Michigan MDARD CWD TSE Prion Detected Farmed WTD In 3 Counties
Michigan MDARD CWD TSE Prion Detected Farmed WTD In 3 Counties
For immediate release: August 26, 2026
Media contact: Jennifer Holton, 517-242-2575
Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Farmed White-Tailed Deer LANSING, MI – The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is reporting detections of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in farmed white-tailed deer in three counties. An infected two and a half-year-old deer was discovered in Calhoun County, an infected four-year-old deer was detected in Kent County, and a three-year-old deer was found in Mackinac County. The first two herds were identified through the state’s CWD surveillance program for farmed deer and the third was found as part of trace investigations from the Calhoun County herd.
“These detections highlight why it is so vital to perform regular surveillance testing. Early detection allows for a prompt response, which helps limit the exposure of additional animals to this disease,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland, DVM, MS, DACVPM. “While regular CWD surveillance testing is central to response efforts, MDARD’s ongoing partnership with herd owners, hunters, and other state and federal partners is crucial to effectively managing this disease. Ensuring the health of Michigan’s farmed cervid population has been and continues to be a team effort.”
CWD is a progressive, fatal neurological disease that affects different cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. CWD can be transmitted directly from one animal to another and indirectly through the environment. While an infected animal may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the later stages of the disease.
The presence of CWD in farmed deer facilities is not new to Michigan; and prior to these latest detections, cases have been found across multiple counties, including Kent, Lake, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo, and Osceola counties.
As part of MDARD’s disease response, investigations are ongoing to rule out additional exposures to other farmed cervids.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that CWD-infected animals should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDARD/bulletins/426d9c9
Michigan MDARD CWD Detected Farmed WTD In 3 Counties
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDARD/bulletins/426d9c9
Michigan Total of confirmed CWD-positive deer 2015 – present: 378
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd
Michigan Captive CWD Herds
Michigan Captice CWD 2026, so far
4/27/2026 4 YR Male MI Kent WTD Breeder Yes No 19 Quarantine
2/20/2026 2.75 YR Male MI Calhoun WTD Breeder Yes Yes 24 Quarantine
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/status-of-captive-herds.pdf
Michigan Captive CWD 2025 annual report
CWD: Tested 1,484 privately-owned cervids to provide for early detection of infected individuals, which reduces the spread of disease
APPENDIX A: 2025 REPORTABLE DISEASES
***> CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 2 Herds
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/2025/2025-MDARD-Annual-Report.pdf?rev=cac2f3c3f47e43bbb8b7bc808e6dcd7b&hash=4CF609439CB32CF911142CAE7BCCFFC9
MDARD - Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Osceola County March 11, 2025 ... (MDARD) is reporting the detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a farmed white-tailed deer from ... is a progressive, fatal neurological disease that affects different cervid species, ... Source: Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
MDARD - Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Osceola County March 11, 2025
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2025/03/11/chronic-wasting-disease-confirmed-in-a-farmed-white-tailed-deer-from-osceola-county
Michgan Captive CWD 2024
Number of farmed deer tested for chronic wasting disease surveillance 1,730 1,992
CWD Herds ???
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/2024/MDARD2024AnnualReports.pdf?rev=d9e19ce298e14339894363d1fc854392&hash=5C96BEA650FCC76292A6E12C57E3D6D1
see;
10/17/2024 10 YR Female MI Montcalm WTD Breeder No No ukn Quarantine
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/status-of-captive-herds.pdf
Michigan Captive CWD 2023
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 4 Herds
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/2023/2023-Bureau-of-Food-Safety-and-Animal-Health-Annual-Report.pdf?rev=d90240be38b1491c83f6435a5d8c3b23&hash=B9AFFEF8D004F3A3A0207009CDEA5B80
Michigan Captive CWD 2022
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Caprine 2 Cervid 1 Herd
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2022_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=ed33521c14094bfead398b727d09e439&hash=86DA56AA437F24260A99AE564D84244B
ARTICLE MDARD - Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Two Farmed Elk from Kent County November 18, 2021 ... , MI – Today, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk from a farmed cervid facility in Kent County. Source: Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
MDARD - CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties August 11, 2021 ... MI - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmedtwo cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) at two separate farmed deer facilities, one in Mecosta County ... Source: Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2021/08/11/cwd-confirmed-at-farmed-deer-facilities-in-mecosta-and-montcalm-counties
MDARD - Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible neurological disease found in deer, moose, reindeer/ ... belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies ( ... Source: Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
MDARD - Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible neurological disease found in deer, moose, reindeer/ ... belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies ( ... Source: Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/animals/cervids/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-surveillance
Michigan 2024 CWD Results This table represents the CWD testing summary of deer harvested/collected in 2024. Totals reflected in this update, current as of 4/5/2025, only include those with final test results. Deer with pending results are not included in these totals.
Zone/County Total Tested # Positive
Antrim 322 0
Arenac 368 0
Baraga 13 0
Benzie 131 0
Cheboygan 164 0
Chippewa 178 0
Clare 145 0
Dickinson 143 0
Gladwin 258 0
Grand Traverse 141 0
Houghton 71 0
Iosco 186 0
Kalkaska 37 0
Keweenaw 15 0
Leelanau 154 0
Luce 32 0
Mackinac 58 0
Manistee 324 0
Ogemaw 355 0
Ontonagon 5 0
Otsego 124 0
Schoolcraft 34 0
z—Total 3258 0
Total Tested # Positive
Remainder of State* 1208 7
Statewide Total for 2024** 4466 7
**Certain deer not included in totals (e.g., insufficient samples, fawns, missing gender/age). With those and pending results included, statewide total = 4,484
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2024-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
Michigan CWD History chart
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/-/media/Project/Websites/dnr/Documents/Boards/NRC/2024/April-2024/CWD.pdf
Michigan Captive Cervid
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/animals/cervids
MDARD - CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties August 11, 2021
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. ... More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2021/08/11/cwd-confirmed-at-farmed-deer-facilities-in-mecosta-and-montcalm-counties
Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Two Farmed Elk from Kent County November 18, 2021
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2021/11/18/chronic-wasting-disease-confirmed-in-two-farmed-elk-from-kent-county
Date of Index Case Confirmation Index Case State County Species Herd Type HCP Enrolled HCP Certified Number of Animals Herd Status
4/9/2025 6 YR Male MI Montcalm WTD Breeder No No 86 Quarantine
2/21/25 7 YR Female MI Osceola WTD Hunt No No 201 Quarantine
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/status-of-captive-herds.pdf
As of December 8, 2023, CWD was confirmed in privately-owned cervid facilities from the following counties: Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, and Newaygo.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/animals/cervids/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-surveillanceo
Michigan
Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report
Appendix A: 2023 Reportable Diseases
LIVESTOCK DISEASES:
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 4 Herds
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/2023/2023-Bureau-of-Food-Safety-and-Animal-Health-Annual-Report.pdf
https://www.michigan.gov/search#q=captive%20Cervid%20cwd&f-miweb_site_agency_name=Department%20of%20Agriculture%20%26%20Rural%20Development
To view current and historical Chronic Wasting Disease testing results, make a selection from the options below.
Total of confirmed CWD-positive deer 2015 – present: 253
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
Page 2
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
Michigan DNR reports Ogemaw County’s first CWD-positive deer in Klacking Township, Ogemaw County
Oct. 31, 2023
Contact: Chad Stewart, 517-282-4810
DNR reports Ogemaw County’s first CWD-positive deer; hunters in north-central part of county encouraged to check deer A 4-year-old doe that was reported to be in poor condition – skinny, drooling and showing no fear of people – in Klacking Township, Ogemaw County, recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease. It is the first CWD-positive wild deer from that county, a finding confirmed by the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Madison, which works with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to identify CWD in Michigan’s wild herd.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, elk and moose. To date, the disease also has been detected in the following Michigan counties: Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Midland and Montcalm.
“When we find chronic wasting disease in a brand-new location, where previous intensive surveillance has not yet been done, it becomes extremely important for wildlife disease managers to understand where additional cases might be within that county,” said DNR deer and elk specialist Chad Stewart. “In light of this new detection, we are offering additional opportunities for those interested in getting their deer tested for CWD in Ogemaw County.”
A drop box for CWD testing will be available at the Rifle River Recreation Area headquarters, located at 2550 Rose City Road in Lupton, starting Friday, Nov. 3. The check station typically operated at the DNR field office located at 410 Fairview Road in West Branch will be open Nov. 15-30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The field office will be closed Nov. 23-24 for the Thanksgiving holiday. Self-service test kits, typically available in other locations where CWD has been identified, will not be available in Ogemaw County due to concerns of bovine tuberculosis disease transmission in the county.
Stewart said that CWD is not common among deer in Michigan, and the hunting community can continue to play a key role in assisting the department in disease-testing efforts.
“The DNR sets surveillance goals – basically, a number of deer tested in a particular area – to understand the scale of infection in the local deer herd,” he said. “The closer we come to meeting these goals, the more data we have to identify where and to what extent chronic wasting disease exists in Michigan. Strong hunter participation in testing is critical to that learning, especially in areas where we haven’t yet met surveillance goals.”
Testing background, strategy In addition to testing around areas of known CWD positives, the DNR in 2021 began a rotational approach to testing around the state. A group of counties is selected each year, with the eventual aim of testing enough deer in every Michigan county.
The goal of this approach is early disease detection, as management has the potential to be most effective when the disease is caught early. Most of these areas have not had a CWD detection or have not previously been part of intensive testing efforts, so little is known about disease status or pathways in these locations. In 2021 and 2022, the rotational approach focused testing in areas of both the southwestern and southeastern Lower Peninsula.
This year, testing will focus on the northwestern Lower Peninsula and a few counties in other areas where additional herd information is still needed. The focal counties for 2023 CWD testing include Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Hillsdale, Isabella, Kalkaska, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Osceola and Wexford. These counties will have CWD testing drop boxes, staffed submission sites, and partner processors and taxidermists to assist with collection efforts.
In the rest of the state, testing is available through direct submission by hunters to a cooperating U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved diagnostic laboratory for a fee or through free self-sample shipping kits in counties where CWD has previously been detected.
Since CWD was first detected in 2015, over 103,000 deer have been tested for CWD in Michigan. There have been over 137,000 wild deer tested in total. The Ogemaw County deer is the Department’s 251st positive animal.
To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in people. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that infected animals not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
Hunters also are reminded to use caution when field-dressing or processing a deer. This includes practices such as wearing rubber gloves, minimizing contact with the deer’s brain and spinal tissue, and washing your hands with soap and warm water after handling any parts of the carcass.
Proper disposal of a deer carcass is critical to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease. Deer carcasses should go directly to a landfill or be disposed of through your regular trash pickup to be taken to a landfill. Deer harvested from known CWD areas should never be disposed of on the landscape in non-CWD areas.
For more information on chronic wasting disease, visit Michigan.gov/CWD.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDNR/bulletins/378a3d4
MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Newaygo County Michigan
Dept of Agriculture & Rural Development sent this bulletin at 05/02/2023 11:15 AM EDT
For immediate release: May 2, 2023 Media contact: Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724 or Chelsea Lewis, 517-331-1151
MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Newaygo County LANSING, MI –The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in one white-tailed deer from a farmed cervid facility in Newaygo County. The infected four-and-a-half-year-old deer was discovered through routine testing as part of the state’s CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
“Limiting the spread and impact of CWD on Michigan’s farmed cervid herds hinges on the ability to detect the disease early and respond promptly,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland. “While regular CWD surveillance testing is central to accomplishing this goal, MDARD’s continued partnership with herd owners, hunters, and other state and federal partners is also crucial to effectively managing this disease. Ensuring the health of Michigan’s farmed cervid population is a team effort.”
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects different cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. CWD can be transmitted directly from one animal to another and indirectly through the environment. While an infected animal may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the later stages of the disease.
The presence of CWD in farmed cervid facilities and free-ranging deer is not new to Michigan. Since 2008, including this new case, CWD has been detected at 11 Michigan cervid farms in the following counties: Kent (2), Mecosta (4), Montcalm (3), and Newaygo (2).
With free-ranging deer, CWD was first discovered in May 2015; and cases have been found across 11 counties in Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, no free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for CWD in Newaygo County.
As part of MDARD’s disease response, investigations are ongoing to rule out any possible exposure to other farmed cervids.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that CWD-infected animals should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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Michigan MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Newaygo County
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDARD/bulletins/3583c22
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CASESCWD STATUS OF CAPTIVE HERDS
Updated January 2023
4/19/2022 3 YR Female MI Mecosta WTD Shooter No No 275 Quarantine
11/4/2021 2, 3 Y Male MI Kent Elk Breeder Yes Yes 0 Depopulated
7/15/2021 4 Y Female MI Montcalm WTD Breeder No No 109 Quarantine
4/18/2021 2.5 Y Male MI WTD Shooter No No ukn Quarantine
3/3/2021 4 Y Male MI Montcalm WTD Shooter No NA 14 Quarantine
12/2019 3, 4.5 Y Males MI Newaygo WTD Shooter No No >600 Quarantine
4/2019 2.5 Y Female MI Montcalm WTD Breeder No NA 113 Depopulated
12/2017 1.5 Y Female MI Mecosta WTD Breeder Yes Yes 525 Quarantined
1/2017 2Y Female MI Mecosta WTD & Sika deer Shooter No NA 71 Depopulated
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/downloads/status-of-captive-herds.pdf
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Totals Since 2015 To Present 242 Confirmed Cases
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/cwd/2022-cwd-testing-goals
Total tested and number of positives
Area Total Tested # Positive
Remainder of State* 954 6
Statewide Total for 2023** 1386 7
*These positive deer came from Gratiot (4), Jackson (1) and Midland (1) counties.
**Certain deer are not included (e.g., insufficient samples, fawns, missing gender/age) with those included, statewide total = 1693
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2023
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Totals Since 2015 To Present 242 Confirmed Cases
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2023/01/michigan-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.html
Michigan CWD 2023
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
see page two link at the bottom;
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
Michigan 2022 captive CWD Herds Positive 1
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2022_aid_annual_report.pdf
Michigan MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Mecosta County
For immediate release: May 9, 2022 Media contact: Chelsea Lewis, 517-331-1151 or Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724
MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Mecosta County
LANSING, MI – Today, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in one white-tailed deer from a farmed cervid facility in Mecosta County. The infected three-year-old deer was discovered through routine testing as part of the state’s CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects different cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The disease can be transmitted directly from one animal to another and indirectly through the environment. While an infected animal may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the later stages of the disease.
“MDARD is committed to limiting the spread and impact of this disease. CWD surveillance testing plays an integral part in accomplishing this goal because it helps us to detect and respond to the disease promptly,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland. “In addition, our continued partnership with farmed cervid owners, hunters, and other state and federal partners is also essential to ensure the health of Michigan’s farmed deer population.”
The presence of CWD in farmed cervid facilities and free-ranging deer is not new to Michigan. Since 2008, including this new case, CWD has been detected at 10 Michigan cervid farms in the following counties: Kent (2), Mecosta (4), Montcalm (3), and Newaygo.
With free-ranging deer, CWD was first discovered in May 2015; and cases have been found across nine counties in Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, no free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for CWD in Mecosta County.
As part of MDARD’s disease response, investigations are ongoing to rule out any possible exposure to other farmed cervids.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that CWD-infected animals should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2022/05/09/cwd-confirmed-in-a-farmed-white-tailed-deer-from-mecosta-county
Michigan’s 2021 deer seasons included targeted CWD surveillance, 25 positive deer
April 14, 2022
Hunters encouraged to share harvest results via online survey
Buck walking through lush green forest
Though Michigan’s 2021 deer hunting seasons ended in late January 2022, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is continuing to accept feedback from hunters about their experiences. Hunter harvest surveys have been sent to a random sample of the state’s deer hunters. In addition, hunters can take a brief online survey. Final harvest survey results will be presented later this summer.
Initial data from Michigan’s 2021 deer hunting seasons – including chronic wasting disease testing results and deer license sales information – was presented at Thursday’s meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission in Lansing, with highlights shared below.
A shift in CWD testing
The DNR has finalized its 2021 surveillance efforts for chronic wasting disease, ultimately testing just over 7,200 deer. The more targeted testing goals are part of the department’s new region-by-region strategy aimed at detecting new outbreaks rather than revisiting known ones.
“We want to thank hunters for their cooperation in helping us meet our CWD surveillance goals,” said DNR Director Dan Eichinger. “Strategic testing for chronic wasting disease is of primary importance for the department, and we couldn’t meet these goals without the committed assistance of deer hunters.”
Eichinger also praised the work of deer processors, taxidermists and local businesses that help collect samples for testing, and other key partners who provide necessary assistance to the department.
In all, 25 CWD-positive deer were confirmed in 2021. Three cases of CWD were detected in Isabella County, which represents a new county where the disease has been found. (Since Michigan’s first confirmation of a CWD-positive wild deer in 2015, CWD has been detected in white-tailed deer in Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent and Montcalm counties.)
Doe walking through late summer forest “It was not unexpected to find positive cases in Isabella County, as these detections were fairly close to where we’ve identified cases in Montcalm and northern Gratiot County,” said DNR deer and elk specialist Chad Stewart. “Our main areas of infection remain in parts of Montcalm and northeast Kent counties, as well as southern Jackson County, where we knew CWD existed going into the 2021 hunting season.”
Despite the department’s finding of 25 positive animals last year, Stewart cautioned against comparing the low number of positives with the high number of deer tested and concluding there is not a problem.
“The distribution of our samples greatly affects the number of positives we expect to find. Intensive collection of samples in known CWD locations like Montcalm and Kent counties would certainly lead to a high number of positives being detected,” he said. “Our goal this year was to begin to understand what CWD looks like in areas that are historically under-sampled, and we made a lot of strides on that front.”
Stewart said that chronic wasting disease is going to be a problem for parts of Michigan’s deer herd in the future: “Once it becomes established, it is unlikely that we can reverse course on the disease. Prevention and early detection remain our best options for CWD management.”
Hunter walking across plain while sun shines brightly CWD surveillance moving forward
For Michigan’s 2021 deer seasons, the DNR started a multiyear process of strategic, focused CWD surveillance in regions around the state. Last year’s surveillance occurred mainly in the three tiers of counties near the Ohio border. Over the next few years, the remainder of the state will be systematically sampled to determine if CWD is present in other areas where it hasn’t yet been identified.
Hunter numbers
While there was a temporary rise in hunter numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, participation is declining in Michigan. The trend is not new, nor is it only being observed here. States across the country are feeling the financial pressure of reduced hunter numbers, because sales of hunting licenses comprise a large portion of the funding for critical conservation work.
“Nationwide, hunting has seen a gradual decline over the last several decades,” said Eichinger. “The trend is likely due to a combination of factors including generations of hunters who are aging out of the sport, and younger generations that are less likely to participate in hunting due to societal changes and more competition for their attention.”
Deer hunter numbers in 2021 were down nearly 4% over the previous year with close to 600,000 hunters purchasing a deer license. Hunter number declines are in line with past years going back to peak participation in the mid 90’s.
“While the trend in hunter participation is discouraging, we know that hunting remains an important part of Michigan’s outdoor heritage,” Eichinger said. “That’s why we encourage experienced hunters to introduce the sport to new hunters wherever they can. Spending time with veteran hunters can reduce the learning curve, increase safety and instill a sense of excitement and appreciation for our state’s natural resources.”
To learn more about deer management, CWD and deer hunting in Michigan, and to access the 2021 deer harvest survey, visitMichigan.gov/Deer.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/about/newsroom/releases/2022/04/14/2021-deer-seasons-included-targeted-cwd-surveillance
see archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20220416081652/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/about/newsroom/releases/2022/04/14/2021-deer-seasons-included-targeted-cwd-surveillance
Michigan MDARD Captive CWD Positives depopulated and quarantined
Michigan MDARD CWD
APPENDIX A: 2021 REPORTABLE DISEASES
Livestock Diseases: Small Animal, Equine and Exotic Diseases:
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 19
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2021_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=6989dcce43ed4fe3985a05bcffa225ec&hash=0530DE52E159E9B48C80EC8165A25158
Michigan Department Ag. Captive Cervid
APPENDIX A: 2021 REPORTABLE DISEASES
Livestock Disease
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 19
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2021_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=6989dcce43ed4fe3985a05bcffa225ec&hash=0530DE52E159E9B48C80EC8165A25158
Michigan MDARD CWD
APPENDIX A: 2020 REPORTABLE DISEASES Livestock Diseases:
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 46
https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2020_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=842e5267e3c747819bc4a9a8917a17f5
Michigan Department Ag. Captive Cervid
APPENDIX A: 2020 REPORTABLE DISEASES
Livestock Diseases: Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 46
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2020_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=842e5267e3c747819bc4a9a8917a17f5&hash=D6F332CE3D860BFE5983161FC8B2415D
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Managing the CWD-positive deer farm identified in March 2019.
• In May 2019, the USDA released updated CWD Herd Certification Program Standards. Michigan is in the process of implementing these new changes.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2019_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=50d2a4bf7e5f4cc79764c0f427b1a185&hash=365B1FF5E43FF3C4DFA9792860FD7ECB
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Managed the disease investigation and removal of deer from the a CWD positive deer farm identified in December 2017.
• Due to multiple detections of CWD in free-ranging deer, the parameters for being in a designated special surveillance area were modified to include all herds in an affected county. This change created more comprehensive and efficient responses.
• Initiated a comprehensive program review with the DNR to streamline and improve the Farmed Cervid Program.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2018_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=4c34358ecb60444eb59a250f90c619b0&hash=7C1E98F597321BA27DF1444737658C0D
Since May 2015, the Depaitment has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in free-ranging white-tailed deer from Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ionia, Ingham, Jackson, Kent, and Montcalm Counties in the Lower Peninsula. In October 2018, the Department confirmed CWD in a free ranging white-tailed deer from Dickinson County in the Upper Peninsula (UP). As of mid-April 2019, after testing approximately 60,545 free-ranging white-tailed deer, 118 were positively confirmed with CWD, with 62 occurring in 2018. Chronic wasting disease was also found in August 2008, at a Kent County privately-owned cervid (POC) facility and in two POC facilities in Mecosta County in 2017. In addition, CWD was found in March 2019 at a POC facility in Montcalm County.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/boards/agcommission/2019-05-15_meeting_materials.pdf?rev=0542e3c19ecb44cb8fd3e0c37593af57&hash=88533F51CEDA3DD672336872304CC421
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Update
CWD in Michigan
Since May 2015 when the first CWD deer was found in Michigan, CWD has been confirmed in a number of townships in the Lower Peninsula. As of October 2018, a CWD positive deer was found in the Upper Peninsula in Dickinson County. CWD was also found in August 2008 at a Kent County deer farm facility and in January 2017 in two captive deer that were from a deer farm facility in Mecosta County.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516---,00.html
see archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20190703051707/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516---,00.html
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
see archived;
http://web.archive.org/web/20211201002147/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20211201002147/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
CWD TESTING RESULTS
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-538324--,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20200925142120/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-538324--,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20190416040227/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
Michigan CWD
http://web.archive.org/web/20200924143416/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20200924145043/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536_90552_90560---,00.html
Desperado Deer: The Persistent Problem of Captive Deer Running Wild
by Editor | May 8, 2018 | Conservation, Hunting
Cervid Escapees – Measuring the Problem
For starters, no one knows for sure how many deer escape from high-fence facilities each year. Neither the DNR nor the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development keep accurate, complete records of the number of escapees reported by citizens and/or investigated by DNR conservation officers. Only in 2017 did the DNR first begin using an electronic database to monitor escaped cervids.
