild deer in northern Illinois, south-central New Mexico, northeastern Utah, south-central Wisconsin and west-central Saskatchewan. CWD also has been found in farmed elk or deer herds in Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. To date, CWD has not been diagnosed in wild or farmed deer or elk in North Dakota.

How Common Is It?
CWD is relatively rare. In Colorado, CWD infects about 1-7 percent of the deer and 0-3 percent of the wild elk in a small core area where the disease has been present for more than two decades. Nonetheless, the number of animals diagnosed with CWD has gone up in recent years. This may be largely due to the dissemination of knowledge about the disease and the increased surveillance for its occurrence.

What Wildlife Species Are Affected By CWD?
Only three species of the deer family are known to be naturally susceptible to CWD: elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer. Susceptibility of other members of the deer family (Cervidae) and other wildlife species is not known, although ongoing research is further exploring the question.

What Are The Signs Of CWD?
CWD is a slowly progressing disease; signs typically are not seen until the animal is 12-18 months of age and may take as long as 3 or more years. CWD attacks the brains of infected deer and elk, causing the animals to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, lose bodily functions, become weak, and eventually die. Clinical signs identified include excessive salivation, loss of appetite, progressive weight loss, excessive thirst and urination, listlessness, teeth grinding, lowering of the head, and drooping ears. It should be remembered that many of these signs can be a result of other diseases.

How Is CWD Transmitted?
It is not known exactly how CWD is transmitted. Experimental and circumstantial evidence suggest infected deer and elk transmit the disease laterally (animal-to-animal). The agent may be passed in saliva, urine, and/or feces or possibly through contact with an infected facility. Although maternal transmission (from mother to offspring) may occur, it appears to be relatively unimportant in maintaining epidemics. In wild populations, decomposition of carcasses could play a role in transmission and is under investigation. CWD and other wildlife diseases seem more likely to occur in areas where deer or elk are crowded or where they congregate at man-made feed and water stations. Artificial feeding of deer and elk may compound the problem.

What Causes CWD?
The most accepted theory is that CWD is caused by a prion, an abnormal form of cellular protein that is most commonly found in the central nervous system and in lymphoid tissue. The prions cause sponge-like lesions in the animal's brain. These abnormal prions tend to accumulate only in certain parts of infected animals, i.e., brain, eyes, spinal cord, lymph nodes, tonsils and spleen. Research also indicates that prions do not accumulate in muscle tissue (meat) of deer and elk. CWD is not caused by a virus, bacteria, or nutritional imbalance.

How Do You Test For CWD?
The only sure and practical way to diagnose CWD is through microscopic examination of the brain stem of a deer or elk. Recently, research indicated that using ELISA testing on lymph nodes appears reliable as a screening method for the disease. However, immunohistochemistry testing of obex portion of brain stem remains the most reliable and accurate test available. A test for live animals, involving the removal of tonsils, is currently in experimental and research stages. Testing for CWD is done by federally-approved laboratories; there is no quick test that you or your meat processor can perform to determine if your animal has CWD.

Is There A Treatment For Infected Deer And Elk?
There is no treatment or vaccine for a deer or elk that has CWD. An animal displaying clinical signs consistent with CWD should be euthanized. Removing infected animals may help prevent spread of disease or infection.

Is CWD Transmissible To Humans?
The World Health Organization has reviewed available scientific information and concluded there is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans. Researchers have found no link between the disease and any neurological disease that affects humans including the human TSE disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). Between 1997 and 1998, three cases of sporadic CJD occurred in the U.S. in young adults. These individuals had consumed venison, which led to speculation about possible transmission of CWD from deer or elk to humans. However, review of the clinical records and pathological studies of all three cases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, did not find a causal link to CWD.

There is no scientific evidence that CWD is transmissible through consumption of meat. The prion that causes CWD has never been found in muscle meat. The prions are, however, known to accumulate in certain parts of the infected animal- brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, and lymph nodes. Consumption of these parts is not recommended. Furthermore, health officials advise caution. Hunters are encouraged not to consume meat from animals known to be infected. Hunters should take common sense precautions when field dressing and processing deer or elk taken in areas where CWD has been diagnosed.

Is CWD Transmissible To Domestic Livestock?
There is no evidence that CWD can be naturally transmitted to livestock or animals other than deer and elk. Numerous experiments and investigations are currently being conducted.

What Should You Do If You See A Deer Or Elk That Looks Sick, Emaciated Or Lethargic?
Note the location and as much information as possible about the animal and situation. Call the ND Game and Fish Department at 701-328-6300, immediately. Arrangements will be made to investigate the report.

Farmed Deer and Elk

What Is The ND Department of Agriculture, State Board Of Animal Health Doing About CWD?
The ND Board of Animal Health is monitoring private, farmed elk and deer herds. The Board initiated mandatory inventory of all game farms in 1993 and initiated mandatory CWD surveillance, reporting, and testing in 1998 of any farmed elk or deer more than 12 months of age that dies from any cause. Before any deer or elk is imported into the state it must have a health certificate and a five-year risk assessment, which includes a review of the herd history.

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