Chronic wasting disease on the Canadian prairies
Chronic wasting disease on the Canadian prairies.
Chronic wasting
disease in cervids continues to spread
slowly across North America including the Canadian Prairie Provinces. The
disease is now present in wild cervids in at least 15 US states and has
continued to spread within the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Attempts
at managing the disease have for the most part been abandoned and even interest
in surveillance to track its progress and effects has waned. For example, the
number of heads of hunter shot deer, elk and moose submitted for CWD testing in
Saskatchewan has declined from a
peak of almost 7000 in 2004 to approximately 1000 in 2011. This is in spite of
no cost to hunters for submitting heads for testing and in spite of programs to
encourage hunters to submit heads from specific wildlife management zones where
enhanced surveillance is critical to understand the disease’s current
distribution. Similar declines in hunter participation in CWD surveillance
programs have been reported in other jurisdictions.
This apparent
apathy comes at a time when evidence is accumulating that CWD will cause
population declines and altered age structures. In the only population of
free-ranging deer in Canada being closely monitored for changes in CWD
prevalence and survival, we estimate CWD prevalence in adult deer is now
approximately 50% and is the main cause of mortality in adult deer. The study
area is immediately adjacent to one of the first elk farms to test positive for
CWD and it is likely that close to 15 years of infection in this wild population
has resulted in ever increasing environmental burdens of prions which is now
driving the outbreak. Detailed radio-tracking and motion sensitive photography
is showing that mule deer in this area repeatedly and heavily use anthropogenic
sites such as leaking grain bins, cattle salt blocks, hay bales, etc. Increased
congregation and contamination of these sites with urine, saliva and feces
increases the risk of CWD transmission. In essence these wild deer are behaving
similar to deer on game farms except their movement isn’t constrained by a
fence. The outcome is likely to be the same, extremely high infection rates and
drastic population declines.
Because of its long
incubation period and long environmental persistence, it will take decades
before the effects of chronic wasting disease in wild cervids will be known. One
thing is for certain, chronic wasting disease is now an integral part of the
ecology of deer. Hunters and wildlife management agencies have yet to come to
grips with this new reality. Strategies to manage deer and set hunting
regulations will need to be evaluated based on their effect on CWD. Long term
research programs and sustained commitment by hunters and wildlife agencies are
needed in order to develop a rational strategy for dealing with this
disease.
A mule deer in the late stages of chronic wasting disease feeds at a leaking grain bin.
The site is continuously used by CWD infected and healthy deer alike. Here a group of white-tailed deer feed on grain spilled on the ground.
Greetings,
Thank you for this very disturbing news and science update on CWD.
my opinion, until there is a validated live test for CWD, and all cervidae
are tested every year, of all ages and again, every time one is sold, these
captive shooting pens should be either banned from existence, or shut down from
transporting anywhere. ...
Friday, November 09, 2012
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD in cervidae and transmission to other species
Friday, November 16, 2012
Yellowstone elk herds feeding grounds, or future killing grounds from CWD
Monday, November 26, 2012
Rapid Transepithelial Transport of Prions following Inhalation
kind regards, terry
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
10:32 AM
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