Currently, there are 333 licensed captive cervid facilities in the state, most of which are breeding farms (161) or hunting ranches (132), holding over 21,000 whitetail deer, fallow deer, red deer, Sitka deer and elk. While the number of deer escapees voluntarily reported has declined over recent years, the numbers do not include escapees that are never reported.
https://www.michiganoutofdoors.com/desperado-deer-the-persistent-problem-of-captive-deer-running-wild/
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible neurological disease found in deer and elk populations that produces small lesions in brains of infected animals. As a result, CWD causes weight loss and a decline in body control. It is a species-specific disease, and there have been no cases in humans or other animals.
Currently, to determine the presence of CWD, brain and lymph node samples are taken by an accredited veterinarian after an animal dies. These samples are then submitted for testing.
As part of their operations, all privately-owned cervid (POC) facilities in Michigan are required to submit samples. The number of samples that must be submitted depends on what specific program that a producer participates in: the Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (CWD HCP) or the Surveillance Program.
First, for the CWD HCP, all cervids 12 months of age and older that die for any reason must be tested for CWD.
Second, all facilities that are not a part of the CWD HCP must participate in the Surveillance Program. The Surveillance Program requires that all animals 12 months of age and older that die from illness, injury, or euthanasia due to disease must be tested for CWD. In addition, 25% of cervids slaughtered, hunted, or culled must be tested. This number is calculated on an annual basis. In general, all facilities that have at least one death must test at least this one animal.
Samples for either of these programs can be submitted to a private veterinarian, the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, or an MDARD drop off location.
For more information, contact the MDARD Cervid Program.
General Questions/Concerns: MDARD-Cervid@Michigan.gov
Cervid Program Manager:
Dr. Jennifer Calogero CalogeroJ@Michigan.gov517-284-5692
Cervid Program Secretary: Melanie Hart HartM1@Michigan.gov 517-284-5679
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/animals/cervids/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-surveillance
Privately Owned Cervidae
Raising deer and elk in captivity is jointly regulated by the DNR and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The DNR oversees the registration of facilities containing farmed cervids and performs inspections of these operations. MDARD manages the disease programs for the state’s POC facilities. Participation in disease surveillance programs - such as those for chronic wasting disease (CWD) and the bovine tuberculosis (TB) - ensures for a robust industry by increasing the marketability of these animals by decreasing their potential for carrying disease. There are nearly 300 licensed facilities in 76 Michigan counties totaling over 63,000 fenced acres. The division conducts about 95 facility inspections per year to ensure that fencing and recordkeeping meet industry standards.
2021 Wildlife Health Section Accomplishments
Tested over 8,000 deer heads for bovine tuberculosis and
2,500 heads for chronic wasting disease.
While CWD is not known to be zoonotic, bTB can infect humans, domestic animals and wild animals beyond white-tailed deer.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/79560ac896024e6cb8d925831904a5c7
***> Tested ...and 2,500 heads for chronic wasting disease.
MDNR estimates put the Michigan deer population around 1.75 million for 2019. Dec 25, 2019
Issues Pros and Cons Despite federal, state, and local regulations and other measures intended to prevent the spread or reduce CWD prevalence, the disease continues to be identified in captive cervid facilities certified as “low risk” through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Herd Certification Program and the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) Voluntary Herd Certification Programs (participating in a federally-approved CWD program was a measure of the ATA program). According to the USDA data reports, there were 22 new CWD-positive captive cervid facilities identified in FY2020; 41 percent of those were either enrolled or certified in the federal HCP program. There are a variety of unregulated processes used to collect urine, and they often result in the accumulation of a mixture of secretions, therefore providing concurrent contaminated risks. In addition, urine products are frequently batched/combined from multiple locations and distributed across the country, which increases the likelihood of CWDinfected urine entering the market. There are currently no standard regulations to ensure that urine collected for lures and attractants are disease-free.
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Biological
Nationally, CWD continues to be found in captive cervid facilities.
From the years 2012 to 2021, there have been 66 privately owned cervid facilities nationally where CWD has been identified.
Of those 66 facilities, 39 were enrolled in the HCP, and 32 of those facilities were HCP-certified (meaning there had been at least five years of disease monitoring and no rule violations) indicating low risk for CWD.
This national USDA CWD HCP is not mandatory, and more importantly, recent CWD events show that it does not and cannot guarantee that captive deer herds are CWD free.
To date, CWD has been found in more than 140 captive deer herds in 16 states and two Canadian provinces.
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Signed_05WCO2021_724156_7.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20220218213530/https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Signed_05WCO2021_724156_7.pdf
Front. Vet. Sci., 18 January 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.824815
Evaluation of Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion, ELISA, and Immunohistochemistry for Chronic Wasting Disease Diagnosis
All, except one, CWD positive RLNs analyzed were from ten Counties geographically located in the West Michigan region of the Lower Peninsula. Taken together, we show evidence that the RT-QuIC assay is comparable to ELISA and IHC and could be helpful for routine CWD detection in surveillance programs. RT-QuIC also demonstrated that CWD prions are distributed across lymph nodes in a variety of anatomic locations.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8803730/pdf/fvets-08-824815.pdf
Michigan:
September, 2019: NVSL confirmed CWD in a two year old female white-tailed deer in Montcalm County. The doe was a natural addition to the breeding herd which consists of 50 white-tailed deer. This herd is not enrolled in the Federal HCP, is within a CWDendemic area, and is under quarantine.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/downloads/usaha-annual-cervid-health-report-2019.pdf
Michigan: One new CWD positive herd
Hunt preserve of >600 WTD, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/cervid/voluntary-cwd-hcp-annual-update-fy2020
Farmed Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Activities 2021 Cooperative Agreements
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/downloads/cwd-funding-oppt-annc-fy2021.pdf
archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20211201205141/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/downloads/cwd-funding-oppt-annc-fy2021.pdf
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/cervid/cervid-cwd-2021-funding-faqs
archived page;
http://web.archive.org/web/20210727152518/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/cervid/cervid-cwd-2021-funding-faqs
APHIS also conducts monitoring and surveillance activities to detect diseases that affect cervids, including chronic wasting disease (CWD) and tuberculosis (TB). APHIS’ voluntary national CWD Herd Certification Plan (HCP) works with States, Tribes, and the cervid industry to control CWD in farmed cervids by allowing the interstate movement only from certified herds.
Currently, 28 States participate in the national CWD HCP. In FY 2019 APHIS tested more than 11,000 farmed cervids for CWD.
As a result, APHIS identified 17 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2021notes.pdf
Wild Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Activities 2021
Funding Opportunity USDA APHIS Wildlife Services announced awards for two opportunities for the control and prevention of CWD in wild cervids under the titles of “Wild Cervid CWD Management and Response Activities 2021” and “Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD Opportunities 2021.” See information below. Wild Cervid CWD FOA Wild Cervid CWD FAQs Wild Cervid CWD Management and Response Activities 2021 Cooperative Agreements Wild Cervid CWD 2021 Project Executive Summaries Tribal Nations Wild Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Opportunities 2021 Funding Opportunity Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD FOA Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD FAQs Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD Opportunities 2021 Cooperative Agreements Wild Cervid Tribal CWD 2021 Project Executive Summaries
VS Farmed Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Activities 2021 Funding Opportunity RISK, UNCERTAINTY AND DECISION-MAKING: ASSESSING CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE OCCURRENCE RISK ACROSS AN EMERGENCE SPECTRUM
Exposure hazards included point locations of captive cervid facilities, deer processors and taxidermists, and out-of-area hunting connectivity.
As of 2018, there were a total of 296 ranch and full-registration facilities in Michigan. In terms of their spatial distribution, there were facilities in 196 out of 1240 townships, and 71 out of 83 counties (Fig. 2.1). There were 468 registered deer processors and taxidermists in 2017, the year for which data were available. Processors and taxidermists occurred in 696 out of 1240 townships, and 82 out of 83 counties (Fig. 2.2). Lastly, out-of-area hunting was based on both intrastate and interstate metrics. For intrastate hunting, the percentage of respondents that travelled from one county to another was scaled up to the total number of hunters that reside in a county. CWD positive counties included Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent and Montcalm counties. The average number of hunters per resident county from 2013 – 2017 who travelled to a CWD positive county ranged from 0 – 3832 per year (Fig. 2.3). A low number (i.e., low connectivity) of interstate hunters ranged from 0 – 1059 for the 5-year average, whereas a high number ranged from 1060 – 3832(Fig. 2.3). Interstate hunting was quantified as the number of Michigan resident hunters who purchased an out-of-state license in Wisconsin between years 2013 – 2017 (i.e., nonresident license). For interstate connectivity, I found that average annual number of Michigan county residents that traveled to Wisconsin between 2013 –2017 was 0 – 170 per year (Fig. 2.4). A low number (i.e., low connectivity) of interstate hunters ranged from 0 – 39 for the 5-year average, whereas a high number ranged from 40 – 170 (Fig. 2.4).
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In 2017, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) detected CWD in a 3- year-old white-tailed doe submitted during an early season youth hunt (MDNR 2017). Additional surveillance in the area during 2017 identified 45 total CWD-positive animals in a concentrated disease focus in the west-central Lower Peninsula of Michigan within Kent and Montcalm counties. Nine previous CWD detections had occurred in the state in 2015 and 2016; however, the 2017 detections were the first evidence that CWD might be widespread and established within Michigan. Based on a single year of observation, predicting the area affected by the cluster of disease with distance benchmarks would likely fail to fully encapsulate the affected area. Furthermore, based on the sparsity of data, fitting complex disease models was not possible. Thus, there was an immediate need for an alternative approach that could more appropriately estimate the extent of CWD and identify locations at high risk using limited available information
https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/49428/datastream/OBJ/View/
archived
https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/49428
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/downloads/cwd-funding-ws-executive-summaries.pdf
Prion protein polymorphisms in Michigan white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Caitlin N. Ott-ConnORCID Icon,Julie A. Blanchong &Wes A. Larson
Pages 183-190 | Received 22 Jul 2021, Accepted 01 Oct 2021, Published online: 09 Nov 2021
Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/19336896.2021.1990628
ABSTRACT
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a well-described transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of the Cervidae family, is associated with the aggregation of an abnormal isoform (PrPCWD) of the naturally occurring host prion protein (PrPC). Variations in the PrP gene (PRNP) have been associated with CWD rate of infection and disease progression. We analysed 568 free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 9 CWD-positive Michigan counties for PRNP polymorphisms. Sampling included 185 CWD-positive, 332 CWD non-detected, and an additional 51 CWD non-detected paired to CWD-positives by sex, age, and harvest location. We found 12 polymorphic sites of which 5 were non-synonymous and resulted in a change in amino acid composition. Thirteen haplotypes were predicted, of which 11 have previously been described. Using logistic regression, consistent with other studies, we found haplotypes C (OR = 0.488, 95% CI = 0.321–0.730, P < 0.001) and F (OR = 0.122, 95% CI = 0.007–0.612, P < 0.05) and diplotype BC (OR = 0.340, 95% CI = 0.154–0.709, P < 0.01) were less likely to be found in deer infected with CWD. As has also been documented in other studies, the presence of a serine at amino acid 96 was less likely to be found in deer infected with CWD (P < 0.001, OR = 0.360 and 95% CI = 0.227–0.556). Identification of PRNP polymorphisms associated with reduced vulnerability to CWD in Michigan deer and their spatial distribution can help managers design surveillance programmes and identify and prioritize areas for CWD management.
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Results
PRNP sequences were determined for 568 free-ranging white-tailed deer from 9 CWD-positive Michigan counties. Of these samples, 185 were CWD-positive, 332 were CWD non-detected, and an additional 51 CWD non-detected were paired to CWD-positives to control for sex, age, and harvest location (Figure 1). Within the analysed 625bp region of the PRNP gene, we detected 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 9 of which had been previously reported [22, 29, 33, 36, 38–41]. Of the 12 SNPs, 5 were non-synonymous, resulting in a change to the amino acid sequence (Table 1). BLAST and literature searches indicated that 589A/G, 642 G/A, and 643 C/A had not previously been reported. Full associated sequences have been deposited in GenBank under accession numbers MZ913400 – MZ913401.
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As CWD detections continue to increase the areas under surveillance, the use of regionally specific data to allocate testing efforts and funding will be pivotal for success. Identification of PRNP polymorphisms associated with reduced vulnerability to CWD and their spatial distribution and prevalence may help managers design surveillance programmes to identify and prioritize areas for CWD management when partnered with movement data and anticipated deposition of prions onto the landscape over time.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2021.1990628
77. Assessing chronic wasting disease strain differences in free-ranging cervids across the United States
Kaitlyn M. Wagnera, Caitlin Ott-Connb, Kelly Strakab, Bob Dittmarc, Jasmine Battend, Robyn Piercea, Mercedes Hennessya, Elizabeth Gordona, Brett Israela, Jenn Ballarde and Mark D Zabela
aPrion Research Center at Colorado State University; bMichigan Department of Natural Resources; cTexas Parks and Wildlife Department; dMissouri Department of Conservation, 5. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission CONTACT Kaitlyn M. Wagner miedkait@rams.colostate.edu
ABSTRACT
Background/Introduction: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an invariably fatal prion disease affecting captive and free-ranging cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, elk, and reindeer. Since the initial description of the disease in the 1960’s, CWD has spread to 23 states, 3 Canadian Provinces, South Korea, Norway and, most recently, Finland. While some outbreaks of CWD were caused by transport of infected animals from endemic regions, the origin of CWD in other epizootics is unclear and has not been characterized. Previous studies have shown that there are two distinct strains of CWD. However, the continuous spread and the unclear origin of several outbreaks warrant continued surveillance and further characterization of strain diversity.
Materials and Methods: To address these knowledge gaps, we used biochemical tests to assess strain differences between CWD outbreaks in Michigan, Texas, Missouri, and Colorado, USA. Brain or lymph node samples were homogenized and digested in 50 µg/mL proteinase K (PK). These samples were then run on a Western blot to assess glycoform ratio and electrophoretic mobility. Texas samples were digested in 100 µg/mL PK. To assess conformational stability, brain or lymph node homogenates were incubated in increasing concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride from 0 M to 4 M in 0.5 M increments. Samples were then precipitated in methanol overnight, washed and PK digested in 50 µg/mL PK before slot blotting.
Results: Our results have found significant differences in glycoform ratio between CWD from Michigan and Colorado, but no differences were observed in conformational stability assays. Interestingly, when testing our CWD isolates from Texas to analyse electrophoretic mobility and glycoform ratio, we found that these samples did not exhibit the characteristic band shift when treated with PK, but PK resistant material remained. Additionally, results from our conformational stability assay demonstrate a unique profile of these Texas isolates. Testing of samples from Missouri is currently underway.
Conclusions: Thus far, our data indicate that there are strain differences between CWD circulating in Michigan and CWD in Colorado and provide important insight into CWD strain differences between two non-contiguous outbreaks. We have also identified a unique strain of CWD in Texas with biochemical strain properties not seen in any of our other CWD isolates. These results highlight the importance of continued surveillance to better understand this devastating disease. These results have important implications for CWD emergence, evolution and our understanding of prion strain heterogeneity on the landscape.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2019.1615197
Special Surveillance Area (SSA) Counties for Farmed Deer
Calhoun (CA)
Clinton (CN)
Dickinson (DK)
Eaton (ET)
Gratiot (GT)
Hillsdale (HD)
Ingham (IN)
Ionia (IO)
Jackson (JK)
Kent (KN)
Lenawee (LN)
Livingston (LV)
Mecosta (MT)
Menominee (MO)
Montcalm (MT)
Newaygo (NW)
Saginaw (SG)
Shiawassee (SH)
Washtenaw (WA)
SSAs as of December 18, 2019
SSAs are established when a free-ranging or farmed deer is identified with chronic wasting disease.
Contact the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Cervid Program at MDARD-Cervid@Michigan.gov or 517-284-5679.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/animals/cervids/special_surveillance_areas_for_farmed_deer.pdf?rev=6497528a63b94975a982c9fc08039db3&hash=4AA0BEE0C1C96A0D34EE935AA0F55189
http://web.archive.org/web/20220520151213/https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/animals/cervids/special_surveillance_areas_for_farmed_deer.pdf?rev=6497528a63b94975a982c9fc08039db3&hash=4AA0BEE0C1C96A0D34EE935AA0F55189
Special Surveillance Area (SSA) If a free-ranging or privately-owned cervid (POC) tests positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), then a buffer circle is created around that positive animal. This buffer circle is referred to as a Special Surveillance Area (SSA). POC facilities that fall within a SSA will have increased CWD testing requirements.
More specifically, if a free-ranging cervid is found to be positive for CWD, a 15-mile radius circle is created around the positive animal. And, if a POC is found to be positive for CWD, a 5-mile radius circle is created around the positive animal. Further, for both cases, the SSA extends to the entirety of the county of the infected animal and any county that the 15-mile or 5-mile circle touches.
For a complete list of counties that are included within a particular SSA, please review the map below.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-48096_100264-530074--,00.html
Livestock Diseases:
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 46
Number of herds involved in special surveillance zones around CWD positive free-ranging deer 84 84
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdard/2020_Animal_Industry_Division_Annual_Report_719508_7.pdf
MDARD CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties
... Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) at two separate farmed deer facilities, one ... 123 free-ranging deer from Montcalm County. "Since chronic wasting disease can significantly impact all Michigan deer, it is ...
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-565732--,00.html
MDARD CWD Identified in Newaygo County Farmed Deer
... Agriculture and Rural and Development (MDARD) has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in three white-tailed deer from a ... rule out exposure of any other farmed deer. "Chronic wasting disease is a serious disease affecting both farmed and ...
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-516936--,00.html
MDARD CWD identified in a Montcalm County farmed deer
... Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed a case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a four-year-old white-tailed ... 123 free-ranging deer in Montcalm County. "As chronic wasting disease affects both farmed and free-ranging deer, MDARD ...
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-554427--,00.html
Michigan CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties
CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties
For immediate release: August 11, 2021 Media contact: Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) at two separate farmed deer facilities, one in Mecosta County and one in Montcalm County. The two infected deer, a two-year-old and a four-year-old, were discovered through routine testing as part of the state's CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The disease can be transmitted directly from one animal to another, as well as indirectly through the environment. While an infected deer may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the latter stages of the disease.
The presence of CWD in farmed and free-ranging deer is not new to Michigan. Since 2008, and including these new cases, CWD has been detected at eight Michigan deer farms in the following counties: Kent, Mecosta (3), Montcalm (3), and Newaygo.
With free-ranging deer, CWD was first discovered in May 2015, and cases have been found across nine counties in Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, while no free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for CWD in Mecosta County, the disease has been detected in 123 free-ranging deer from Montcalm County.
"Since chronic wasting disease can significantly impact all Michigan deer, it is vitally important to detect the disease as early as possible," said State Veterinarian Nora Wineland, DVM. "Early detection allows MDARD and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to work in collaboration with farmers and hunters to stem the spread and manage this serious disease."
As part of MDARD's disease response, investigations are being conducted to rule out exposure to any other farmed deer.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that infected animals should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125--565732--,00.html
CWD identified in a Montcalm County farmed deer
For immediate release: March 12, 2021 Media contact: Jessy Sielski, 517-331-1151
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed a case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a four-year-old white-tailed deer from a Montcalm County deer farm. The case was found through samples that were submitted for routine testing as part of the state's CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. CWD can be transmitted directly from one animal to another, as well as indirectly through the environment. While an infected deer may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the latter stages of the disease.
The discovery of CWD in farmed and free-ranging deer is not new to the state of Michigan. Since 2008, and including this new case, CWD has been detected at six Michigan deer farms in the following counties: Kent, Mecosta (2), Montcalm (2), and Newaygo.
With free-ranging deer, CWD was first discovered in May 2015, and cases have been found across nine counties in both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, CWD has been detected in 123 free-ranging deer in Montcalm County.
"As chronic wasting disease affects both farmed and free-ranging deer, MDARD works in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the state's deer farmers to detect and manage this serious disease," said State Veterinarian Nora Wineland, DVM. "Due to the nature of the disease, it is imperative that farmers, hunters, DNR, and MDARD continue to work in collaboration to protect all of Michigan's deer."
As part of MDARD's disease response, an investigation will be conducted to rule out exposure of any other farmed deer.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend infected animals not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-554427--,00.html
Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease ACTIVE
By National Wildlife Health Center February 5, 2022
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/expanding-distribution-chronic-wasting-disease
Michigan CWD Testing Results Deer Harvested in 2021 Statewide Total 22 Positive To Date For Year in Wild
CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2021
Test results updated as of December 13, 2021.
Totals reflected in this update only include those with final test results.
Deer with pending results are not included in these totals.
Zone Total Tested Number Positive
UP CWD Core Surveillance Area 193 0
South Isabella + Gratiot 749 3
South Jackson 855 12
Totals 1797 15
Testing numbers above are part of the county totals in the larger table below.
County Name Total Tested Number Positive
Allegan 290 0
Barry 150 0
Berrien 77 0
Branch 104 0
Calhoun 139 0
Cass 64 0
Eaton 82 0
Hillsdale 204 0
N. Jackson 135 0
Kalamazoo 196 0
Lenawee 118 0
Livingston 68 0
Macomb 13 0
Monroe 34 0
Oakland 43 0
St. Joseph 81 0
Van Buren 155 0
Washtenaw 178 0
Wayne 9 0
Total to date 2106 0
These counties are open for hunter service testing November 15-18 ONLY. There are no surveillance goals.
County Name Total Tested Number Positive
Clinton 45 0
Dickinson (non-core) 3 0
Ingham 32 0
Ionia 35 1
Kent 47 1
Montcalm 53 5
Total to date 215 7 Deer tested in remainder of state 113 0 Positive
Statewide Total 3865 22 Positive
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-538324--,00.html
archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20200925142120/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-538324--,00.html
Michigan MDARD Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Two Farmed Elk from Kent County
For immediate release: November 18, 2021 Media contact: Chelsea Lewis-Parisio, 517-331-1151
MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Two Farmed Elk from Kent County
LANSING, MI – Today, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk from a farmed cervid facility in Kent County. The two infected elk, a two-and-a-half-year-old and a three-and-a-half-year-old, were discovered through disease tracing efforts that resulted from finding CWD in a different Michigan farmed cervid herd. These are the first cases of CWD in Michigan elk.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects different cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The disease can be transmitted directly from one animal to another and indirectly through the environment. While an infected animal may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the latter stages of the disease.
“The discovery of chronic wasting disease in elk housed at a facility linked to a positive animal is not surprising,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland, DVM. “MDARD’s main priority is to limit the spread of this disease by working together with other state departments, farmers, and ranchers. These findings underscore how important it is to pay attention to CWD and the movement of animals that may allow the disease to spread.”
The presence of CWD in farmed cervid facilities and free-ranging deer is not new to Michigan. Since 2008, including these new cases, CWD has been detected at nine Michigan cervid farms in the following counties: Kent (2), Mecosta (3), Montcalm (3), and Newaygo.
No wild elk have tested positive for CWD in Michigan. The disease was first discovered in free-ranging deer in May 2015; cases have been found across nine counties in Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, 37 free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for CWD in Kent County.
As part of MDARD’s disease response, investigations are ongoing to rule out any possible exposure to other farmed cervids.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that animals that have tested positive for CWD should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at http://Michigan.gov/CWD or http://Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDARD/bulletins/2fcd9a1
Michigan CWD TSE Prion TOTAL WILD CERVID 220 POSITIVE TO DATE, CAPTIVE CWD TOTAL???
PERSONAL COMMUNICATION DNR...see;
Mon, Aug 9, 2021 11:46 am
''The interactive hot map you are referencing is updated regularly, at least once a month, but even more regularly during hunting season as that is when we receive most samples and theoretical positives. All 209 animals to date are wild. No captive cervid deer are listed in our testing metrics because they fall into a different category of management as overseen by Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). Because they are captive they are treated as domestic animals – same as cows, horses, and pigs. If you were inquiring about CWD+ private cervids you will have to reach out to them as we don’t so much focus on total individuals positive as we do positive herds and locations (which again they would be best to ask).'' ''Our 2021 testing totals account for 11 positives this year, all USDA-APHIS or Disease Permit culled animals in Gratiot (3) and Jackson (8) counties. I am digging into when the interactive map was last updated now, but at a worst that would but our total positive at 220 over Michigan’s history of testing if it hadn’t been recently updated (which is possible as USDA-APHIS shooting just recently started up again in July after a multi-month break).''
YOU can see CWD here;
https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20171018014630/https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
Where has chronic wasting disease (CWD) been found in Michigan?
Since the initial finding of CWD on May 20, 2015, free-ranging deer in Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent and Montcalm counties have been positively confirmed with CWD. Please visit Michigan.gov/CWD for more information on CWD and the latest news and testing updates. See pages 56-57 and 61-62 for important regulations pertaining to CWD.
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/hunting_and_trapping_digest_461177_7.pdf
Assessing drivers of spread and transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in Michigan deer
Primary Contact: Dr. Dwayne Etter, DNR Wildlife Division, Lansing, Michigan
Email: etterd@michigan.gov
Phone: (517) 284-4720
DNR Financial Support: $120,149 in FY19, $502,737 total.
Study Area: South-central Lower Peninsula
Time Frame: 10/1/2017-9/30/2022
Abstract:
The occurrence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Michigan challenges the foundations of wildlife conservation, both in the short term and perhaps more significantly in the longer term. In the short term, CWD is causing reallocation of precious financial and staff-time resources and will be widely disruptive to existing programs of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In the longer term, diseases such as CWD pose a threat to the financial cornerstone of fisheries and wildlife programs because sales of deer hunting licenses represent a large proportion of annual revenue for the Division of Wildlife. Recognizing these threats, the Division of Wildlife included wildlife disease in its Guiding Principles and Strategies (Objective 1.3: monitor and preserve the health of Michigan’s wildlife) and prepared a comprehensive Surveillance and Response Plan for Chronic Wasting Disease of Free-ranging and Privately Owned Cervids.
Chronic wasting disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that infects North American cervids including white-tailed deer (Williams 2005). The infectious agent of CWD is a misfolded protein, a prion, which accumulates in the brainstem and lymphatic tissue of infected animals and results in neurodegeneration and eventual death. In states where CWD is established it has emerged as a major threat, reducing the health of populations and causing long-term population decline (Edmunds et al. 2016, Gross and Miller 2001, Manjerovic et al. 2014).
The discovery of CWD in Michigan creates an immediate need for population monitoring and surveillance of at-risk deer populations. Since 2015, nine infected individuals have been identified following collection through state surveillance efforts, representing key successes in targeted disease management. However, the continued discovery of infected individuals in 2016 suggests a high likelihood that additional infected individuals remain on the landscape. The occurrence of a small number of infected animals across a relatively small geographic region in mid-Michigan indicates that the disease is still emerging.
What distinguishes the research proposed here from extensive work done in other states is that CWD is still in an emergent phase in Michigan. Michigan discovered the disease early during a time when transmission of the disease may be more dependent on the density of deer on the landscape because most infections are through direct contact of infected animals with susceptible individuals. This situation is similar only to New York and Minnesota. In all other states where CWD has been discovered, the disease was already well established, and transmission included infection mediated by contact of susceptible individuals with severely contaminated environments. Our research in Michigan is intended to explore management options for the control of an emerging occurrence of CWD through better understanding of behavior and population dynamics of deer inhabiting areas of known infection.
The goal of this research is to improve the cost-efficiency of detecting CWD when it is still rare and removing animals from the landscape to control the spread of disease, by reducing contact among deer and potentially eliminating infectious animals. We intend to take a multi-pronged approach to accomplish this goal and the work described here will complement another study that seeks to develop new methods for detecting and removing diseased animals. The effort described here is designed to accumulate a dataset on movement behavior of deer that is of high temporal and spatial resolution to address questions about dispersal rates, directions and distances; evaluate hypotheses about environmental factors that are likely influences on dispersal behavior; parameterize risk maps of first-order contact for Michigan in concert with data and prior research in New York State; and create models of the interaction of landscape contexts (e.g., suburban, rural) and habitat characteristics that can be used to direct hunters and biologists to increase the efficiency of surveillance and removal actions. Our objectives address the strategic plans set forth by the Michigan DNR to “1.3.1: Develop and implement strategies to prevent and control diseases before they occur; 1.3.2: Respond to wildlife disease outbreaks; 1.3.4: Conduct research and monitoring to provide information to make management recommendations regarding wildlife disease; 1.3.5: Raise awareness regarding current and emerging wildlife health issues; and 1.3.6: Work with State and Federal agencies, and stakeholders to address wildlife health issues.”
12 IC4117 (Rev. 02/02/2021)
control of an emerging occurrence of CWD through better understanding of behavior and population dynamics of deer inhabiting areas of known infection.
The goal of this research is to improve the cost-efficiency of detecting CWD when it is still rare and removing animals from the landscape to control the spread of disease, by reducing contact among deer and potentially eliminating infectious animals. We intend to take a multi-pronged approach to accomplish this goal and the work described here will complement another study that seeks to develop new methods for detecting and removing diseased animals. The effort described here is designed to accumulate a dataset on movement behavior of deer that is of high temporal and spatial resolution to address questions about dispersal rates, directions and distances; evaluate hypotheses about environmental factors that are likely influences on dispersal behavior; parameterize risk maps of first-order contact for Michigan in concert with data and prior research in New York State; and create models of the interaction of landscape contexts (e.g., suburban, rural) and habitat characteristics that can be used to direct hunters and biologists to increase the efficiency of surveillance and removal actions.
Our objectives address the strategic plans set forth by the Michigan DNR to “1.3.1: Develop and implement strategies to prevent and control diseases before they occur; 1.3.2: Respond to wildlife disease outbreaks; 1.3.4: Conduct research and monitoring to provide information to make management recommendations regarding wildlife disease; 1.3.5: Raise awareness regarding current and emerging wildlife health issues; and 1.3.6: Work with State and Federal agencies, and stakeholders to address wildlife health issues.”
Management of Chronic Wasting Disease in Michigan
Primary Contact: Dr. Kelly Straka, DNR Wildlife Division, Lansing, Michigan
Email: StrakaK1@michigan.gov
Phone: (517) 336-5030
DNR Financial Support: $50,000 in FY19, $250,000 total.
Study Area: Statewide.
Time Frame: 10/01/2016-09/30/2022
Abstract: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that infects North American cervids including white-tailed deer (Williams 2005). The infectious agent of CWD is a misfolded protein, a prion, that accumulates in the brainstem and lymphatic tissue of infected animals and results in neurodegeneration and eventual death. In states where CWD is established, it has emerged as a major threat, reducing the health of populations and causing long-term population decline (Edmunds et. al. 2016, Gross and Miller 2001, Manjerovic et. al. 2014). 15 IC4117 (Rev. 02/02/2021)
The occurrence of CWD in Michigan challenges the foundations of wildlife conservation, both in the short term and perhaps more significantly in the longer term. In the short term, CWD is causing reallocation of precious financial and staff-time resources and will be widely disruptive to existing programs. In the longer term, diseases such as CWD pose a threat to the financial cornerstone of fisheries and wildlife programs because sales of deer hunting licenses represent such a large proportion of annual revenue. Recognizing these threats, the Wildlife Division included wildlife disease in its Guiding Principles and Strategies (Objective 1.3: Monitor and preserve the health of Michigan’s wildlife) and prepared a comprehensive Surveillance and Response Plan for Chronic Wasting Disease of Free-ranging and Privately Owned Cervids.
The discovery of CWD in Michigan creates an immediate need for tools that better assess the return-oninvestment of funds for surveillance and management of CWD. We propose building on risk assessment and modeling that was previously developed during a CWD outbreak in New York. There, we showed how costs of CWD containment could be reduced dramatically by using risk modeling procedures and mapping areas where management action would have the greatest impact on disease control (Williams et. al. 2014). We plan to expand on those efforts by adapting them to Michigan and drawing on newly emerging tools for population estimation and risk analysis procedures that we have been using on other research (e.g., local-scale monitoring of deer populations using distance sampling and evaluation of wild turkey harvest regulations using statistical risk modeling).
Our objectives address the strategies set forth in the Wildlife Division’s Guiding Principles and Strategies to “1.3.1: Develop and implement strategies to prevent and control diseases before they occur, 1.3.2: Respond to wildlife disease outbreaks, 1.3.4: Conduct research and monitoring to provide information to make management recommendations regarding wildlife disease, 1.3.5: Raise awareness regarding current and emerging wildlife health issues and 1.3.6: Work with State and Federal agencies and stakeholders to address wildlife health issues.” Specifically, we will provide managers with decision tools to: (1) evaluate the risk of spread of disease against the geographic extent of management action and attendant financial and political costs, (2) evaluate management alternatives to control CWD and assess the risk of local cases of CWD transitioning from emergent status to established status (where the disease becomes a self-sustaining reservoir within a population) and (3) monitor management outcomes for deer population abundance and disease prevalence.
Quantifying Upper Peninsula deer movements and abundance: preparing for CWD management
Primary Contact: Dr. Dean Beyer Jr., DNR Wildlife Division, Marquette, Michigan
Email: beyerd@michigan.gov
Phone: (906) 228-6561
DNR Financial Support: $117,759 in FY19, $613,001 total.
Study Area: Upper Peninsula
Time Frame: 10/1/2017-9/30/2021
Abstract:
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) occurs in free-ranging white-tailed deer in Lower Michigan, and in our neighboring state of Wisconsin where the disease is endemic. Although wildlife managers have not documented CWD in the Upper Peninsula, managers found infected deer in two Wisconsin captive cervid facilities near the Michigan border. Officials identified the disease in a facility in Oneida County, Wisconsin, about 40 km from our Iron County border and a second positive deer in Oconto County, Wisconsin, about 50 km from our Menominee County border.
While it is not possible to predict if or when we will find CWD in the Upper Peninsula, preparations seem prudent. A scientifically based understanding of deer movements and estimates of population abundance are critical for developing management recommendations in response to CWD. Deer movements and abundance can influence the probability of disease occurrence, contact rates which can affect transmission rate, and geographic extent of an outbreak (e.g., Oyer et al. 2007, Skult et al. 2008, Webb et al. 2010). Importantly, these data take time to gather and managers need this information at the time of first discovery. Thus, waiting for a disease outbreak before gathering these data would put managers at a disadvantage. Important deer movements to understand include seasonal home ranges, migration (especially important in the Upper Peninsula), dispersal, transient, and exploratory.
Information on these movements would inform decisions on identification of CWD management zones. The current strategy is to establish a 16-km radius circle around the location of an infected cervid and include entire counties whose boundaries intersect this circle as part of the CWD management zone. Further, if results from local population surveys or other credible scientific data suggest that cervids from within the radius are likely to move beyond the management zone boundary, the boundary should be expanded accordingly. In the Upper Peninsula, deer can seasonally migrate 50 km (Van Deelen et al. 1998), with overall movements exceeding 80 km (Doepker et al. 2015). These migratory movements, as well as other movements (e.g., dispersal), are currently unknown and certainly not aligned with or contained within county boundaries. Although some information exists on deer movements in the UP, most of this work relied on tag returns that do not provide the needed level of spatial and temporal resolution to inform management responses to a disease outbreak.
Consequently, If CWD was detected in the UP, large areas would likely be under surveillance and management that would not contain infected deer and large areas with potential for infected deer would not be within the prescribed surveillance zone, rendering the current management zone less effective. The Upper Peninsula Region (UPR), Biological and Social Sciences Section (BSSS), Wildlife Health Section (WHS), and Mississippi State University (MSU) wish to develop a program to address the need for information on deer movements. The core work would entail deploying GPS collars on deer in select wintering complexes and conditional winter range (starting along WI border) and documenting movements over three years. To complete the capture and collaring work, we would work cooperatively with interested sportspersons.
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/IC4117_SummaryofSustainableForestryResearch_652352_7.pdf
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79772_79773_83479---,00.html
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20190723145018/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20190723144916/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536_90552_90560---,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20190324032939/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516---,00.html
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
Michigan CWD TSE Prion 211 Cases To Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/09/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-211-cases-to-date.html
Michigan CWD TSE Prion 211 Cases To Date
Deer Tested for Chronic Wasting Disease Since Detection of First Positive Free-ranging Deer (May 2015)
https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.htmlTotalDeer Tested and Total Positives Cases CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2020 CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2019 CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2018 Michigan Lower Peninsula townships where free-ranging deer have tested positive for CWD https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible neurological disease found in deer and elk populations that produces small lesions in brains of infected animals. As a result, CWD causes weight loss and a decline in body control. It is a species-specific disease, and there have been no cases in humans or other animals.
Currently, to determine the presence of CWD, brain and lymph node samples are taken by an accredited veterinarian after an animal dies. These samples are then submitted for testing.
As part of their operations, all privately-owned cervid (POC) facilities in Michigan are required to submit samples. The number of samples that must be submitted depends on what specific program that a producer participates in: the Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (CWD HCP) or the Surveillance Program.
First, for the CWD HCP, all cervids 12 months of age and older that die for any reason must be tested for CWD.
Second, all facilities that are not a part of the CWD HCP must participate in the Surveillance Program. The Surveillance Program requires that all animals 12 months of age and older that die from illness, injury, or euthanasia due to disease must be tested for CWD. In addition, 25% of cervids slaughtered, hunted, or culled must be tested. This number is calculated on an annual basis. In general, all facilities that have at least one death must test at least this one animal.
Samples for either of these programs can be submitted to a private veterinarian, the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, or an MDARD drop off location.
For more information, contact the MDARD Cervid Program.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-48096_100264-530075--,00.html
APPENDIX A: 2020 REPORTABLE DISEASES
Livestock Diseases:
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 46
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdard/2020_Animal_Industry_Division_Annual_Report_719508_7.pdf
CWD Identified in Newaygo County Farmed Deer
For Immediate Release: January 14, 2020 Media Contact: Jessy Sielski, 517-284-5725
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural and Development (MDARD) has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in three white-tailed deer from a Newaygo County deer farm. All three deer were four-and-a-half years old. The samples were submitted for routine testing as part of the state's CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
To date, CWD has not been detected in free-ranging deer in Newaygo County. As part of MDARD's disease response, an investigation will be conducted to rule out exposure of any other farmed deer.
"Chronic wasting disease is a serious disease affecting both farmed and free-ranging deer," said State Veterinarian Nora Wineland, DVM. "MDARD and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources work together, in partnership with the state's deer farmers, to ensure the protection of all of Michigan's deer."
Since 2008, CWD has been detected in four additional privately-owned cervid facilities from Kent, Mecosta, and Montcalm Counties. The deer farm in Newaygo County is the fifth Michigan farm in which CWD has been detected.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. CWD can be transmitted directly from one animal to another, as well as indirectly through the environment. Infected animals may display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss and physical debilitation. To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that infected animals not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-516936--,00.html
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdard/May_15_2019_Commission_Meeting_Materials_655387_7.pdf
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516---,00.html
Total Deer Tested and Total Positives Cases CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2020 CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2019 CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2018 Michigan Lower Peninsula townships where free-ranging deer have tested positive for CWD https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
Greenville man charged with violating CWD deer requirements
By Elisabeth Waldon | on February 03, 2021
Eric Snyder
EUREKA TOWNSHIP — A Greenville man is facing half a dozen charges related to his alleged improper handling of deer with chronic wasting disease (CWD).
Eric David Snyder, 51, is charged with three counts of animal industry acts (privately owned cervidae) two counts of animal industry acts (felony violation) and one count of animals burial.
According to Montcalm County Prosecutor Andrea Krause, the alleged crimes occurred between March 2019 and February 2020. The Department of Natural Resources investigated, however, Snyder wasn’t charged until December 2020 and he wasn’t arraigned until Jan. 21. Krause said the coronavirus pandemic likely played a role in the delay.
According to Krause, Snyder owned Fieldview Whitetails, a deer farm/ranch in Eureka Township.
“He had a deer test positive for CWD,” Krause said. “(Snyder) dumped the deer outside the farm in violation of the law. He also violated a quarantine of the other deer he had on his farm.”
A deer with CWD in Montcalm County was discovered in October 2017 and as a precaution in January 2018, all privately owned deer facilities were put into mandatory quarantine if they were within 15 miles of a deer that tested positive, according to Krause. In March 2019, a deer at Snyder’s farm was discovered to have CWD, and a follow-up investigation later that month discovered the alleged violations at the farm, according to Krause.
Snyder is being represented by attorney Jeff Crampton. If convicted, Snyder faces to from 90 days to five years prison and/or fines and costs.
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https://thedailynews.cc/articles/greenville-man-charged-with-violating-cwd-deer-requirements/
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022
Michigan’s 2021 deer seasons included targeted CWD surveillance, 25 positive deer
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2022/04/michigans-2021-deer-seasons-included.html
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2021
Prion protein polymorphisms in Michigan white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/11/prion-protein-polymorphisms-in-michigan.html
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021
Michigan shifts approach to monitor spread of deadly deer disease deer CWD TSE Prion 220 cases confirmed in WILD to date, captive?
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/10/michigan-shifts-approach-to-monitor.html
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021
Michigan CWD TSE Prion TOTAL WILD CERVID 220 POSITIVE TO DATE, CAPTIVE CWD TOTAL
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/10/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-total-wild.html
MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021
Michigan Total CWD Positive/Suspect Positive Deer 209 Cases To Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/06/michigan-total-cwd-positivesuspect.html
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2020
Michigan, to date, CWD TSE Prion has been detected in 197 cervid
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/11/michigan-to-date-cwd-tse-prion-has-been.html
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2020
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion increases to 191 positive to date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/10/michigan-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.html
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020
Michigan CWD TSE Prion 189 Positive To Date UPDATE September 2020
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/09/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-189-positive-to.html
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020
Michigan CWD TSE Prion Total Suspect Positive Deer Moves Up To 188 with total deer tested 80,687 to date
https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/03/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-total-suspect.html
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
Michigan CWD TSE Prion Total Suspect Positive Deer Jumps To 181 to date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-total-suspect.html
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
Michigan CWD TSE Prion MDARD 3 positive white-tailed deer from a Newaygo County deer farm depopulation and quarantine efforts update?
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-mdard-3-positive.html
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
Michigan MDARD has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in 3 white-tailed deer from a Newaygo County deer farm
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-mdard-has-confirmed-chronic.html
TUESDAY, JANUARY 07, 2020
Michigan Total CWD TSE Prion Positive Suspect-Positive Deer Jump To 174 confirmed to date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-total-cwd-tse-prion-positive.html
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019
Michigan Total CWD TSE Prion Positive Suspect-Positive Deer Jump To 162 confirmed to date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/12/michigan-total-cwd-tse-prion-positive.html
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
Michigan Total CWD TSE Prion Positive/Suspect-Positive Deer 140 To Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/11/michigan-total-cwd-tse-prion.html
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2019
Michigan Total CWD TSE Prion Positive, Suspect Positive, Deer 136 To Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/11/michigan-total-cwd-tse-prion-positive.html
2019 CWD Testing Goals and Results as of October 18, 2019
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-501527--,00.html
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019
Michigan DNR reports CWD-positive deer in Hamilton Township, Gratiot County
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-dnr-reports-cwd-positive-deer.html
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 05, 2019
Michigan MSU SCIENTISTS ARE TESTING A FASTER WAY TO DETECT CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-msu-scientists-are-testing.html
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2019
Michigan TWO MORE CWD TSE PRION POSITIVES Total Now At 124 Positive
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/09/michigan-two-more-cwd-tse-prion.html
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019
Michigan House Bill 4687 State Legislators Turn To Draft Dodger Ted Nugent To Make Scientific Decisions over DNR on CWD TSE Prion
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/09/michigan-house-bill-4687-state.html
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2019
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Two More Cases Total 122 To Date
Michigan 2024 CWD Results This table represents the CWD testing summary of deer harvested/collected in 2024. Totals reflected in this update, current as of 4/5/2025, only include those with final test results. Deer with pending results are not included in these totals.
Zone/County Total Tested # Positive
Antrim 322 0
Arenac 368 0
Baraga 13 0
Benzie 131 0
Cheboygan 164 0
Chippewa 178 0
Clare 145 0
Dickinson 143 0
Gladwin 258 0
Grand Traverse 141 0
Houghton 71 0
Iosco 186 0
Kalkaska 37 0
Keweenaw 15 0
Leelanau 154 0
Luce 32 0
Mackinac 58 0
Manistee 324 0
Ogemaw 355 0
Ontonagon 5 0
Otsego 124 0
Schoolcraft 34 0
z—Total 3258 0
Total Tested # Positive
Remainder of State* 1208 7
Statewide Total for 2024** 4466 7
**Certain deer not included in totals (e.g., insufficient samples, fawns, missing gender/age). With those and pending results included, statewide total = 4,484
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2024-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
Michigan CWD History chart
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/-/media/Project/Websites/dnr/Documents/Boards/NRC/2024/April-2024/CWD.pdf
Michigan Captive Cervid
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/animals/cervids
MDARD - CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties August 11, 2021
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. ... More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2021/08/11/cwd-confirmed-at-farmed-deer-facilities-in-mecosta-and-montcalm-counties
Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Two Farmed Elk from Kent County November 18, 2021
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2021/11/18/chronic-wasting-disease-confirmed-in-two-farmed-elk-from-kent-county
Date of Index Case Confirmation Index Case State County Species Herd Type HCP Enrolled HCP Certified Number of Animals Herd Status
4/9/2025 6 YR Male MI Montcalm WTD Breeder No No 86 Quarantine
2/21/25 7 YR Female MI Osceola WTD Hunt No No 201 Quarantine
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/status-of-captive-herds.pdf
As of December 8, 2023, CWD was confirmed in privately-owned cervid facilities from the following counties: Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, and Newaygo.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/animals/cervids/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-surveillanceo
Michigan
Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report
Appendix A: 2023 Reportable Diseases
LIVESTOCK DISEASES:
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 4 Herds
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/2023/2023-Bureau-of-Food-Safety-and-Animal-Health-Annual-Report.pdf
https://www.michigan.gov/search#q=captive%20Cervid%20cwd&f-miweb_site_agency_name=Department%20of%20Agriculture%20%26%20Rural%20Development
To view current and historical Chronic Wasting Disease testing results, make a selection from the options below.
Total of confirmed CWD-positive deer 2015 – present: 253
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
Page 2
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
Michigan DNR reports Ogemaw County’s first CWD-positive deer in Klacking Township, Ogemaw County
Oct. 31, 2023
Contact: Chad Stewart, 517-282-4810
DNR reports Ogemaw County’s first CWD-positive deer; hunters in north-central part of county encouraged to check deer A 4-year-old doe that was reported to be in poor condition – skinny, drooling and showing no fear of people – in Klacking Township, Ogemaw County, recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease. It is the first CWD-positive wild deer from that county, a finding confirmed by the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Madison, which works with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to identify CWD in Michigan’s wild herd.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, elk and moose. To date, the disease also has been detected in the following Michigan counties: Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Midland and Montcalm.
“When we find chronic wasting disease in a brand-new location, where previous intensive surveillance has not yet been done, it becomes extremely important for wildlife disease managers to understand where additional cases might be within that county,” said DNR deer and elk specialist Chad Stewart. “In light of this new detection, we are offering additional opportunities for those interested in getting their deer tested for CWD in Ogemaw County.”
A drop box for CWD testing will be available at the Rifle River Recreation Area headquarters, located at 2550 Rose City Road in Lupton, starting Friday, Nov. 3. The check station typically operated at the DNR field office located at 410 Fairview Road in West Branch will be open Nov. 15-30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The field office will be closed Nov. 23-24 for the Thanksgiving holiday. Self-service test kits, typically available in other locations where CWD has been identified, will not be available in Ogemaw County due to concerns of bovine tuberculosis disease transmission in the county.
Stewart said that CWD is not common among deer in Michigan, and the hunting community can continue to play a key role in assisting the department in disease-testing efforts.
“The DNR sets surveillance goals – basically, a number of deer tested in a particular area – to understand the scale of infection in the local deer herd,” he said. “The closer we come to meeting these goals, the more data we have to identify where and to what extent chronic wasting disease exists in Michigan. Strong hunter participation in testing is critical to that learning, especially in areas where we haven’t yet met surveillance goals.”
Testing background, strategy In addition to testing around areas of known CWD positives, the DNR in 2021 began a rotational approach to testing around the state. A group of counties is selected each year, with the eventual aim of testing enough deer in every Michigan county.
The goal of this approach is early disease detection, as management has the potential to be most effective when the disease is caught early. Most of these areas have not had a CWD detection or have not previously been part of intensive testing efforts, so little is known about disease status or pathways in these locations. In 2021 and 2022, the rotational approach focused testing in areas of both the southwestern and southeastern Lower Peninsula.
This year, testing will focus on the northwestern Lower Peninsula and a few counties in other areas where additional herd information is still needed. The focal counties for 2023 CWD testing include Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Hillsdale, Isabella, Kalkaska, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Osceola and Wexford. These counties will have CWD testing drop boxes, staffed submission sites, and partner processors and taxidermists to assist with collection efforts.
In the rest of the state, testing is available through direct submission by hunters to a cooperating U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved diagnostic laboratory for a fee or through free self-sample shipping kits in counties where CWD has previously been detected.
Since CWD was first detected in 2015, over 103,000 deer have been tested for CWD in Michigan. There have been over 137,000 wild deer tested in total. The Ogemaw County deer is the Department’s 251st positive animal.
To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in people. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that infected animals not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
Hunters also are reminded to use caution when field-dressing or processing a deer. This includes practices such as wearing rubber gloves, minimizing contact with the deer’s brain and spinal tissue, and washing your hands with soap and warm water after handling any parts of the carcass.
Proper disposal of a deer carcass is critical to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease. Deer carcasses should go directly to a landfill or be disposed of through your regular trash pickup to be taken to a landfill. Deer harvested from known CWD areas should never be disposed of on the landscape in non-CWD areas.
For more information on chronic wasting disease, visit Michigan.gov/CWD.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDNR/bulletins/378a3d4
MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Newaygo County Michigan
Dept of Agriculture & Rural Development sent this bulletin at 05/02/2023 11:15 AM EDT
For immediate release: May 2, 2023 Media contact: Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724 or Chelsea Lewis, 517-331-1151
MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Newaygo County LANSING, MI –The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in one white-tailed deer from a farmed cervid facility in Newaygo County. The infected four-and-a-half-year-old deer was discovered through routine testing as part of the state’s CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
“Limiting the spread and impact of CWD on Michigan’s farmed cervid herds hinges on the ability to detect the disease early and respond promptly,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland. “While regular CWD surveillance testing is central to accomplishing this goal, MDARD’s continued partnership with herd owners, hunters, and other state and federal partners is also crucial to effectively managing this disease. Ensuring the health of Michigan’s farmed cervid population is a team effort.”
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects different cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. CWD can be transmitted directly from one animal to another and indirectly through the environment. While an infected animal may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the later stages of the disease.
The presence of CWD in farmed cervid facilities and free-ranging deer is not new to Michigan. Since 2008, including this new case, CWD has been detected at 11 Michigan cervid farms in the following counties: Kent (2), Mecosta (4), Montcalm (3), and Newaygo (2).
With free-ranging deer, CWD was first discovered in May 2015; and cases have been found across 11 counties in Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, no free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for CWD in Newaygo County.
As part of MDARD’s disease response, investigations are ongoing to rule out any possible exposure to other farmed cervids.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that CWD-infected animals should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
###
Michigan MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Newaygo County
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDARD/bulletins/3583c22
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CASESCWD STATUS OF CAPTIVE HERDS
Updated January 2023
4/19/2022 3 YR Female MI Mecosta WTD Shooter No No 275 Quarantine
11/4/2021 2, 3 Y Male MI Kent Elk Breeder Yes Yes 0 Depopulated
7/15/2021 4 Y Female MI Montcalm WTD Breeder No No 109 Quarantine
4/18/2021 2.5 Y Male MI WTD Shooter No No ukn Quarantine
3/3/2021 4 Y Male MI Montcalm WTD Shooter No NA 14 Quarantine
12/2019 3, 4.5 Y Males MI Newaygo WTD Shooter No No >600 Quarantine
4/2019 2.5 Y Female MI Montcalm WTD Breeder No NA 113 Depopulated
12/2017 1.5 Y Female MI Mecosta WTD Breeder Yes Yes 525 Quarantined
1/2017 2Y Female MI Mecosta WTD & Sika deer Shooter No NA 71 Depopulated
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/downloads/status-of-captive-herds.pdf
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Totals Since 2015 To Present 242 Confirmed Cases
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/cwd/2022-cwd-testing-goals
Total tested and number of positives
Area Total Tested # Positive
Remainder of State* 954 6
Statewide Total for 2023** 1386 7
*These positive deer came from Gratiot (4), Jackson (1) and Midland (1) counties.
**Certain deer are not included (e.g., insufficient samples, fawns, missing gender/age) with those included, statewide total = 1693
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2023
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Totals Since 2015 To Present 242 Confirmed Cases
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2023/01/michigan-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.html
Michigan CWD 2023
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
see page two link at the bottom;
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data/2023-cwd-testing-goals-and-results
Michigan 2022 captive CWD Herds Positive 1
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2022_aid_annual_report.pdf
Michigan MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Mecosta County
For immediate release: May 9, 2022 Media contact: Chelsea Lewis, 517-331-1151 or Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724
MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in a Farmed White-Tailed Deer from Mecosta County
LANSING, MI – Today, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in one white-tailed deer from a farmed cervid facility in Mecosta County. The infected three-year-old deer was discovered through routine testing as part of the state’s CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects different cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The disease can be transmitted directly from one animal to another and indirectly through the environment. While an infected animal may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the later stages of the disease.
“MDARD is committed to limiting the spread and impact of this disease. CWD surveillance testing plays an integral part in accomplishing this goal because it helps us to detect and respond to the disease promptly,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland. “In addition, our continued partnership with farmed cervid owners, hunters, and other state and federal partners is also essential to ensure the health of Michigan’s farmed deer population.”
The presence of CWD in farmed cervid facilities and free-ranging deer is not new to Michigan. Since 2008, including this new case, CWD has been detected at 10 Michigan cervid farms in the following counties: Kent (2), Mecosta (4), Montcalm (3), and Newaygo.
With free-ranging deer, CWD was first discovered in May 2015; and cases have been found across nine counties in Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, no free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for CWD in Mecosta County.
As part of MDARD’s disease response, investigations are ongoing to rule out any possible exposure to other farmed cervids.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that CWD-infected animals should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
###
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2022/05/09/cwd-confirmed-in-a-farmed-white-tailed-deer-from-mecosta-county
Michigan’s 2021 deer seasons included targeted CWD surveillance, 25 positive deer
April 14, 2022
Hunters encouraged to share harvest results via online survey
Buck walking through lush green forest
Though Michigan’s 2021 deer hunting seasons ended in late January 2022, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is continuing to accept feedback from hunters about their experiences. Hunter harvest surveys have been sent to a random sample of the state’s deer hunters. In addition, hunters can take a brief online survey. Final harvest survey results will be presented later this summer.
Initial data from Michigan’s 2021 deer hunting seasons – including chronic wasting disease testing results and deer license sales information – was presented at Thursday’s meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission in Lansing, with highlights shared below.
A shift in CWD testing
The DNR has finalized its 2021 surveillance efforts for chronic wasting disease, ultimately testing just over 7,200 deer. The more targeted testing goals are part of the department’s new region-by-region strategy aimed at detecting new outbreaks rather than revisiting known ones.
“We want to thank hunters for their cooperation in helping us meet our CWD surveillance goals,” said DNR Director Dan Eichinger. “Strategic testing for chronic wasting disease is of primary importance for the department, and we couldn’t meet these goals without the committed assistance of deer hunters.”
Eichinger also praised the work of deer processors, taxidermists and local businesses that help collect samples for testing, and other key partners who provide necessary assistance to the department.
In all, 25 CWD-positive deer were confirmed in 2021. Three cases of CWD were detected in Isabella County, which represents a new county where the disease has been found. (Since Michigan’s first confirmation of a CWD-positive wild deer in 2015, CWD has been detected in white-tailed deer in Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent and Montcalm counties.)
Doe walking through late summer forest “It was not unexpected to find positive cases in Isabella County, as these detections were fairly close to where we’ve identified cases in Montcalm and northern Gratiot County,” said DNR deer and elk specialist Chad Stewart. “Our main areas of infection remain in parts of Montcalm and northeast Kent counties, as well as southern Jackson County, where we knew CWD existed going into the 2021 hunting season.”
Despite the department’s finding of 25 positive animals last year, Stewart cautioned against comparing the low number of positives with the high number of deer tested and concluding there is not a problem.
“The distribution of our samples greatly affects the number of positives we expect to find. Intensive collection of samples in known CWD locations like Montcalm and Kent counties would certainly lead to a high number of positives being detected,” he said. “Our goal this year was to begin to understand what CWD looks like in areas that are historically under-sampled, and we made a lot of strides on that front.”
Stewart said that chronic wasting disease is going to be a problem for parts of Michigan’s deer herd in the future: “Once it becomes established, it is unlikely that we can reverse course on the disease. Prevention and early detection remain our best options for CWD management.”
Hunter walking across plain while sun shines brightly CWD surveillance moving forward
For Michigan’s 2021 deer seasons, the DNR started a multiyear process of strategic, focused CWD surveillance in regions around the state. Last year’s surveillance occurred mainly in the three tiers of counties near the Ohio border. Over the next few years, the remainder of the state will be systematically sampled to determine if CWD is present in other areas where it hasn’t yet been identified.
Hunter numbers
While there was a temporary rise in hunter numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, participation is declining in Michigan. The trend is not new, nor is it only being observed here. States across the country are feeling the financial pressure of reduced hunter numbers, because sales of hunting licenses comprise a large portion of the funding for critical conservation work.
“Nationwide, hunting has seen a gradual decline over the last several decades,” said Eichinger. “The trend is likely due to a combination of factors including generations of hunters who are aging out of the sport, and younger generations that are less likely to participate in hunting due to societal changes and more competition for their attention.”
Deer hunter numbers in 2021 were down nearly 4% over the previous year with close to 600,000 hunters purchasing a deer license. Hunter number declines are in line with past years going back to peak participation in the mid 90’s.
“While the trend in hunter participation is discouraging, we know that hunting remains an important part of Michigan’s outdoor heritage,” Eichinger said. “That’s why we encourage experienced hunters to introduce the sport to new hunters wherever they can. Spending time with veteran hunters can reduce the learning curve, increase safety and instill a sense of excitement and appreciation for our state’s natural resources.”
To learn more about deer management, CWD and deer hunting in Michigan, and to access the 2021 deer harvest survey, visitMichigan.gov/Deer.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/about/newsroom/releases/2022/04/14/2021-deer-seasons-included-targeted-cwd-surveillance
see archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20220416081652/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/about/newsroom/releases/2022/04/14/2021-deer-seasons-included-targeted-cwd-surveillance
Michigan MDARD Captive CWD Positives depopulated and quarantined
Michigan MDARD CWD
APPENDIX A: 2021 REPORTABLE DISEASES
Livestock Diseases: Small Animal, Equine and Exotic Diseases:
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 19
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2021_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=6989dcce43ed4fe3985a05bcffa225ec&hash=0530DE52E159E9B48C80EC8165A25158
Michigan Department Ag. Captive Cervid
APPENDIX A: 2021 REPORTABLE DISEASES
Livestock Disease
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 19
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2021_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=6989dcce43ed4fe3985a05bcffa225ec&hash=0530DE52E159E9B48C80EC8165A25158
Michigan MDARD CWD
APPENDIX A: 2020 REPORTABLE DISEASES Livestock Diseases:
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 46
https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2020_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=842e5267e3c747819bc4a9a8917a17f5
Michigan Department Ag. Captive Cervid
APPENDIX A: 2020 REPORTABLE DISEASES
Livestock Diseases: Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 46
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2020_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=842e5267e3c747819bc4a9a8917a17f5&hash=D6F332CE3D860BFE5983161FC8B2415D
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Managing the CWD-positive deer farm identified in March 2019.
• In May 2019, the USDA released updated CWD Herd Certification Program Standards. Michigan is in the process of implementing these new changes.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2019_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=50d2a4bf7e5f4cc79764c0f427b1a185&hash=365B1FF5E43FF3C4DFA9792860FD7ECB
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Managed the disease investigation and removal of deer from the a CWD positive deer farm identified in December 2017.
• Due to multiple detections of CWD in free-ranging deer, the parameters for being in a designated special surveillance area were modified to include all herds in an affected county. This change created more comprehensive and efficient responses.
• Initiated a comprehensive program review with the DNR to streamline and improve the Farmed Cervid Program.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/annual-reports/aid/2018_aid_annual_report.pdf?rev=4c34358ecb60444eb59a250f90c619b0&hash=7C1E98F597321BA27DF1444737658C0D
Since May 2015, the Depaitment has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in free-ranging white-tailed deer from Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ionia, Ingham, Jackson, Kent, and Montcalm Counties in the Lower Peninsula. In October 2018, the Department confirmed CWD in a free ranging white-tailed deer from Dickinson County in the Upper Peninsula (UP). As of mid-April 2019, after testing approximately 60,545 free-ranging white-tailed deer, 118 were positively confirmed with CWD, with 62 occurring in 2018. Chronic wasting disease was also found in August 2008, at a Kent County privately-owned cervid (POC) facility and in two POC facilities in Mecosta County in 2017. In addition, CWD was found in March 2019 at a POC facility in Montcalm County.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/boards/agcommission/2019-05-15_meeting_materials.pdf?rev=0542e3c19ecb44cb8fd3e0c37593af57&hash=88533F51CEDA3DD672336872304CC421
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Update
CWD in Michigan
Since May 2015 when the first CWD deer was found in Michigan, CWD has been confirmed in a number of townships in the Lower Peninsula. As of October 2018, a CWD positive deer was found in the Upper Peninsula in Dickinson County. CWD was also found in August 2008 at a Kent County deer farm facility and in January 2017 in two captive deer that were from a deer farm facility in Mecosta County.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516---,00.html
see archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20190703051707/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516---,00.html
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
see archived;
http://web.archive.org/web/20211201002147/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20211201002147/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
CWD TESTING RESULTS
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-538324--,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20200925142120/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-538324--,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20190416040227/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
Michigan CWD
http://web.archive.org/web/20200924143416/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20200924145043/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536_90552_90560---,00.html
Desperado Deer: The Persistent Problem of Captive Deer Running Wild
by Editor | May 8, 2018 | Conservation, Hunting
Cervid Escapees – Measuring the Problem
For starters, no one knows for sure how many deer escape from high-fence facilities each year. Neither the DNR nor the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development keep accurate, complete records of the number of escapees reported by citizens and/or investigated by DNR conservation officers. Only in 2017 did the DNR first begin using an electronic database to monitor escaped cervids.
Currently, there are 333 licensed captive cervid facilities in the state, most of which are breeding farms (161) or hunting ranches (132), holding over 21,000 whitetail deer, fallow deer, red deer, Sitka deer and elk. While the number of deer escapees voluntarily reported has declined over recent years, the numbers do not include escapees that are never reported.
https://www.michiganoutofdoors.com/desperado-deer-the-persistent-problem-of-captive-deer-running-wild/
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible neurological disease found in deer and elk populations that produces small lesions in brains of infected animals. As a result, CWD causes weight loss and a decline in body control. It is a species-specific disease, and there have been no cases in humans or other animals.
Currently, to determine the presence of CWD, brain and lymph node samples are taken by an accredited veterinarian after an animal dies. These samples are then submitted for testing.
As part of their operations, all privately-owned cervid (POC) facilities in Michigan are required to submit samples. The number of samples that must be submitted depends on what specific program that a producer participates in: the Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (CWD HCP) or the Surveillance Program.
First, for the CWD HCP, all cervids 12 months of age and older that die for any reason must be tested for CWD.
Second, all facilities that are not a part of the CWD HCP must participate in the Surveillance Program. The Surveillance Program requires that all animals 12 months of age and older that die from illness, injury, or euthanasia due to disease must be tested for CWD. In addition, 25% of cervids slaughtered, hunted, or culled must be tested. This number is calculated on an annual basis. In general, all facilities that have at least one death must test at least this one animal.
Samples for either of these programs can be submitted to a private veterinarian, the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, or an MDARD drop off location.
For more information, contact the MDARD Cervid Program.
General Questions/Concerns: MDARD-Cervid@Michigan.gov
Cervid Program Manager:
Dr. Jennifer Calogero CalogeroJ@Michigan.gov517-284-5692
Cervid Program Secretary: Melanie Hart HartM1@Michigan.gov 517-284-5679
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/animals/cervids/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-surveillance
Privately Owned Cervidae
Raising deer and elk in captivity is jointly regulated by the DNR and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The DNR oversees the registration of facilities containing farmed cervids and performs inspections of these operations. MDARD manages the disease programs for the state’s POC facilities. Participation in disease surveillance programs - such as those for chronic wasting disease (CWD) and the bovine tuberculosis (TB) - ensures for a robust industry by increasing the marketability of these animals by decreasing their potential for carrying disease. There are nearly 300 licensed facilities in 76 Michigan counties totaling over 63,000 fenced acres. The division conducts about 95 facility inspections per year to ensure that fencing and recordkeeping meet industry standards.
2021 Wildlife Health Section Accomplishments
Tested over 8,000 deer heads for bovine tuberculosis and
2,500 heads for chronic wasting disease.
While CWD is not known to be zoonotic, bTB can infect humans, domestic animals and wild animals beyond white-tailed deer.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/79560ac896024e6cb8d925831904a5c7
***> Tested ...and 2,500 heads for chronic wasting disease.
MDNR estimates put the Michigan deer population around 1.75 million for 2019. Dec 25, 2019
Issues Pros and Cons Despite federal, state, and local regulations and other measures intended to prevent the spread or reduce CWD prevalence, the disease continues to be identified in captive cervid facilities certified as “low risk” through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Herd Certification Program and the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) Voluntary Herd Certification Programs (participating in a federally-approved CWD program was a measure of the ATA program). According to the USDA data reports, there were 22 new CWD-positive captive cervid facilities identified in FY2020; 41 percent of those were either enrolled or certified in the federal HCP program. There are a variety of unregulated processes used to collect urine, and they often result in the accumulation of a mixture of secretions, therefore providing concurrent contaminated risks. In addition, urine products are frequently batched/combined from multiple locations and distributed across the country, which increases the likelihood of CWDinfected urine entering the market. There are currently no standard regulations to ensure that urine collected for lures and attractants are disease-free.
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Biological
Nationally, CWD continues to be found in captive cervid facilities.
From the years 2012 to 2021, there have been 66 privately owned cervid facilities nationally where CWD has been identified.
Of those 66 facilities, 39 were enrolled in the HCP, and 32 of those facilities were HCP-certified (meaning there had been at least five years of disease monitoring and no rule violations) indicating low risk for CWD.
This national USDA CWD HCP is not mandatory, and more importantly, recent CWD events show that it does not and cannot guarantee that captive deer herds are CWD free.
To date, CWD has been found in more than 140 captive deer herds in 16 states and two Canadian provinces.
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Signed_05WCO2021_724156_7.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20220218213530/https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Signed_05WCO2021_724156_7.pdf
Front. Vet. Sci., 18 January 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.824815
Evaluation of Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion, ELISA, and Immunohistochemistry for Chronic Wasting Disease Diagnosis
All, except one, CWD positive RLNs analyzed were from ten Counties geographically located in the West Michigan region of the Lower Peninsula. Taken together, we show evidence that the RT-QuIC assay is comparable to ELISA and IHC and could be helpful for routine CWD detection in surveillance programs. RT-QuIC also demonstrated that CWD prions are distributed across lymph nodes in a variety of anatomic locations.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8803730/pdf/fvets-08-824815.pdf
Michigan:
September, 2019: NVSL confirmed CWD in a two year old female white-tailed deer in Montcalm County. The doe was a natural addition to the breeding herd which consists of 50 white-tailed deer. This herd is not enrolled in the Federal HCP, is within a CWDendemic area, and is under quarantine.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/downloads/usaha-annual-cervid-health-report-2019.pdf
Michigan: One new CWD positive herd
Hunt preserve of >600 WTD, not in HCP, populated and under quarantine
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/cervid/voluntary-cwd-hcp-annual-update-fy2020
Farmed Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Activities 2021 Cooperative Agreements
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/downloads/cwd-funding-oppt-annc-fy2021.pdf
archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20211201205141/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/downloads/cwd-funding-oppt-annc-fy2021.pdf
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/cervid/cervid-cwd-2021-funding-faqs
archived page;
http://web.archive.org/web/20210727152518/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/cervid/cervid-cwd-2021-funding-faqs
APHIS also conducts monitoring and surveillance activities to detect diseases that affect cervids, including chronic wasting disease (CWD) and tuberculosis (TB). APHIS’ voluntary national CWD Herd Certification Plan (HCP) works with States, Tribes, and the cervid industry to control CWD in farmed cervids by allowing the interstate movement only from certified herds.
Currently, 28 States participate in the national CWD HCP. In FY 2019 APHIS tested more than 11,000 farmed cervids for CWD.
As a result, APHIS identified 17 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2021notes.pdf
Wild Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Activities 2021
Funding Opportunity USDA APHIS Wildlife Services announced awards for two opportunities for the control and prevention of CWD in wild cervids under the titles of “Wild Cervid CWD Management and Response Activities 2021” and “Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD Opportunities 2021.” See information below. Wild Cervid CWD FOA Wild Cervid CWD FAQs Wild Cervid CWD Management and Response Activities 2021 Cooperative Agreements Wild Cervid CWD 2021 Project Executive Summaries Tribal Nations Wild Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Opportunities 2021 Funding Opportunity Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD FOA Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD FAQs Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD Opportunities 2021 Cooperative Agreements Wild Cervid Tribal CWD 2021 Project Executive Summaries
VS Farmed Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Activities 2021 Funding Opportunity RISK, UNCERTAINTY AND DECISION-MAKING: ASSESSING CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE OCCURRENCE RISK ACROSS AN EMERGENCE SPECTRUM
Exposure hazards included point locations of captive cervid facilities, deer processors and taxidermists, and out-of-area hunting connectivity.
As of 2018, there were a total of 296 ranch and full-registration facilities in Michigan. In terms of their spatial distribution, there were facilities in 196 out of 1240 townships, and 71 out of 83 counties (Fig. 2.1). There were 468 registered deer processors and taxidermists in 2017, the year for which data were available. Processors and taxidermists occurred in 696 out of 1240 townships, and 82 out of 83 counties (Fig. 2.2). Lastly, out-of-area hunting was based on both intrastate and interstate metrics. For intrastate hunting, the percentage of respondents that travelled from one county to another was scaled up to the total number of hunters that reside in a county. CWD positive counties included Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent and Montcalm counties. The average number of hunters per resident county from 2013 – 2017 who travelled to a CWD positive county ranged from 0 – 3832 per year (Fig. 2.3). A low number (i.e., low connectivity) of interstate hunters ranged from 0 – 1059 for the 5-year average, whereas a high number ranged from 1060 – 3832(Fig. 2.3). Interstate hunting was quantified as the number of Michigan resident hunters who purchased an out-of-state license in Wisconsin between years 2013 – 2017 (i.e., nonresident license). For interstate connectivity, I found that average annual number of Michigan county residents that traveled to Wisconsin between 2013 –2017 was 0 – 170 per year (Fig. 2.4). A low number (i.e., low connectivity) of interstate hunters ranged from 0 – 39 for the 5-year average, whereas a high number ranged from 40 – 170 (Fig. 2.4).
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In 2017, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) detected CWD in a 3- year-old white-tailed doe submitted during an early season youth hunt (MDNR 2017). Additional surveillance in the area during 2017 identified 45 total CWD-positive animals in a concentrated disease focus in the west-central Lower Peninsula of Michigan within Kent and Montcalm counties. Nine previous CWD detections had occurred in the state in 2015 and 2016; however, the 2017 detections were the first evidence that CWD might be widespread and established within Michigan. Based on a single year of observation, predicting the area affected by the cluster of disease with distance benchmarks would likely fail to fully encapsulate the affected area. Furthermore, based on the sparsity of data, fitting complex disease models was not possible. Thus, there was an immediate need for an alternative approach that could more appropriately estimate the extent of CWD and identify locations at high risk using limited available information
https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/49428/datastream/OBJ/View/
archived
https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/49428
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/downloads/cwd-funding-ws-executive-summaries.pdf
Prion protein polymorphisms in Michigan white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Caitlin N. Ott-ConnORCID Icon,Julie A. Blanchong &Wes A. Larson
Pages 183-190 | Received 22 Jul 2021, Accepted 01 Oct 2021, Published online: 09 Nov 2021
Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/19336896.2021.1990628
ABSTRACT
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a well-described transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of the Cervidae family, is associated with the aggregation of an abnormal isoform (PrPCWD) of the naturally occurring host prion protein (PrPC). Variations in the PrP gene (PRNP) have been associated with CWD rate of infection and disease progression. We analysed 568 free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 9 CWD-positive Michigan counties for PRNP polymorphisms. Sampling included 185 CWD-positive, 332 CWD non-detected, and an additional 51 CWD non-detected paired to CWD-positives by sex, age, and harvest location. We found 12 polymorphic sites of which 5 were non-synonymous and resulted in a change in amino acid composition. Thirteen haplotypes were predicted, of which 11 have previously been described. Using logistic regression, consistent with other studies, we found haplotypes C (OR = 0.488, 95% CI = 0.321–0.730, P < 0.001) and F (OR = 0.122, 95% CI = 0.007–0.612, P < 0.05) and diplotype BC (OR = 0.340, 95% CI = 0.154–0.709, P < 0.01) were less likely to be found in deer infected with CWD. As has also been documented in other studies, the presence of a serine at amino acid 96 was less likely to be found in deer infected with CWD (P < 0.001, OR = 0.360 and 95% CI = 0.227–0.556). Identification of PRNP polymorphisms associated with reduced vulnerability to CWD in Michigan deer and their spatial distribution can help managers design surveillance programmes and identify and prioritize areas for CWD management.
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Results
PRNP sequences were determined for 568 free-ranging white-tailed deer from 9 CWD-positive Michigan counties. Of these samples, 185 were CWD-positive, 332 were CWD non-detected, and an additional 51 CWD non-detected were paired to CWD-positives to control for sex, age, and harvest location (Figure 1). Within the analysed 625bp region of the PRNP gene, we detected 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 9 of which had been previously reported [22, 29, 33, 36, 38–41]. Of the 12 SNPs, 5 were non-synonymous, resulting in a change to the amino acid sequence (Table 1). BLAST and literature searches indicated that 589A/G, 642 G/A, and 643 C/A had not previously been reported. Full associated sequences have been deposited in GenBank under accession numbers MZ913400 – MZ913401.
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As CWD detections continue to increase the areas under surveillance, the use of regionally specific data to allocate testing efforts and funding will be pivotal for success. Identification of PRNP polymorphisms associated with reduced vulnerability to CWD and their spatial distribution and prevalence may help managers design surveillance programmes to identify and prioritize areas for CWD management when partnered with movement data and anticipated deposition of prions onto the landscape over time.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2021.1990628
77. Assessing chronic wasting disease strain differences in free-ranging cervids across the United States
Kaitlyn M. Wagnera, Caitlin Ott-Connb, Kelly Strakab, Bob Dittmarc, Jasmine Battend, Robyn Piercea, Mercedes Hennessya, Elizabeth Gordona, Brett Israela, Jenn Ballarde and Mark D Zabela
aPrion Research Center at Colorado State University; bMichigan Department of Natural Resources; cTexas Parks and Wildlife Department; dMissouri Department of Conservation, 5. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission CONTACT Kaitlyn M. Wagner miedkait@rams.colostate.edu
ABSTRACT
Background/Introduction: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an invariably fatal prion disease affecting captive and free-ranging cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, elk, and reindeer. Since the initial description of the disease in the 1960’s, CWD has spread to 23 states, 3 Canadian Provinces, South Korea, Norway and, most recently, Finland. While some outbreaks of CWD were caused by transport of infected animals from endemic regions, the origin of CWD in other epizootics is unclear and has not been characterized. Previous studies have shown that there are two distinct strains of CWD. However, the continuous spread and the unclear origin of several outbreaks warrant continued surveillance and further characterization of strain diversity.
Materials and Methods: To address these knowledge gaps, we used biochemical tests to assess strain differences between CWD outbreaks in Michigan, Texas, Missouri, and Colorado, USA. Brain or lymph node samples were homogenized and digested in 50 µg/mL proteinase K (PK). These samples were then run on a Western blot to assess glycoform ratio and electrophoretic mobility. Texas samples were digested in 100 µg/mL PK. To assess conformational stability, brain or lymph node homogenates were incubated in increasing concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride from 0 M to 4 M in 0.5 M increments. Samples were then precipitated in methanol overnight, washed and PK digested in 50 µg/mL PK before slot blotting.
Results: Our results have found significant differences in glycoform ratio between CWD from Michigan and Colorado, but no differences were observed in conformational stability assays. Interestingly, when testing our CWD isolates from Texas to analyse electrophoretic mobility and glycoform ratio, we found that these samples did not exhibit the characteristic band shift when treated with PK, but PK resistant material remained. Additionally, results from our conformational stability assay demonstrate a unique profile of these Texas isolates. Testing of samples from Missouri is currently underway.
Conclusions: Thus far, our data indicate that there are strain differences between CWD circulating in Michigan and CWD in Colorado and provide important insight into CWD strain differences between two non-contiguous outbreaks. We have also identified a unique strain of CWD in Texas with biochemical strain properties not seen in any of our other CWD isolates. These results highlight the importance of continued surveillance to better understand this devastating disease. These results have important implications for CWD emergence, evolution and our understanding of prion strain heterogeneity on the landscape.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2019.1615197
Special Surveillance Area (SSA) Counties for Farmed Deer
Calhoun (CA)
Clinton (CN)
Dickinson (DK)
Eaton (ET)
Gratiot (GT)
Hillsdale (HD)
Ingham (IN)
Ionia (IO)
Jackson (JK)
Kent (KN)
Lenawee (LN)
Livingston (LV)
Mecosta (MT)
Menominee (MO)
Montcalm (MT)
Newaygo (NW)
Saginaw (SG)
Shiawassee (SH)
Washtenaw (WA)
SSAs as of December 18, 2019
SSAs are established when a free-ranging or farmed deer is identified with chronic wasting disease.
Contact the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Cervid Program at MDARD-Cervid@Michigan.gov or 517-284-5679.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/animals/cervids/special_surveillance_areas_for_farmed_deer.pdf?rev=6497528a63b94975a982c9fc08039db3&hash=4AA0BEE0C1C96A0D34EE935AA0F55189
http://web.archive.org/web/20220520151213/https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/animals/cervids/special_surveillance_areas_for_farmed_deer.pdf?rev=6497528a63b94975a982c9fc08039db3&hash=4AA0BEE0C1C96A0D34EE935AA0F55189
Special Surveillance Area (SSA) If a free-ranging or privately-owned cervid (POC) tests positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), then a buffer circle is created around that positive animal. This buffer circle is referred to as a Special Surveillance Area (SSA). POC facilities that fall within a SSA will have increased CWD testing requirements.
More specifically, if a free-ranging cervid is found to be positive for CWD, a 15-mile radius circle is created around the positive animal. And, if a POC is found to be positive for CWD, a 5-mile radius circle is created around the positive animal. Further, for both cases, the SSA extends to the entirety of the county of the infected animal and any county that the 15-mile or 5-mile circle touches.
For a complete list of counties that are included within a particular SSA, please review the map below.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-48096_100264-530074--,00.html
Livestock Diseases:
Disease Species Number of Animals
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 46
Number of herds involved in special surveillance zones around CWD positive free-ranging deer 84 84
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdard/2020_Animal_Industry_Division_Annual_Report_719508_7.pdf
MDARD CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties
... Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) at two separate farmed deer facilities, one ... 123 free-ranging deer from Montcalm County. "Since chronic wasting disease can significantly impact all Michigan deer, it is ...
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-565732--,00.html
MDARD CWD Identified in Newaygo County Farmed Deer
... Agriculture and Rural and Development (MDARD) has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in three white-tailed deer from a ... rule out exposure of any other farmed deer. "Chronic wasting disease is a serious disease affecting both farmed and ...
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-516936--,00.html
MDARD CWD identified in a Montcalm County farmed deer
... Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed a case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a four-year-old white-tailed ... 123 free-ranging deer in Montcalm County. "As chronic wasting disease affects both farmed and free-ranging deer, MDARD ...
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-554427--,00.html
Michigan CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties
CWD Confirmed at Farmed Deer Facilities in Mecosta and Montcalm Counties
For immediate release: August 11, 2021 Media contact: Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) at two separate farmed deer facilities, one in Mecosta County and one in Montcalm County. The two infected deer, a two-year-old and a four-year-old, were discovered through routine testing as part of the state's CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The disease can be transmitted directly from one animal to another, as well as indirectly through the environment. While an infected deer may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the latter stages of the disease.
The presence of CWD in farmed and free-ranging deer is not new to Michigan. Since 2008, and including these new cases, CWD has been detected at eight Michigan deer farms in the following counties: Kent, Mecosta (3), Montcalm (3), and Newaygo.
With free-ranging deer, CWD was first discovered in May 2015, and cases have been found across nine counties in Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, while no free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for CWD in Mecosta County, the disease has been detected in 123 free-ranging deer from Montcalm County.
"Since chronic wasting disease can significantly impact all Michigan deer, it is vitally important to detect the disease as early as possible," said State Veterinarian Nora Wineland, DVM. "Early detection allows MDARD and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to work in collaboration with farmers and hunters to stem the spread and manage this serious disease."
As part of MDARD's disease response, investigations are being conducted to rule out exposure to any other farmed deer.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that infected animals should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125--565732--,00.html
CWD identified in a Montcalm County farmed deer
For immediate release: March 12, 2021 Media contact: Jessy Sielski, 517-331-1151
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has confirmed a case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a four-year-old white-tailed deer from a Montcalm County deer farm. The case was found through samples that were submitted for routine testing as part of the state's CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. CWD can be transmitted directly from one animal to another, as well as indirectly through the environment. While an infected deer may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the latter stages of the disease.
The discovery of CWD in farmed and free-ranging deer is not new to the state of Michigan. Since 2008, and including this new case, CWD has been detected at six Michigan deer farms in the following counties: Kent, Mecosta (2), Montcalm (2), and Newaygo.
With free-ranging deer, CWD was first discovered in May 2015, and cases have been found across nine counties in both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, CWD has been detected in 123 free-ranging deer in Montcalm County.
"As chronic wasting disease affects both farmed and free-ranging deer, MDARD works in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the state's deer farmers to detect and manage this serious disease," said State Veterinarian Nora Wineland, DVM. "Due to the nature of the disease, it is imperative that farmers, hunters, DNR, and MDARD continue to work in collaboration to protect all of Michigan's deer."
As part of MDARD's disease response, an investigation will be conducted to rule out exposure of any other farmed deer.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend infected animals not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD or Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-554427--,00.html
Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease ACTIVE
By National Wildlife Health Center February 5, 2022
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/expanding-distribution-chronic-wasting-disease
Michigan CWD Testing Results Deer Harvested in 2021 Statewide Total 22 Positive To Date For Year in Wild
CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2021
Test results updated as of December 13, 2021.
Totals reflected in this update only include those with final test results.
Deer with pending results are not included in these totals.
Zone Total Tested Number Positive
UP CWD Core Surveillance Area 193 0
South Isabella + Gratiot 749 3
South Jackson 855 12
Totals 1797 15
Testing numbers above are part of the county totals in the larger table below.
County Name Total Tested Number Positive
Allegan 290 0
Barry 150 0
Berrien 77 0
Branch 104 0
Calhoun 139 0
Cass 64 0
Eaton 82 0
Hillsdale 204 0
N. Jackson 135 0
Kalamazoo 196 0
Lenawee 118 0
Livingston 68 0
Macomb 13 0
Monroe 34 0
Oakland 43 0
St. Joseph 81 0
Van Buren 155 0
Washtenaw 178 0
Wayne 9 0
Total to date 2106 0
These counties are open for hunter service testing November 15-18 ONLY. There are no surveillance goals.
County Name Total Tested Number Positive
Clinton 45 0
Dickinson (non-core) 3 0
Ingham 32 0
Ionia 35 1
Kent 47 1
Montcalm 53 5
Total to date 215 7 Deer tested in remainder of state 113 0 Positive
Statewide Total 3865 22 Positive
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-538324--,00.html
archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20200925142120/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-538324--,00.html
Michigan MDARD Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Two Farmed Elk from Kent County
For immediate release: November 18, 2021 Media contact: Chelsea Lewis-Parisio, 517-331-1151
MDARD: Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Two Farmed Elk from Kent County
LANSING, MI – Today, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk from a farmed cervid facility in Kent County. The two infected elk, a two-and-a-half-year-old and a three-and-a-half-year-old, were discovered through disease tracing efforts that resulted from finding CWD in a different Michigan farmed cervid herd. These are the first cases of CWD in Michigan elk.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects different cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The disease can be transmitted directly from one animal to another and indirectly through the environment. While an infected animal may appear healthy for months or years, it will eventually display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss, and physical debilitation in the latter stages of the disease.
“The discovery of chronic wasting disease in elk housed at a facility linked to a positive animal is not surprising,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland, DVM. “MDARD’s main priority is to limit the spread of this disease by working together with other state departments, farmers, and ranchers. These findings underscore how important it is to pay attention to CWD and the movement of animals that may allow the disease to spread.”
The presence of CWD in farmed cervid facilities and free-ranging deer is not new to Michigan. Since 2008, including these new cases, CWD has been detected at nine Michigan cervid farms in the following counties: Kent (2), Mecosta (3), Montcalm (3), and Newaygo.
No wild elk have tested positive for CWD in Michigan. The disease was first discovered in free-ranging deer in May 2015; cases have been found across nine counties in Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. To date, 37 free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for CWD in Kent County.
As part of MDARD’s disease response, investigations are ongoing to rule out any possible exposure to other farmed cervids.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that animals that have tested positive for CWD should not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at http://Michigan.gov/CWD or http://Michigan.gov/MDARD-Cervid.
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https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDARD/bulletins/2fcd9a1
Michigan CWD TSE Prion TOTAL WILD CERVID 220 POSITIVE TO DATE, CAPTIVE CWD TOTAL???
PERSONAL COMMUNICATION DNR...see;
Mon, Aug 9, 2021 11:46 am
''The interactive hot map you are referencing is updated regularly, at least once a month, but even more regularly during hunting season as that is when we receive most samples and theoretical positives. All 209 animals to date are wild. No captive cervid deer are listed in our testing metrics because they fall into a different category of management as overseen by Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). Because they are captive they are treated as domestic animals – same as cows, horses, and pigs. If you were inquiring about CWD+ private cervids you will have to reach out to them as we don’t so much focus on total individuals positive as we do positive herds and locations (which again they would be best to ask).'' ''Our 2021 testing totals account for 11 positives this year, all USDA-APHIS or Disease Permit culled animals in Gratiot (3) and Jackson (8) counties. I am digging into when the interactive map was last updated now, but at a worst that would but our total positive at 220 over Michigan’s history of testing if it hadn’t been recently updated (which is possible as USDA-APHIS shooting just recently started up again in July after a multi-month break).''
YOU can see CWD here;
https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20171018014630/https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
Where has chronic wasting disease (CWD) been found in Michigan?
Since the initial finding of CWD on May 20, 2015, free-ranging deer in Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent and Montcalm counties have been positively confirmed with CWD. Please visit Michigan.gov/CWD for more information on CWD and the latest news and testing updates. See pages 56-57 and 61-62 for important regulations pertaining to CWD.
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/hunting_and_trapping_digest_461177_7.pdf
Assessing drivers of spread and transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in Michigan deer
Primary Contact: Dr. Dwayne Etter, DNR Wildlife Division, Lansing, Michigan
Email: etterd@michigan.gov
Phone: (517) 284-4720
DNR Financial Support: $120,149 in FY19, $502,737 total.
Study Area: South-central Lower Peninsula
Time Frame: 10/1/2017-9/30/2022
Abstract:
The occurrence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Michigan challenges the foundations of wildlife conservation, both in the short term and perhaps more significantly in the longer term. In the short term, CWD is causing reallocation of precious financial and staff-time resources and will be widely disruptive to existing programs of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In the longer term, diseases such as CWD pose a threat to the financial cornerstone of fisheries and wildlife programs because sales of deer hunting licenses represent a large proportion of annual revenue for the Division of Wildlife. Recognizing these threats, the Division of Wildlife included wildlife disease in its Guiding Principles and Strategies (Objective 1.3: monitor and preserve the health of Michigan’s wildlife) and prepared a comprehensive Surveillance and Response Plan for Chronic Wasting Disease of Free-ranging and Privately Owned Cervids.
Chronic wasting disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that infects North American cervids including white-tailed deer (Williams 2005). The infectious agent of CWD is a misfolded protein, a prion, which accumulates in the brainstem and lymphatic tissue of infected animals and results in neurodegeneration and eventual death. In states where CWD is established it has emerged as a major threat, reducing the health of populations and causing long-term population decline (Edmunds et al. 2016, Gross and Miller 2001, Manjerovic et al. 2014).
The discovery of CWD in Michigan creates an immediate need for population monitoring and surveillance of at-risk deer populations. Since 2015, nine infected individuals have been identified following collection through state surveillance efforts, representing key successes in targeted disease management. However, the continued discovery of infected individuals in 2016 suggests a high likelihood that additional infected individuals remain on the landscape. The occurrence of a small number of infected animals across a relatively small geographic region in mid-Michigan indicates that the disease is still emerging.
What distinguishes the research proposed here from extensive work done in other states is that CWD is still in an emergent phase in Michigan. Michigan discovered the disease early during a time when transmission of the disease may be more dependent on the density of deer on the landscape because most infections are through direct contact of infected animals with susceptible individuals. This situation is similar only to New York and Minnesota. In all other states where CWD has been discovered, the disease was already well established, and transmission included infection mediated by contact of susceptible individuals with severely contaminated environments. Our research in Michigan is intended to explore management options for the control of an emerging occurrence of CWD through better understanding of behavior and population dynamics of deer inhabiting areas of known infection.
The goal of this research is to improve the cost-efficiency of detecting CWD when it is still rare and removing animals from the landscape to control the spread of disease, by reducing contact among deer and potentially eliminating infectious animals. We intend to take a multi-pronged approach to accomplish this goal and the work described here will complement another study that seeks to develop new methods for detecting and removing diseased animals. The effort described here is designed to accumulate a dataset on movement behavior of deer that is of high temporal and spatial resolution to address questions about dispersal rates, directions and distances; evaluate hypotheses about environmental factors that are likely influences on dispersal behavior; parameterize risk maps of first-order contact for Michigan in concert with data and prior research in New York State; and create models of the interaction of landscape contexts (e.g., suburban, rural) and habitat characteristics that can be used to direct hunters and biologists to increase the efficiency of surveillance and removal actions. Our objectives address the strategic plans set forth by the Michigan DNR to “1.3.1: Develop and implement strategies to prevent and control diseases before they occur; 1.3.2: Respond to wildlife disease outbreaks; 1.3.4: Conduct research and monitoring to provide information to make management recommendations regarding wildlife disease; 1.3.5: Raise awareness regarding current and emerging wildlife health issues; and 1.3.6: Work with State and Federal agencies, and stakeholders to address wildlife health issues.”
12 IC4117 (Rev. 02/02/2021)
control of an emerging occurrence of CWD through better understanding of behavior and population dynamics of deer inhabiting areas of known infection.
The goal of this research is to improve the cost-efficiency of detecting CWD when it is still rare and removing animals from the landscape to control the spread of disease, by reducing contact among deer and potentially eliminating infectious animals. We intend to take a multi-pronged approach to accomplish this goal and the work described here will complement another study that seeks to develop new methods for detecting and removing diseased animals. The effort described here is designed to accumulate a dataset on movement behavior of deer that is of high temporal and spatial resolution to address questions about dispersal rates, directions and distances; evaluate hypotheses about environmental factors that are likely influences on dispersal behavior; parameterize risk maps of first-order contact for Michigan in concert with data and prior research in New York State; and create models of the interaction of landscape contexts (e.g., suburban, rural) and habitat characteristics that can be used to direct hunters and biologists to increase the efficiency of surveillance and removal actions.
Our objectives address the strategic plans set forth by the Michigan DNR to “1.3.1: Develop and implement strategies to prevent and control diseases before they occur; 1.3.2: Respond to wildlife disease outbreaks; 1.3.4: Conduct research and monitoring to provide information to make management recommendations regarding wildlife disease; 1.3.5: Raise awareness regarding current and emerging wildlife health issues; and 1.3.6: Work with State and Federal agencies, and stakeholders to address wildlife health issues.”
Management of Chronic Wasting Disease in Michigan
Primary Contact: Dr. Kelly Straka, DNR Wildlife Division, Lansing, Michigan
Email: StrakaK1@michigan.gov
Phone: (517) 336-5030
DNR Financial Support: $50,000 in FY19, $250,000 total.
Study Area: Statewide.
Time Frame: 10/01/2016-09/30/2022
Abstract: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that infects North American cervids including white-tailed deer (Williams 2005). The infectious agent of CWD is a misfolded protein, a prion, that accumulates in the brainstem and lymphatic tissue of infected animals and results in neurodegeneration and eventual death. In states where CWD is established, it has emerged as a major threat, reducing the health of populations and causing long-term population decline (Edmunds et. al. 2016, Gross and Miller 2001, Manjerovic et. al. 2014). 15 IC4117 (Rev. 02/02/2021)
The occurrence of CWD in Michigan challenges the foundations of wildlife conservation, both in the short term and perhaps more significantly in the longer term. In the short term, CWD is causing reallocation of precious financial and staff-time resources and will be widely disruptive to existing programs. In the longer term, diseases such as CWD pose a threat to the financial cornerstone of fisheries and wildlife programs because sales of deer hunting licenses represent such a large proportion of annual revenue. Recognizing these threats, the Wildlife Division included wildlife disease in its Guiding Principles and Strategies (Objective 1.3: Monitor and preserve the health of Michigan’s wildlife) and prepared a comprehensive Surveillance and Response Plan for Chronic Wasting Disease of Free-ranging and Privately Owned Cervids.
The discovery of CWD in Michigan creates an immediate need for tools that better assess the return-oninvestment of funds for surveillance and management of CWD. We propose building on risk assessment and modeling that was previously developed during a CWD outbreak in New York. There, we showed how costs of CWD containment could be reduced dramatically by using risk modeling procedures and mapping areas where management action would have the greatest impact on disease control (Williams et. al. 2014). We plan to expand on those efforts by adapting them to Michigan and drawing on newly emerging tools for population estimation and risk analysis procedures that we have been using on other research (e.g., local-scale monitoring of deer populations using distance sampling and evaluation of wild turkey harvest regulations using statistical risk modeling).
Our objectives address the strategies set forth in the Wildlife Division’s Guiding Principles and Strategies to “1.3.1: Develop and implement strategies to prevent and control diseases before they occur, 1.3.2: Respond to wildlife disease outbreaks, 1.3.4: Conduct research and monitoring to provide information to make management recommendations regarding wildlife disease, 1.3.5: Raise awareness regarding current and emerging wildlife health issues and 1.3.6: Work with State and Federal agencies and stakeholders to address wildlife health issues.” Specifically, we will provide managers with decision tools to: (1) evaluate the risk of spread of disease against the geographic extent of management action and attendant financial and political costs, (2) evaluate management alternatives to control CWD and assess the risk of local cases of CWD transitioning from emergent status to established status (where the disease becomes a self-sustaining reservoir within a population) and (3) monitor management outcomes for deer population abundance and disease prevalence.
Quantifying Upper Peninsula deer movements and abundance: preparing for CWD management
Primary Contact: Dr. Dean Beyer Jr., DNR Wildlife Division, Marquette, Michigan
Email: beyerd@michigan.gov
Phone: (906) 228-6561
DNR Financial Support: $117,759 in FY19, $613,001 total.
Study Area: Upper Peninsula
Time Frame: 10/1/2017-9/30/2021
Abstract:
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) occurs in free-ranging white-tailed deer in Lower Michigan, and in our neighboring state of Wisconsin where the disease is endemic. Although wildlife managers have not documented CWD in the Upper Peninsula, managers found infected deer in two Wisconsin captive cervid facilities near the Michigan border. Officials identified the disease in a facility in Oneida County, Wisconsin, about 40 km from our Iron County border and a second positive deer in Oconto County, Wisconsin, about 50 km from our Menominee County border.
While it is not possible to predict if or when we will find CWD in the Upper Peninsula, preparations seem prudent. A scientifically based understanding of deer movements and estimates of population abundance are critical for developing management recommendations in response to CWD. Deer movements and abundance can influence the probability of disease occurrence, contact rates which can affect transmission rate, and geographic extent of an outbreak (e.g., Oyer et al. 2007, Skult et al. 2008, Webb et al. 2010). Importantly, these data take time to gather and managers need this information at the time of first discovery. Thus, waiting for a disease outbreak before gathering these data would put managers at a disadvantage. Important deer movements to understand include seasonal home ranges, migration (especially important in the Upper Peninsula), dispersal, transient, and exploratory.
Information on these movements would inform decisions on identification of CWD management zones. The current strategy is to establish a 16-km radius circle around the location of an infected cervid and include entire counties whose boundaries intersect this circle as part of the CWD management zone. Further, if results from local population surveys or other credible scientific data suggest that cervids from within the radius are likely to move beyond the management zone boundary, the boundary should be expanded accordingly. In the Upper Peninsula, deer can seasonally migrate 50 km (Van Deelen et al. 1998), with overall movements exceeding 80 km (Doepker et al. 2015). These migratory movements, as well as other movements (e.g., dispersal), are currently unknown and certainly not aligned with or contained within county boundaries. Although some information exists on deer movements in the UP, most of this work relied on tag returns that do not provide the needed level of spatial and temporal resolution to inform management responses to a disease outbreak.
Consequently, If CWD was detected in the UP, large areas would likely be under surveillance and management that would not contain infected deer and large areas with potential for infected deer would not be within the prescribed surveillance zone, rendering the current management zone less effective. The Upper Peninsula Region (UPR), Biological and Social Sciences Section (BSSS), Wildlife Health Section (WHS), and Mississippi State University (MSU) wish to develop a program to address the need for information on deer movements. The core work would entail deploying GPS collars on deer in select wintering complexes and conditional winter range (starting along WI border) and documenting movements over three years. To complete the capture and collaring work, we would work cooperatively with interested sportspersons.
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/IC4117_SummaryofSustainableForestryResearch_652352_7.pdf
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79772_79773_83479---,00.html
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
archived link;
http://web.archive.org/web/20190723145018/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90541---,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20190723144916/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536_90552_90560---,00.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20190324032939/https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516---,00.html
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
Michigan CWD TSE Prion 211 Cases To Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/09/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-211-cases-to-date.html
Michigan CWD TSE Prion 211 Cases To Date
Deer Tested for Chronic Wasting Disease Since Detection of First Positive Free-ranging Deer (May 2015)
https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.htmlTotalDeer Tested and Total Positives Cases CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2020 CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2019 CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2018 Michigan Lower Peninsula townships where free-ranging deer have tested positive for CWD https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible neurological disease found in deer and elk populations that produces small lesions in brains of infected animals. As a result, CWD causes weight loss and a decline in body control. It is a species-specific disease, and there have been no cases in humans or other animals.
Currently, to determine the presence of CWD, brain and lymph node samples are taken by an accredited veterinarian after an animal dies. These samples are then submitted for testing.
As part of their operations, all privately-owned cervid (POC) facilities in Michigan are required to submit samples. The number of samples that must be submitted depends on what specific program that a producer participates in: the Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (CWD HCP) or the Surveillance Program.
First, for the CWD HCP, all cervids 12 months of age and older that die for any reason must be tested for CWD.
Second, all facilities that are not a part of the CWD HCP must participate in the Surveillance Program. The Surveillance Program requires that all animals 12 months of age and older that die from illness, injury, or euthanasia due to disease must be tested for CWD. In addition, 25% of cervids slaughtered, hunted, or culled must be tested. This number is calculated on an annual basis. In general, all facilities that have at least one death must test at least this one animal.
Samples for either of these programs can be submitted to a private veterinarian, the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, or an MDARD drop off location.
For more information, contact the MDARD Cervid Program.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-48096_100264-530075--,00.html
APPENDIX A: 2020 REPORTABLE DISEASES
Livestock Diseases:
CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) Cervid 46
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdard/2020_Animal_Industry_Division_Annual_Report_719508_7.pdf
CWD Identified in Newaygo County Farmed Deer
For Immediate Release: January 14, 2020 Media Contact: Jessy Sielski, 517-284-5725
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural and Development (MDARD) has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in three white-tailed deer from a Newaygo County deer farm. All three deer were four-and-a-half years old. The samples were submitted for routine testing as part of the state's CWD surveillance program for farmed deer.
To date, CWD has not been detected in free-ranging deer in Newaygo County. As part of MDARD's disease response, an investigation will be conducted to rule out exposure of any other farmed deer.
"Chronic wasting disease is a serious disease affecting both farmed and free-ranging deer," said State Veterinarian Nora Wineland, DVM. "MDARD and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources work together, in partnership with the state's deer farmers, to ensure the protection of all of Michigan's deer."
Since 2008, CWD has been detected in four additional privately-owned cervid facilities from Kent, Mecosta, and Montcalm Counties. The deer farm in Newaygo County is the fifth Michigan farm in which CWD has been detected.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. CWD can be transmitted directly from one animal to another, as well as indirectly through the environment. Infected animals may display abnormal behavior, progressive weight loss and physical debilitation. To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend that infected animals not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals.
More information about CWD can be found at Michigan.gov/CWD.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_28248_50968-516936--,00.html
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdard/May_15_2019_Commission_Meeting_Materials_655387_7.pdf
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516---,00.html
Total Deer Tested and Total Positives Cases CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2020 CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2019 CWD Testing Results for Deer Harvested in 2018 Michigan Lower Peninsula townships where free-ranging deer have tested positive for CWD https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
Greenville man charged with violating CWD deer requirements
By Elisabeth Waldon | on February 03, 2021
Eric Snyder
EUREKA TOWNSHIP — A Greenville man is facing half a dozen charges related to his alleged improper handling of deer with chronic wasting disease (CWD).
Eric David Snyder, 51, is charged with three counts of animal industry acts (privately owned cervidae) two counts of animal industry acts (felony violation) and one count of animals burial.
According to Montcalm County Prosecutor Andrea Krause, the alleged crimes occurred between March 2019 and February 2020. The Department of Natural Resources investigated, however, Snyder wasn’t charged until December 2020 and he wasn’t arraigned until Jan. 21. Krause said the coronavirus pandemic likely played a role in the delay.
According to Krause, Snyder owned Fieldview Whitetails, a deer farm/ranch in Eureka Township.
“He had a deer test positive for CWD,” Krause said. “(Snyder) dumped the deer outside the farm in violation of the law. He also violated a quarantine of the other deer he had on his farm.”
A deer with CWD in Montcalm County was discovered in October 2017 and as a precaution in January 2018, all privately owned deer facilities were put into mandatory quarantine if they were within 15 miles of a deer that tested positive, according to Krause. In March 2019, a deer at Snyder’s farm was discovered to have CWD, and a follow-up investigation later that month discovered the alleged violations at the farm, according to Krause.
Snyder is being represented by attorney Jeff Crampton. If convicted, Snyder faces to from 90 days to five years prison and/or fines and costs.
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https://thedailynews.cc/articles/greenville-man-charged-with-violating-cwd-deer-requirements/
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022
Michigan’s 2021 deer seasons included targeted CWD surveillance, 25 positive deer
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2022/04/michigans-2021-deer-seasons-included.html
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2021
Prion protein polymorphisms in Michigan white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/11/prion-protein-polymorphisms-in-michigan.html
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021
Michigan shifts approach to monitor spread of deadly deer disease deer CWD TSE Prion 220 cases confirmed in WILD to date, captive?
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/10/michigan-shifts-approach-to-monitor.html
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021
Michigan CWD TSE Prion TOTAL WILD CERVID 220 POSITIVE TO DATE, CAPTIVE CWD TOTAL
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/10/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-total-wild.html
MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021
Michigan Total CWD Positive/Suspect Positive Deer 209 Cases To Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2021/06/michigan-total-cwd-positivesuspect.html
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2020
Michigan, to date, CWD TSE Prion has been detected in 197 cervid
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/11/michigan-to-date-cwd-tse-prion-has-been.html
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2020
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion increases to 191 positive to date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/10/michigan-chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.html
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020
Michigan CWD TSE Prion 189 Positive To Date UPDATE September 2020
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/09/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-189-positive-to.html
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020
Michigan CWD TSE Prion Total Suspect Positive Deer Moves Up To 188 with total deer tested 80,687 to date
https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204-357110--,00.html
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/03/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-total-suspect.html
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
Michigan CWD TSE Prion Total Suspect Positive Deer Jumps To 181 to date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-total-suspect.html
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020
Michigan CWD TSE Prion MDARD 3 positive white-tailed deer from a Newaygo County deer farm depopulation and quarantine efforts update?
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-mdard-3-positive.html
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
Michigan MDARD has confirmed chronic wasting disease (CWD) in 3 white-tailed deer from a Newaygo County deer farm
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-mdard-has-confirmed-chronic.html
TUESDAY, JANUARY 07, 2020
Michigan Total CWD TSE Prion Positive Suspect-Positive Deer Jump To 174 confirmed to date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-total-cwd-tse-prion-positive.html
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019
Michigan Total CWD TSE Prion Positive Suspect-Positive Deer Jump To 162 confirmed to date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/12/michigan-total-cwd-tse-prion-positive.html
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019
Michigan Total CWD TSE Prion Positive/Suspect-Positive Deer 140 To Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/11/michigan-total-cwd-tse-prion.html
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2019
Michigan Total CWD TSE Prion Positive, Suspect Positive, Deer 136 To Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/11/michigan-total-cwd-tse-prion-positive.html
2019 CWD Testing Goals and Results as of October 18, 2019
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79608_90516_90536-501527--,00.html
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019
Michigan DNR reports CWD-positive deer in Hamilton Township, Gratiot County
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-dnr-reports-cwd-positive-deer.html
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 05, 2019
Michigan MSU SCIENTISTS ARE TESTING A FASTER WAY TO DETECT CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/10/michigan-msu-scientists-are-testing.html
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2019
Michigan TWO MORE CWD TSE PRION POSITIVES Total Now At 124 Positive
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/09/michigan-two-more-cwd-tse-prion.html
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019
Michigan House Bill 4687 State Legislators Turn To Draft Dodger Ted Nugent To Make Scientific Decisions over DNR on CWD TSE Prion
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/09/michigan-house-bill-4687-state.html
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2019
Michigan Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Two More Cases Total 122 To Date
THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2019
Michigan Osceola County deer farm/ranch owner arraigned on several violations
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/05/michigan-osceola-county-deer-farmranch.html
THURSDAY, MAY 09, 2019
Michigan CWD TSE Prion increases to 120 Cases to Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/05/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-increases-to-120.html
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2019
Michigan CWD Identified in a Montcalm County Farmed Deer
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/03/michigan-cwd-identified-in-montcalm.html
March 30, 2018
Contact: Lt. David Shaw, 616-218-3762
Mecosta County man sentenced following DNR investigation
Game ranch owner falsified information related to chronic wasting disease testing
A Mecosta County game ranch owner has been sentenced on charges resulting from an investigation by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Lester Jay Gemmen, 64, of Morley was charged with providing false information regarding the origin of two deer heads that were submitted for disease testing, and for failing to properly maintain fencing at the Super G Ranch. The ranch is a privately owned cervid (POC) facility, a designation that includes game ranches and hunting ranches.
He was sentenced by the 77th District Court to 60 days in jail for each count, ordered to pay $775 in fines and costs and must perform 80 hours of community service.
The investigation began in 2017 after two of the six deer heads submitted by Gemmen tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).
“I commend the detectives from our Special Investigations Unit and our field conservation officers for their thorough, professional approach to this investigation,” said 1st Lt. David Shaw, supervisor of the Special Investigations Unit of the DNR Law Enforcement Division.
The facility’s remaining deer were depopulated and tested, but no further evidence of CWD was found. The facility remains under quarantine, currently preventing ownership of farmed cervids.
The Privately Owned Cervid Program is jointly managed by the DNR and MDARD. There is mandatory CWD testing in all registered herds in Michigan, under the oversight of MDARD. The DNR oversees POC registration and performs inspections of POC facilities. Proper maintenance of POC facilities is critical to protecting Michigan’s free-ranging and privately owned cervid herds.
CWD is a fatal central nervous system disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. It attacks the brain of infected animals, creating small lesions in the brain, which result in death. It is transmitted through direct animal-to-animal contact or by contact with saliva, urine, feces, blood, carcass parts of an infected animal or infected soil. To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recommend that infected animals not be consumed as food by humans or domestic animals.
Since May 2015, CWD-positive deer have been found in Michigan. As of mid-March 2018, 57 free-ranging deer have tested positive for the disease. CWD has not been found in the Upper Peninsula, though it has been discovered in Wisconsin, approximately 40 miles from the western Upper Peninsula border.
The DNR is working with stakeholders to address the status of CWD in Michigan. In the coming weeks, the DNR and the Michigan Natural Resources Commission will host a series of public engagement meetings across the state on CWD. The sessions will provide hunters, business owners and residents with opportunities to share their ideas and observations.
In addition, the DNR, NRC and MDARD are evaluating recommendations from the CWD Working Group, which was created after last year’s CWD Symposium. The symposium brought national and international experts to Michigan to discuss CWD. During the coming months, the DNR, NRC and MDARD will work with stakeholders to develop new CWD regulation recommendations.
Visit www.michigan.gov/cwd for more information about the disease, preventive measures and the public meeting schedule.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDNR/bulletins/1e60b39
Michigan CJD
Reported Cases of All Reportable Conditions
Michigan Disease Surveillance System
Cases Reported In The Last 4 Weeks**
Total Cases Reported In Each Of The Last 5 Years***
Disease Group Reportable Condition
Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease
6-2025 7-2025 8-2025 9-2025 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
0 0 1 1 15 18 26 23 4
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/CDINFO/WSR/Current_WSR.pdf?rev=bad5410c9b3e4f679655b130b5f02a34&hash=AF05A4D8E00EE860D5D0ACE5E1A2BAD9
WOW! Michigan cjd history
https://www.michigan.gov/search#q=Creutzfeldt-Jakob%20disease&f-miweb_site_agency_name=Department%20of%20Health%20%26%20Human%20Services
Snip…
MONDAY, MAY 19, 2025
Michigan 2024 CWD Results
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2025/05/michigan-2024-cwd-results.html
Michigan MDARD CWD Detected Farmed WTD In 3 Counties
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDARD/bulletins/426d9c9
Michigan Total of confirmed CWD-positive deer 2015 – present: 378
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2026
Michigan Total of confirmed CWD positive deer 2015 to present is 378
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/219/michigan-total-confirmed-positive-cases
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/05/michigan-total-of-confirmed-cwd.html
Michigan Osceola County deer farm/ranch owner arraigned on several violations
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/05/michigan-osceola-county-deer-farmranch.html
THURSDAY, MAY 09, 2019
Michigan CWD TSE Prion increases to 120 Cases to Date
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/05/michigan-cwd-tse-prion-increases-to-120.html
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2019
Michigan CWD Identified in a Montcalm County Farmed Deer
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/03/michigan-cwd-identified-in-montcalm.html
March 30, 2018
Contact: Lt. David Shaw, 616-218-3762
Mecosta County man sentenced following DNR investigation
Game ranch owner falsified information related to chronic wasting disease testing
A Mecosta County game ranch owner has been sentenced on charges resulting from an investigation by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Lester Jay Gemmen, 64, of Morley was charged with providing false information regarding the origin of two deer heads that were submitted for disease testing, and for failing to properly maintain fencing at the Super G Ranch. The ranch is a privately owned cervid (POC) facility, a designation that includes game ranches and hunting ranches.
He was sentenced by the 77th District Court to 60 days in jail for each count, ordered to pay $775 in fines and costs and must perform 80 hours of community service.
The investigation began in 2017 after two of the six deer heads submitted by Gemmen tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).
“I commend the detectives from our Special Investigations Unit and our field conservation officers for their thorough, professional approach to this investigation,” said 1st Lt. David Shaw, supervisor of the Special Investigations Unit of the DNR Law Enforcement Division.
The facility’s remaining deer were depopulated and tested, but no further evidence of CWD was found. The facility remains under quarantine, currently preventing ownership of farmed cervids.
The Privately Owned Cervid Program is jointly managed by the DNR and MDARD. There is mandatory CWD testing in all registered herds in Michigan, under the oversight of MDARD. The DNR oversees POC registration and performs inspections of POC facilities. Proper maintenance of POC facilities is critical to protecting Michigan’s free-ranging and privately owned cervid herds.
CWD is a fatal central nervous system disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. It attacks the brain of infected animals, creating small lesions in the brain, which result in death. It is transmitted through direct animal-to-animal contact or by contact with saliva, urine, feces, blood, carcass parts of an infected animal or infected soil. To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recommend that infected animals not be consumed as food by humans or domestic animals.
Since May 2015, CWD-positive deer have been found in Michigan. As of mid-March 2018, 57 free-ranging deer have tested positive for the disease. CWD has not been found in the Upper Peninsula, though it has been discovered in Wisconsin, approximately 40 miles from the western Upper Peninsula border.
The DNR is working with stakeholders to address the status of CWD in Michigan. In the coming weeks, the DNR and the Michigan Natural Resources Commission will host a series of public engagement meetings across the state on CWD. The sessions will provide hunters, business owners and residents with opportunities to share their ideas and observations.
In addition, the DNR, NRC and MDARD are evaluating recommendations from the CWD Working Group, which was created after last year’s CWD Symposium. The symposium brought national and international experts to Michigan to discuss CWD. During the coming months, the DNR, NRC and MDARD will work with stakeholders to develop new CWD regulation recommendations.
Visit www.michigan.gov/cwd for more information about the disease, preventive measures and the public meeting schedule.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDNR/bulletins/1e60b39
Michigan CJD
Reported Cases of All Reportable Conditions
Michigan Disease Surveillance System
Cases Reported In The Last 4 Weeks**
Total Cases Reported In Each Of The Last 5 Years***
Disease Group Reportable Condition
Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease
6-2025 7-2025 8-2025 9-2025 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
0 0 1 1 15 18 26 23 4
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/CDINFO/WSR/Current_WSR.pdf?rev=bad5410c9b3e4f679655b130b5f02a34&hash=AF05A4D8E00EE860D5D0ACE5E1A2BAD9
WOW! Michigan cjd history
https://www.michigan.gov/search#q=Creutzfeldt-Jakob%20disease&f-miweb_site_agency_name=Department%20of%20Health%20%26%20Human%20Services
Snip…
MONDAY, MAY 19, 2025
Michigan 2024 CWD Results
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2025/05/michigan-2024-cwd-results.html
Michigan MDARD CWD Detected Farmed WTD In 3 Counties
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDARD/bulletins/426d9c9
Michigan Total of confirmed CWD-positive deer 2015 – present: 378
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing-data
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2026
Michigan Total of confirmed CWD positive deer 2015 to present is 378
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/219/michigan-total-confirmed-positive-cases
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/05/michigan-total-of-confirmed-cwd.html
ALERT, ALERT, FOR ALL YOU CWD CONSPIRACY TIN FOIL HATS, CWD INSURANCE FAULT BELIEVING, CWD NEVER KILLED A DEER BELIEVERS, DNR PARKS WILDLIFE MONEY GRAB BELIEVERS, this post is for you…terry
***> i’m thinking environmental contamination from cwd, the fact the tse prion can survive in the environment, soil, from 15, 16, to 21 years, what about Real Estate Property Values over time?
we know now from laboratory scientific, transmission studies, CWD, TSE, Prion, will transmit, by oral routes to, Cattle, Pigs; Sheep, Cervid, and Primates. i can still remember, from early BSE days, very frightening stuff.
I remember what “deep throat” told me about Scrapie back around 2001, during early days of my BSE investigation, after my Mom died from hvCJD, I never forgot, and it seems it’s come to pass;
***> Confidential!!!!
***> As early as 1992-3 there had been long studies conducted on small pastures containing scrapie infected sheep at the sheep research station associated with the Neuropathogenesis Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland. Whether these are documented...I don't know. But personal recounts both heard and recorded in a daily journal indicate that leaving the pastures free and replacing the topsoil completely at least 2 feet of thickness each year for SEVEN years....and then when very clean (proven scrapie free) sheep were placed on these small pastures.... the new sheep also broke out with scrapie and passed it to offspring. I am not sure that TSE contaminated ground could ever be free of the agent!! A very frightening revelation!!!
---end personal email---end...tss
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion
THE CWD TSE Prion aka mad cow type disease is not your normal pathogen.
The TSE prion disease survives ashing to 600 degrees celsius, that’s around 1112 degrees farenheit.
You cannot cook the TSE prion disease out of meat. In fact new data now shows that exposure to high temperatures used to cook the meat increased the availability of prions for in vitro amplification.
you can take the ash and mix it with saline and inject that ash into a mouse, and the mouse will go down with TSE.
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production as well.
the TSE prion agent also survives Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes.
IN fact, you should also know that the TSE Prion agent will survive in the environment for years, if not decades.
you can bury it and it will not go away.
The TSE agent is capable of infected your water table i.e. Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area.
it’s not your ordinary pathogen you can just cook it out and be done
and so it seems…2026
CWD, So, this is what we leave our children and grandchildren?
cwd, environmental factors, soil saturation of cwd PrP over time, and growing vegetables, hay, straw, or anything, if plants can uptake the cwd PrP, and then, what about, surrounding environmental cwd factors, water, what about real estate and property values, over time, why is Timmy afraid of cwd science and transmission studies i wonder, and seems to sides with the fake news conspiracy groups about cwd? i don’t make this stuff up…
Detection of chronic wasting disease prions in the farm soil of the Republic of Korea
Here, we show that prion seeding activity was detected in extracts from farm soil following 4 years of incubation with CWD-infected brain homogenate.
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msphere.00866-24
=====***>
"Additionally, we have determined that prion seeding activity is retained for at least fifteen years at a contaminated site following attempted remediation."
=====***>
Detection of prions in soils contaminated by multiple routes
Results: We are able to detect prion seeding activity at multiple types of environmental hotspots, including carcass sites, contaminated captive facilities, and scrapes (i.e. urine and saliva). Differences in relative prion concentration vary depending on the nature and source of the contamination. Additionally, we have determined that prion seeding activity is retained for at least fifteen years at a contaminated site following attempted remediation.
Conclusions: Detection of prions in the environment is of the utmost importance for controlling chronic wasting disease spread. Here, we have demonstrated a viable method for detection of prions in complex environmental matrices. However, it is quite likely that this method underestimates the total infectious prion load in a contaminated sample, due to incomplete recovery of infectious prions. Further refinements are necessary for accurate quantification of prions in such samples, and to account for the intrinsic heterogeneities found in the broader environment.
Funded by: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Prion 2023 Conference Abstracts
https://web.archive.org/web/20250828201533/https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Syed-Zahid-Shah/publication/378314391_Meeting-book-final-version_prion_2023/links/65d44dad28b7720cecdca95f/Meeting-book-final-version-prion-2023.pdf
Artificial mineral sites that pre-date endemic chronic wasting disease become prion hotspots
The detection of PrPCWD in soils at attractant sites within an endemic CWD zone significantly advances our understanding of environmental PrPCWD accumulation dynamics, providing valuable information for advancing adaptive CWD management approaches.
https://int-cwd-sympo.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/final-agenda-with-abstracts.pdf
***> Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years
***> Nine of these recurrences occurred 14–21 years after culling, apparently as the result of environmental contamination, but outside entry could not always be absolutely excluded.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGY Volume 87, Issue 12
Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years Free
https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.82011-0
Rapid recontamination of a farm building occurs after attempted prion removal
First published: 19 January 2019 https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105054
The data illustrates the difficulty in decontaminating farm buildings from scrapie, and demonstrates the likely contribution of farm dust to the recontamination of these environments to levels that are capable of causing disease. snip...
This study clearly demonstrates the difficulty in removing scrapie infectivity from the farm environment. Practical and effective prion decontamination methods are still urgently required for decontamination of scrapie infectivity from farms that have had cases of scrapie and this is particularly relevant for scrapie positive goatherds, which currently have limited genetic resistance to scrapie within commercial breeds.24 This is very likely to have parallels with control efforts for CWD in cervids.
https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1136/vr.105054
***>This is very likely to have parallels with control efforts for CWD in cervids.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30602491/
and so it seems…
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) prion detection in environmental and biological samples from a taxidermy site and nursing facility, and instruments used in surveillance activities
Available online 9 April 2025
Highlights
• CWD prions were identified in a taxidermy and deer nursing facility.
• Contaminated samples included waters, soils, dermestid beetles, domestic flies and a dumpster.
• Surgical instruments used to collect deer samples can get contaminated with CWD prions.
• Some of the infectious particles are readily released from surgical instruments when washed.
• Our results suggest that taxidermy practices actively contribute in the spreading of CWD.
Snip…
In summary, the information provided in this report demonstrate how anthropogenic activities, specifically taxidermy practices, animal processing, and rehabilitation of CWD susceptible species, may facilitate CWD transmission through the environmental dissemination of CWD prions. This study, along with future research efforts characterizing the overall level of infectivity, provides relevant information on managing CWD and to control its rapid geographic expansion. …
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969725009544
Chronic wasting disease detection in environmental and biological samples from a taxidermy site
Results: The PMCA analysis demonstrated CWD seeding activity in some of the components of this facility, including insects involved in head processing, soils, and a trash dumpster.
Conclusions: Different areas of this property were used for various taxidermy procedures. We were able to detect the presence of prions in
i) soils that were in contact with the heads of dead animals, ii) insects involved in the cleaning of skulls, and iii) an empty dumpster where animal carcasses were previously placed.
This is the first report demonstrating that swabbing is a helpful method to screen for prion infectivity on surfaces potentially contaminated with CWD. These findings are relevant as this swabbing and amplification strategy may be used to evaluate the disease status of other free-ranging and captive settings where there is a concern for CWD transmissions, such as at feeders and water troughs with CWD-exposed properties. This approach could have substantial implications for free-ranging cervid surveillance as well as in epidemiological investigations of CWD.
Prion 2022 Conference abstracts: pushing the boundaries
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2022.2091286
Artificial mineral sites that pre-date endemic chronic wasting disease become prion hotspots
The Ames Research and Educational Center property, centrally located within the CWD zone of southwest Tennessee, contains 49 historical mineral supplementation sites that were decommissioned in 2012. Here, we demonstrate that 32 of the 49 (65%) mineral sites within Ames established prior to the regional CWD outbreak, serve as foci of environmental PrPCWD contamination. Detection of PrPCWD in soils from these artificial mineral sites was dependent on site-specific management efforts. Soil physical properties were very similar across sites and no correlation between PrPCWD detection and soil physical properties was found. The detection of PrPCWD in soils at attractant sites within an endemic CWD zone significantly advances our understanding of environmental PrPCWD accumulation dynamics, providing valuable information for advancing adaptive CWD management approaches.
https://intcwdsympo.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/final-agenda-with-abstracts.pdf
Shedding of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Multiple Excreta Throughout Disease Course in White-tailed Deer
Conclusions: These studies demonstrate: (a) CWD prion excretion occurs throughout infection; (2) PRNP genotype (GG≫GS/NT) influences the excreta shedding; and (3) detection sensitivity in excreta can vary with different RT-QuIC protocols. These results provide a more complete perspective of prion shedding in deer during the course of CWD infection.
Prion 2022 Conference abstracts: pushing the boundaries
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2022.2091286
Characterizing Hydrological Transport Pathways of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Environment
Authors Anu Wille, Diana L Karwan, Stuart Siegfried Lichtenberg, Madeline Grunklee, Gage Rowden, Victoria Ferguson-Kramer, Marc D Schwabenlander, Tiffany M Wolf, Peter A Larsen Publication date 2024/6 Journal Water Science Conference (WaterSciCon24 Pages 110-04
Description Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative prion disease found in deer, moose, and elk. Cases of CWD in Minnesota have risen considerably over the last few years, raising wildlife, environmental, and public health concerns.
Infectious prions, such as those causing CWD, enter the environment through bodily fluids or decomposing carcasses of infected individuals and can persist for at least fifteen years in soil and water.
Previous studies have shown strong prion sorption to various mineral particles in soils.
Through field observation and laboratory experimentation, we observed that prions readily partition to the particulate fraction of environmental waters, suggesting that hydrological transport of prions is likely sediment-facilitated.
To effectively contain the spread of CWD through the environment, it is imperative to predict prion transport times and pathways in the context of specific landscape and …
Scholar articles Characterizing Hydrological Transport Pathways of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Environment
A Wille, DL Karwan, SS Lichtenberg, M Grunklee… - Water Science Conference (WaterSciCon24, 2024 Related articles
https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=cVqWACIAAAAJ&cstart=20&pagesize=80&citation_for_view=cVqWACIAAAAJ:0EnyYjriUFMC
Characterizing Hydrological Transport Pathways of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Environment
Wille, Anu search by orcid.svg ; Karwan, Diana L. search by orcid.svg ; Lichtenberg, Stuart Siegfried ;Grunklee, Madeline ; Rowden, Gage ; Ferguson-Kramer, Victoria ;Schwabenlander, Marc D. ; Wolf, Tiffany M. ; Larsen, Peter A.
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024wsc..conf11004W/abstract
https://agu.confex.com/agu/hydrology24/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1502243
Characterizing Hydrological Transport Pathways of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Environment
Wille, Anu search by orcid ; Karwan, Diana L. search by orcid ; Lichtenberg, Stuart Siegfried ; Grunklee, Madeline ; Rowden, Gage ; Ferguson-Kramer, Victoria ; Schwabenlander, Marc D. ; Wolf, Tiffany M. ; Larsen, Peter A.
Abstract Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative prion disease found in deer, moose, and elk. Cases of CWD in Minnesota have risen considerably over the last few years, raising wildlife, environmental, and public health concerns. Infectious prions, such as those causing CWD, enter the environment through bodily fluids or decomposing carcasses of infected individuals and can persist for at least fifteen years in soil and water. Previous studies have shown strong prion sorption to various mineral particles in soils. Through field observation and laboratory experimentation, we observed that prions readily partition to the particulate fraction of environmental waters, suggesting that hydrological transport of prions is likely sediment-facilitated. To effectively contain the spread of CWD through the environment, it is imperative to predict prion transport times and pathways in the context of specific landscape and watershed conditions. Our purpose is to characterize the hydrological transport of prions through watersheds at multiple scales. Through spatial analysis, we mapped surface flow pathways from CWD hotspots in Minnesota to identify how they overlap with major rivers and regions of high soil erosion. Based on in-stream measurements and sediment characterization, we used empirical equations to predict sediment mobilization conditions and transport rates in CWD-contaminated regions with diverse flow regimes. In order to model subsurface prion transport, we began conducting flow-through column experiments testing various flow rates and soil matrices.
Publication: Water Science Conference (WaterSciCon24), held in St. Paul, Minnesota, 24-27 June 2024, Session: Learning from observations / Catchment and Critical Zone Science - Understanding Ecosystems through Monitoring, Analysis, and Experimentation III Oral (Coupled Workshop: 231), id. 110-04. Pub Date: June 2024
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024wsc..conf11004W/abstract
New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication
http://www.pnas.org/content/97/7/3418.full
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493038/
Rapid assessment of bovine spongiform encephalopathy prion inactivation by heat treatment in yellow grease produced in the industrial manufacturing process of meat and bone meals
https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1746-6148-9-134.pdf
***> hay, straw, plants, vegetables, TSE Prion uptake
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Hazard identification for the risks to terrestrial animal health from the import of hay and straw, BSE, CWD, Scrapie, TSE, Prion
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hazard-identification-for-the-risks-to-terrestrial-animal-health-from-the-import-of-hay-and-straw/hazard-identification-for-the-risks-to-terrestrial-animal-health-from-the-import-of-hay-and-straw
CWD TSE Prion, Meats
CDC CWD TSE Prion Update 2025
KEY POINTS
Chronic wasting disease affects deer, elk and similar animals in the United States and a few other countries.
The disease hasn't been shown to infect people.
However, it might be a risk to people if they have contact with or eat meat from animals infected with CWD.
https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-wasting/about/index.html
***> i’m thinking environmental contamination from cwd, the fact the tse prion can survive in the environment, soil, from 15, 16, to 21 years, what about Real Estate Property Values over time?
we know now from laboratory scientific, transmission studies, CWD, TSE, Prion, will transmit, by oral routes to, Cattle, Pigs; Sheep, Cervid, and Primates. i can still remember, from early BSE days, very frightening stuff.
I remember what “deep throat” told me about Scrapie back around 2001, during early days of my BSE investigation, after my Mom died from hvCJD, I never forgot, and it seems it’s come to pass;
***> Confidential!!!!
***> As early as 1992-3 there had been long studies conducted on small pastures containing scrapie infected sheep at the sheep research station associated with the Neuropathogenesis Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland. Whether these are documented...I don't know. But personal recounts both heard and recorded in a daily journal indicate that leaving the pastures free and replacing the topsoil completely at least 2 feet of thickness each year for SEVEN years....and then when very clean (proven scrapie free) sheep were placed on these small pastures.... the new sheep also broke out with scrapie and passed it to offspring. I am not sure that TSE contaminated ground could ever be free of the agent!! A very frightening revelation!!!
---end personal email---end...tss
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion
THE CWD TSE Prion aka mad cow type disease is not your normal pathogen.
The TSE prion disease survives ashing to 600 degrees celsius, that’s around 1112 degrees farenheit.
You cannot cook the TSE prion disease out of meat. In fact new data now shows that exposure to high temperatures used to cook the meat increased the availability of prions for in vitro amplification.
you can take the ash and mix it with saline and inject that ash into a mouse, and the mouse will go down with TSE.
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production as well.
the TSE prion agent also survives Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes.
IN fact, you should also know that the TSE Prion agent will survive in the environment for years, if not decades.
you can bury it and it will not go away.
The TSE agent is capable of infected your water table i.e. Detection of protease-resistant cervid prion protein in water from a CWD-endemic area.
it’s not your ordinary pathogen you can just cook it out and be done
and so it seems…2026
CWD, So, this is what we leave our children and grandchildren?
cwd, environmental factors, soil saturation of cwd PrP over time, and growing vegetables, hay, straw, or anything, if plants can uptake the cwd PrP, and then, what about, surrounding environmental cwd factors, water, what about real estate and property values, over time, why is Timmy afraid of cwd science and transmission studies i wonder, and seems to sides with the fake news conspiracy groups about cwd? i don’t make this stuff up…
Detection of chronic wasting disease prions in the farm soil of the Republic of Korea
Here, we show that prion seeding activity was detected in extracts from farm soil following 4 years of incubation with CWD-infected brain homogenate.
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msphere.00866-24
=====***>
"Additionally, we have determined that prion seeding activity is retained for at least fifteen years at a contaminated site following attempted remediation."
=====***>
Detection of prions in soils contaminated by multiple routes
Results: We are able to detect prion seeding activity at multiple types of environmental hotspots, including carcass sites, contaminated captive facilities, and scrapes (i.e. urine and saliva). Differences in relative prion concentration vary depending on the nature and source of the contamination. Additionally, we have determined that prion seeding activity is retained for at least fifteen years at a contaminated site following attempted remediation.
Conclusions: Detection of prions in the environment is of the utmost importance for controlling chronic wasting disease spread. Here, we have demonstrated a viable method for detection of prions in complex environmental matrices. However, it is quite likely that this method underestimates the total infectious prion load in a contaminated sample, due to incomplete recovery of infectious prions. Further refinements are necessary for accurate quantification of prions in such samples, and to account for the intrinsic heterogeneities found in the broader environment.
Funded by: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Prion 2023 Conference Abstracts
https://web.archive.org/web/20250828201533/https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Syed-Zahid-Shah/publication/378314391_Meeting-book-final-version_prion_2023/links/65d44dad28b7720cecdca95f/Meeting-book-final-version-prion-2023.pdf
Artificial mineral sites that pre-date endemic chronic wasting disease become prion hotspots
The detection of PrPCWD in soils at attractant sites within an endemic CWD zone significantly advances our understanding of environmental PrPCWD accumulation dynamics, providing valuable information for advancing adaptive CWD management approaches.
https://int-cwd-sympo.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/final-agenda-with-abstracts.pdf
***> Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years
***> Nine of these recurrences occurred 14–21 years after culling, apparently as the result of environmental contamination, but outside entry could not always be absolutely excluded.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGY Volume 87, Issue 12
Infectious agent of sheep scrapie may persist in the environment for at least 16 years Free
https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.82011-0
Rapid recontamination of a farm building occurs after attempted prion removal
First published: 19 January 2019 https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105054
The data illustrates the difficulty in decontaminating farm buildings from scrapie, and demonstrates the likely contribution of farm dust to the recontamination of these environments to levels that are capable of causing disease. snip...
This study clearly demonstrates the difficulty in removing scrapie infectivity from the farm environment. Practical and effective prion decontamination methods are still urgently required for decontamination of scrapie infectivity from farms that have had cases of scrapie and this is particularly relevant for scrapie positive goatherds, which currently have limited genetic resistance to scrapie within commercial breeds.24 This is very likely to have parallels with control efforts for CWD in cervids.
https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1136/vr.105054
***>This is very likely to have parallels with control efforts for CWD in cervids.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30602491/
and so it seems…
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) prion detection in environmental and biological samples from a taxidermy site and nursing facility, and instruments used in surveillance activities
Available online 9 April 2025
Highlights
• CWD prions were identified in a taxidermy and deer nursing facility.
• Contaminated samples included waters, soils, dermestid beetles, domestic flies and a dumpster.
• Surgical instruments used to collect deer samples can get contaminated with CWD prions.
• Some of the infectious particles are readily released from surgical instruments when washed.
• Our results suggest that taxidermy practices actively contribute in the spreading of CWD.
Snip…
In summary, the information provided in this report demonstrate how anthropogenic activities, specifically taxidermy practices, animal processing, and rehabilitation of CWD susceptible species, may facilitate CWD transmission through the environmental dissemination of CWD prions. This study, along with future research efforts characterizing the overall level of infectivity, provides relevant information on managing CWD and to control its rapid geographic expansion. …
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969725009544
Chronic wasting disease detection in environmental and biological samples from a taxidermy site
Results: The PMCA analysis demonstrated CWD seeding activity in some of the components of this facility, including insects involved in head processing, soils, and a trash dumpster.
Conclusions: Different areas of this property were used for various taxidermy procedures. We were able to detect the presence of prions in
i) soils that were in contact with the heads of dead animals, ii) insects involved in the cleaning of skulls, and iii) an empty dumpster where animal carcasses were previously placed.
This is the first report demonstrating that swabbing is a helpful method to screen for prion infectivity on surfaces potentially contaminated with CWD. These findings are relevant as this swabbing and amplification strategy may be used to evaluate the disease status of other free-ranging and captive settings where there is a concern for CWD transmissions, such as at feeders and water troughs with CWD-exposed properties. This approach could have substantial implications for free-ranging cervid surveillance as well as in epidemiological investigations of CWD.
Prion 2022 Conference abstracts: pushing the boundaries
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2022.2091286
Artificial mineral sites that pre-date endemic chronic wasting disease become prion hotspots
The Ames Research and Educational Center property, centrally located within the CWD zone of southwest Tennessee, contains 49 historical mineral supplementation sites that were decommissioned in 2012. Here, we demonstrate that 32 of the 49 (65%) mineral sites within Ames established prior to the regional CWD outbreak, serve as foci of environmental PrPCWD contamination. Detection of PrPCWD in soils from these artificial mineral sites was dependent on site-specific management efforts. Soil physical properties were very similar across sites and no correlation between PrPCWD detection and soil physical properties was found. The detection of PrPCWD in soils at attractant sites within an endemic CWD zone significantly advances our understanding of environmental PrPCWD accumulation dynamics, providing valuable information for advancing adaptive CWD management approaches.
https://intcwdsympo.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/final-agenda-with-abstracts.pdf
Shedding of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Multiple Excreta Throughout Disease Course in White-tailed Deer
Conclusions: These studies demonstrate: (a) CWD prion excretion occurs throughout infection; (2) PRNP genotype (GG≫GS/NT) influences the excreta shedding; and (3) detection sensitivity in excreta can vary with different RT-QuIC protocols. These results provide a more complete perspective of prion shedding in deer during the course of CWD infection.
Prion 2022 Conference abstracts: pushing the boundaries
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19336896.2022.2091286
Characterizing Hydrological Transport Pathways of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Environment
Authors Anu Wille, Diana L Karwan, Stuart Siegfried Lichtenberg, Madeline Grunklee, Gage Rowden, Victoria Ferguson-Kramer, Marc D Schwabenlander, Tiffany M Wolf, Peter A Larsen Publication date 2024/6 Journal Water Science Conference (WaterSciCon24 Pages 110-04
Description Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative prion disease found in deer, moose, and elk. Cases of CWD in Minnesota have risen considerably over the last few years, raising wildlife, environmental, and public health concerns.
Infectious prions, such as those causing CWD, enter the environment through bodily fluids or decomposing carcasses of infected individuals and can persist for at least fifteen years in soil and water.
Previous studies have shown strong prion sorption to various mineral particles in soils.
Through field observation and laboratory experimentation, we observed that prions readily partition to the particulate fraction of environmental waters, suggesting that hydrological transport of prions is likely sediment-facilitated.
To effectively contain the spread of CWD through the environment, it is imperative to predict prion transport times and pathways in the context of specific landscape and …
Scholar articles Characterizing Hydrological Transport Pathways of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Environment
A Wille, DL Karwan, SS Lichtenberg, M Grunklee… - Water Science Conference (WaterSciCon24, 2024 Related articles
https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=cVqWACIAAAAJ&cstart=20&pagesize=80&citation_for_view=cVqWACIAAAAJ:0EnyYjriUFMC
Characterizing Hydrological Transport Pathways of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Environment
Wille, Anu search by orcid.svg ; Karwan, Diana L. search by orcid.svg ; Lichtenberg, Stuart Siegfried ;Grunklee, Madeline ; Rowden, Gage ; Ferguson-Kramer, Victoria ;Schwabenlander, Marc D. ; Wolf, Tiffany M. ; Larsen, Peter A.
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024wsc..conf11004W/abstract
https://agu.confex.com/agu/hydrology24/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1502243
Characterizing Hydrological Transport Pathways of Chronic Wasting Disease in the Environment
Wille, Anu search by orcid ; Karwan, Diana L. search by orcid ; Lichtenberg, Stuart Siegfried ; Grunklee, Madeline ; Rowden, Gage ; Ferguson-Kramer, Victoria ; Schwabenlander, Marc D. ; Wolf, Tiffany M. ; Larsen, Peter A.
Abstract Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative prion disease found in deer, moose, and elk. Cases of CWD in Minnesota have risen considerably over the last few years, raising wildlife, environmental, and public health concerns. Infectious prions, such as those causing CWD, enter the environment through bodily fluids or decomposing carcasses of infected individuals and can persist for at least fifteen years in soil and water. Previous studies have shown strong prion sorption to various mineral particles in soils. Through field observation and laboratory experimentation, we observed that prions readily partition to the particulate fraction of environmental waters, suggesting that hydrological transport of prions is likely sediment-facilitated. To effectively contain the spread of CWD through the environment, it is imperative to predict prion transport times and pathways in the context of specific landscape and watershed conditions. Our purpose is to characterize the hydrological transport of prions through watersheds at multiple scales. Through spatial analysis, we mapped surface flow pathways from CWD hotspots in Minnesota to identify how they overlap with major rivers and regions of high soil erosion. Based on in-stream measurements and sediment characterization, we used empirical equations to predict sediment mobilization conditions and transport rates in CWD-contaminated regions with diverse flow regimes. In order to model subsurface prion transport, we began conducting flow-through column experiments testing various flow rates and soil matrices.
Publication: Water Science Conference (WaterSciCon24), held in St. Paul, Minnesota, 24-27 June 2024, Session: Learning from observations / Catchment and Critical Zone Science - Understanding Ecosystems through Monitoring, Analysis, and Experimentation III Oral (Coupled Workshop: 231), id. 110-04. Pub Date: June 2024
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024wsc..conf11004W/abstract
New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication
http://www.pnas.org/content/97/7/3418.full
Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493038/
Rapid assessment of bovine spongiform encephalopathy prion inactivation by heat treatment in yellow grease produced in the industrial manufacturing process of meat and bone meals
https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1746-6148-9-134.pdf
***> hay, straw, plants, vegetables, TSE Prion uptake
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Hazard identification for the risks to terrestrial animal health from the import of hay and straw, BSE, CWD, Scrapie, TSE, Prion
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hazard-identification-for-the-risks-to-terrestrial-animal-health-from-the-import-of-hay-and-straw/hazard-identification-for-the-risks-to-terrestrial-animal-health-from-the-import-of-hay-and-straw
CWD TSE Prion, Meats
CDC CWD TSE Prion Update 2025
KEY POINTS
Chronic wasting disease affects deer, elk and similar animals in the United States and a few other countries.
The disease hasn't been shown to infect people.
However, it might be a risk to people if they have contact with or eat meat from animals infected with CWD.
https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-wasting/about/index.html
see archived url link;
https://web.archive.org/web/20240617224730/https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-wasting/about/index.html
Prions in Muscles of Cervids with Chronic Wasting Disease, Norway
Volume 31, Number 2—February 2025
Research
Prions in Muscles of Cervids with Chronic Wasting Disease, Norway
Snip…
In summary, the results of our study indicate that prions are widely distributed in peripheral and edible tissues of cervids in Norway, including muscles. This finding highlights the risk of human exposure to small amounts of prions through handling and consuming infected cervids.
Appendix
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/2/24-0903-app1.pdf
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/2/24-0903_article
Volume 31, Number 2—February 2025
Dispatch
Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Raw, Processed, and Cooked Elk Meat, Texas, USA
Snip…
Of note, our data show that exposure to high temperatures used to cook the meat increased the availability of prions for in vitro amplification. Considering the potential implications in food safety and public health, we believe that the findings described in this study warrant further research. Our results suggest that although the elk meat used in this study resisted different manipulations involved in subsequent consumption by humans, their zoonotic potential was limited. Nevertheless, even though no cases of CWD transmission to human have been reported, the potential for human infection is still unclear and continued monitoring for zoonotic potential is warranted.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/2/24-0906_article
Detection of chronic wasting disease prions in processed meats
Results: Our results show positive prion detection in all the samples analyzed using deer and elk substrates. Surprisingly, cooked meats displayed increased seeding activities. This data suggests that CWD-prions are available to people even after meats are processed and cooked.
Conclusions: These results suggest CWD prions are accessible to humans through meats, even after processing and cooking. Considering the fact that these samples were collected from already processed specimens, the availability of CWD prions to humans is probably underestimated.
"Our results show positive prion detection in all the samples analyzed using deer and elk substrates. Surprisingly, cooked meats displayed increased seeding activities."
Meeting-book-final-version prion 2023 Prion 2023 Congress Organizing Committee and the NeuroPrion Association, we invite you to join us for the International Conference Prion2023 from 16-20 October 2023 in Faro, Portugal.
https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20250828201533/https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Syed-Zahid-Shah/publication/378314391_Meeting-book-final-version_prion_2023/links/65d44dad28b7720cecdca95f/Meeting-book-final-version-prion-2023.pdf
DETECTION OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE PRIONS IN PROCESSED MEATS.
In this study, we analyzed different processed meats derived from a pre-clinical, CWD-positive free-ranging elk. Products tested included filets, sausages, boneless steaks, burgers, ham steaks, seasoned chili meats, and spiced meats. CWD-prion presence in these products were assessed by PMCA using deer and elk substrates. Our results show positive prion detection in all products. To confirm the resilience of CWD-prions to traditional cooking methods, we grilled and boiled the meat products and evaluated them for any remnant PMCA seeding activity. Results confirmed the presence of CWD-prions in these meat products suggesting that infectious particles may still be available to people even after cooking. Our results strongly suggest ongoing human exposure to CWD-prions and raise significant concerns of zoonotic transmission through ingestion of CWD contaminated meat products.
https://intcwdsympo.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/final-agenda-with-abstracts.pdf?force_download=true
Transmission of prion infectivity from CWD-infected macaque tissues to rodent models demonstrates the zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease.
=====
https://intcwdsympo.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/final-agenda-with-abstracts.pdf?force_download=true
https://defrauktseprp.blogspot.com/2026/06/hazard-identification-for-risks-to.html USA Report, Scrapie, CWD, BSE, TSE, Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Cervid, Humans, Zoonotic, 2026
April 2026
https://fdabse589.blogspot.com/2026/04/usa-report-scrapie-cwd-bse-tse-cattle.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403956772_USA_Report_Scrapie_CWD_BSE_TSE_Cattle_Sheep_Pigs_Cervid_Humans_Zoonotic_2026
SUNDAY, AUGUST 09, 2026
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD and Population Declines of Cervid
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/08/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-and.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/229/cwd-prion-population-declines-cervid
***> 1. 01 Determined that white-tailed deer (WTD) infected with scrapie from sheep can transmit the disease to other deer under conditions mimicking natural exposure.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=440677&fy=202
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=336834
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/8/24-0007_article
cwd tse prion, cattle, pigs, sheep, primates, oh my! Prion Conference 2023
Transmission of the chronic wasting disease agent from elk to cattle after oronasal exposure
Justin Greenlee, Jifeng Bian, Zoe Lambert, Alexis Frese, and Eric Cassmann Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA-ARS, Ames, IA, USA
Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the susceptibility of cattle to chronic wasting disease agent from elk.
Materials and Methods: Initial studies were conducted in bovinized mice using inoculum derived from elk with various genotypes at codon 132 (MM, LM, LL). Based upon attack rates, inoculum (10% w/v brain homogenate) from an LM132 elk was selected for transmission studies in cattle. At approximately 2 weeks of age, one wild type steer (EE211) and one steer with the E211K polymorphism (EK211) were fed 1 mL of brain homogenate in a quart of milk replacer while another 1 mL was instilled intranasally. The cattle were examined daily for clinical signs for the duration of the experiment. One steer is still under observation at 71 months post-inoculation (mpi).
Results: Inoculum derived from MM132 elk resulted in similar attack rates and incubation periods in mice expressing wild type or K211 bovine PRNP, 35% at 531 days post inoculation (dpi) and 27% at 448 dpi, respectively. Inoculum from LM132 elk had a slightly higher attack rates in mice: 45% (693 dpi) in wild type cattle PRNP and 33% (468) in K211 mice. Inoculum from LL132 elk resulted in the highest attack rate in wild type bovinized mice (53% at 625 dpi), but no K211 mice were affected at >700 days. At approximately 70 mpi, the EK211 genotype steer developed clinical signs suggestive of prion disease, depression, low head carriage, hypersalivation, and ataxia, and was necropsied. Enzyme immunoassay (IDEXX) was positive in brainstem (OD=4.00, but non-detect in retropharyngeal lymph nodes and palatine tonsil. Immunoreactivity was largely limited to the brainstem, midbrain, and cervical spinal cord with a pattern that was primarily glia-associated.
“Conclusions: Cattle with the E211K polymorphism are susceptible to the CWD agent after oronasal exposure of 0.2 g of infectious material.”
Strain characterization of chronic wasting disease in bovine-PrP transgenic mice
Conclusions: Altogether, these results exhibit the diversity of CWD strains present in the panel of CWD isolates and the ability of at least some CWD isolates to infect bovine species. Cattle being one of the most important farming species, this ability represents a potential threat to both animal and human health, and consequently deserves further study.
Prion 2023 Congress Organizing Committee and the NeuroPrion Association, we invite you to join us for the International Conference Prion2023 from 16-20 October 2023 in Faro, Portugal.
https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20250828201533/https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Syed-Zahid-Shah/publication/378314391_Meeting-book-final-version_prion_2023/links/65d44dad28b7720cecdca95f/Meeting-book-final-version-prion-2023.pdf
don’t forget the pigs, outbreak of cwd in pigs in Texas and Arkansas;
Chronic wasting disease prions in cervids and wild pigs in North America Preliminary Outbreak Assessment DEFRA 26 January 2026 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Preliminary Outbreak Assessment
Chronic wasting disease prions in cervids and wild pigs in North America
26 January 2026
Disease report
“They analysed over 300 brain and lymph node samples from 178 wild pigs living across Arkansas and Texas, USA…the researchers identified CWD prions in up to 37% of the lymph node samples and 15% of brain samples. The lowest detection rates were in the Texas samples (below 16%), matching the lower CWD prevalence in the state’s cervid population.”
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697a3b013c71d838df6bd413/CWD_Prions_in_Cervids_and_Wild_Pigs_in_North_America.pdf
Detection of Prions in Wild Pigs (Sus scrofa) from Areas with Reported Chronic Wasting Disease Cases, United State Volume 31, Number 1—January 2025
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/1/24-0401_article
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Preliminary Outbreak Assessment
Chronic wasting disease prions in cervids and wild pigs in North America
26 January 2026
Disease report
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of cervids, such as deer, elk, moose and reindeer. It is caused by prions – infectious proteins that cause normal cellular prion proteins to misfold (CIDRAP, 2025). The disease is widespread in captive and free-ranging cervids in North America (Figure 1). For the first time, CWD prions have also been detected in the tissues of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) caught in CWD-affected areas of the USA (Soto et al. 2025). This discovery emerged from a study designed to investigate potential interactions between wild pigs and CWD prions, as wild pigs often coexist with cervids, which can shed prions into the environment. The following assessment discusses the epidemiology of CWD in North America and the detection of CWD prions in wild pigs. It also considers the potential implications for Great Britain.
Conclusion
CWD has continued to spread among captive and free-ranging cervids in North America since it was first detected in the 1960s. The finding of CWD prions in wild pigs in the USA suggests they could contribute towards transmission of the disease, influencing its epidemiology, geographic distribution and interspecies spread. However, further research is needed to confirm this. CWD has never been reported in Great Britain and the current risk of CWD prions being introduced into Great Britain’s wild pig or cervid population ranges from very low to negligible.
Readers are reminded to be vigilant for signs of CWD. Information on how to spot the disease can be found here. Suspected cases must be reported immediately to the Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301. In Wales, call 0300 303 8268. In Scotland, contact your local Field Services Office. Failure to do so is an offence. We will continue to monitor the situation.
Authors • Lawrence Finn • Dr. Lauren Perrin • John Spiropoulos • Dr. Helen RobertsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
References
snip…see full report;
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697a3b013c71d838df6bd413/CWD_Prions_in_Cervids_and_Wild_Pigs_in_North_America.pdf
Detection of Prions in Wild Pigs (Sus scrofa) from Areas with Reported Chronic Wasting Disease Cases, United State Volume 31, Number 1—January 2025
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/1/24-0401_article
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2026
Chronic wasting disease prions in cervids and wild pigs in North America Preliminary Outbreak
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.01800-25
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/1/24-0401_article
https://media.ark.org/agri/Moore_2017_Swine_CWD.pdf
https://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2026/01/chronic-wasting-disease-prions-in.html
cwd to sheep
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD vs Scrapie TSE Prion
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=410511
Detection of infectivity in orally inoculated pigs using mouse bioassay raises the possibility that naturally exposed pigs could act as a reservoir of CWD infectivity. Currently, swine rations in the U.S. could contain animal derived components including materials from deer or elk. In addition, feral swine could be exposed to infected carcasses in areas where CWD is present in wildlife populations. The current feed ban in the U.S. is based exclusively on keeping tissues from TSE infected cattle from entering animal feeds. These results indicating the susceptibility of pigs to CWD, coupled with the limitations of the current feed ban, indicates that a revision of the feed ban may be necessary to protect swine production and potentially human health.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=353091
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=432011&fy=2017
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=337105
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=326166
Research Project: Elucidating the Pathobiology and Transmission of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
Location: Virus and Prion Research
Title: Differentiation of scrapie from chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer
Accomplishments
1. 01 Determined that white-tailed deer (WTD) infected with scrapie from sheep can transmit the disease to other deer under conditions mimicking natural exposure. It has long been suggested that prion disease in deer (chronic wasting disease (CWD)) was caused by the prion agent from sheep. The prion disease that affects sheep, scrapie, has been recognized for hundreds of years. However, chronic wasting disease, a similar disease found in WTD, has only been recognized since the 1960s. ARS researchers in Ames, Iowa, showed that white-tailed deer sick with scrapie from sheep can infect other deer under conditions mimicking natural exposure. Furthermore, this work shows that CWD is difficult to differentiate from WTD infected with scrapie. WTD scrapie prions accumulate in the lymphoreticular system in a manner similar to CWD, meaning that environmental contamination may occur through feces, saliva, and other body fluids of scrapie affected WTD as has been shown for CWD. The presence of WTD infected with scrapie could confound mitigation efforts for chronic wasting disease. This information informs regulatory officials, the farmed cervid industry, and officials tasked with protecting animal health such as state Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, or Parks and Wildlife with regard to a disease similar to CWD but arising from sheep scrapie that could be present in WTD that have contact with scrapie affected sheep and/or goats.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=440677&fy=202
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2026
Limited transmission of cervid prions to nonhuman primates provides insights into the zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeb7613
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/05/limited-transmission-of-cervid-prions.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/220/limited-transmission-cervid-nonhuman-primates
Cervid CWD TSE PrP Transmission to Humans, has it already happened and being masked as sporadic CJD, What if? July 2026 Review
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/07/cervid-cwd-tse-prp-transmission-to.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/224/cervid-transmission-humans-july-review
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion, Economical, Environmental, Zoonotic, Risk Factors 2026
https://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2026/02/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse-prion.html
Deer don’t die from CWD, it’s the insurance companies, or it's a Government conspiracy?
For all you …folks, that keep saying deer don’t die form CWD, or it's a Government conspiracy?
here’s your sign…
“The deer was found dead by a landowner and was severely emaciated.”
CWD-POSITIVE DETECTED IN CARBON COUNTY
February 12, 2025
HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced an additional CWD-positive deer has been detected in the northeastern part of the state.
The deer, an adult male, was detected in Packer Township, Carbon County. This detection is the first in Carbon County and is more than 10 miles from any other confirmed CWD-positive deer. The deer was found dead by a landowner and was severely emaciated.
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pgc/newsroom/pheasants-to-be-released-next-week/cwd-positive-detected-in-carbon-county.html
Ever seen a dead deer from Cwd?
That dog don’t hunt!
First chronic wasting disease case confirmed in Spokane County
SPOKANE- Washington’s first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed in an adult female white-tailed deer that was found dead in the Fairwood area of north Spokane.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/newsroom/news-release/first-chronic-wasting-disease-case-confirmed-spokane-county
Case of Chronic Wasting Disease found in dead deer at Breckinridge County farm Oct 14, 2024 Updated Oct 14, 2024 The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife said Monday that a case of the disease was found in a dead deer from a Breckinridge County deer farm. This is Kentucky's first case of CWD in a captive group of deer, the department said in a news release.
https://www.wdrb.com/news/case-of-chronic-wasting-disease-found-in-dead-deer-at-breckinridge-county-farm/article_e874f26c-8a95-11ef-b4fb-2f583a5d3105.html
Oklahoma CIMARRON COUNTY SSA ENLARGED AFTER CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CONFIRMED IN DEAD DEER
https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/outdoor-news/cimarron-county-ssa-enlarged-after-chronic-wasting-disease-confirmed-dead-deer
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirms the first positive test result for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a wild deer in Waushara County. The deer was found dead in early February in the town of Wautoma and is within 10 miles of the Marquette and Portage county borders.
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/newsroom/release/91086
Ever see a dead deer from Cwd?
CWD, Seeing is believing Videos Part 1, Part 2
The below video series is provided by the Mississippi State Deer Lab with many contributing Partners. Click image to find all videos in the series.
Seeing is Believing is a two part documentary film that hopes to increase awareness about chornic wasting disease (CWD). Although most hunters and landowners may never witness a clinically ill animal in an area with high CWD prevalence, the documentary demonstrates how CWD is certainly present, explains why it is a major concern, and how stakeholders are key to managing the disease. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) developed these films in partnership with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and multiple private conservation organizations.
CWD Seeing is believing part 1 Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDTHEwnmO8
CWD Seeing is believing part 2 Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbaYYLWewNg
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation - CWD Informational Video
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Wildlife-in-Wyoming/More-Wildlife/Wildlife-Disease/CWD-in-Wyoming-Wildlife/CWD-Videos-Learn-all-about-CWD
https://web.archive.org/web/20240617224730/https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-wasting/about/index.html
Prions in Muscles of Cervids with Chronic Wasting Disease, Norway
Volume 31, Number 2—February 2025
Research
Prions in Muscles of Cervids with Chronic Wasting Disease, Norway
Snip…
In summary, the results of our study indicate that prions are widely distributed in peripheral and edible tissues of cervids in Norway, including muscles. This finding highlights the risk of human exposure to small amounts of prions through handling and consuming infected cervids.
Appendix
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/2/24-0903-app1.pdf
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/2/24-0903_article
Volume 31, Number 2—February 2025
Dispatch
Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Raw, Processed, and Cooked Elk Meat, Texas, USA
Snip…
Of note, our data show that exposure to high temperatures used to cook the meat increased the availability of prions for in vitro amplification. Considering the potential implications in food safety and public health, we believe that the findings described in this study warrant further research. Our results suggest that although the elk meat used in this study resisted different manipulations involved in subsequent consumption by humans, their zoonotic potential was limited. Nevertheless, even though no cases of CWD transmission to human have been reported, the potential for human infection is still unclear and continued monitoring for zoonotic potential is warranted.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/2/24-0906_article
Detection of chronic wasting disease prions in processed meats
Results: Our results show positive prion detection in all the samples analyzed using deer and elk substrates. Surprisingly, cooked meats displayed increased seeding activities. This data suggests that CWD-prions are available to people even after meats are processed and cooked.
Conclusions: These results suggest CWD prions are accessible to humans through meats, even after processing and cooking. Considering the fact that these samples were collected from already processed specimens, the availability of CWD prions to humans is probably underestimated.
"Our results show positive prion detection in all the samples analyzed using deer and elk substrates. Surprisingly, cooked meats displayed increased seeding activities."
Meeting-book-final-version prion 2023 Prion 2023 Congress Organizing Committee and the NeuroPrion Association, we invite you to join us for the International Conference Prion2023 from 16-20 October 2023 in Faro, Portugal.
https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20250828201533/https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Syed-Zahid-Shah/publication/378314391_Meeting-book-final-version_prion_2023/links/65d44dad28b7720cecdca95f/Meeting-book-final-version-prion-2023.pdf
DETECTION OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE PRIONS IN PROCESSED MEATS.
In this study, we analyzed different processed meats derived from a pre-clinical, CWD-positive free-ranging elk. Products tested included filets, sausages, boneless steaks, burgers, ham steaks, seasoned chili meats, and spiced meats. CWD-prion presence in these products were assessed by PMCA using deer and elk substrates. Our results show positive prion detection in all products. To confirm the resilience of CWD-prions to traditional cooking methods, we grilled and boiled the meat products and evaluated them for any remnant PMCA seeding activity. Results confirmed the presence of CWD-prions in these meat products suggesting that infectious particles may still be available to people even after cooking. Our results strongly suggest ongoing human exposure to CWD-prions and raise significant concerns of zoonotic transmission through ingestion of CWD contaminated meat products.
Products tested included filets, sausages, boneless steaks, burgers, ham steaks, seasoned chili meats, and spiced meats.
CWD-prion presence in these products were assessed by PMCA using deer and elk substrates.
Our results show positive prion detection in all products.
Results confirmed the presence of CWD-prions in these meat products suggesting that infectious particles may still be available to people even after cooking.
Our results strongly suggest ongoing human exposure to CWD-prions and raise significant concerns of zoonotic transmission through ingestion of CWD contaminated meat products.
https://intcwdsympo.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/final-agenda-with-abstracts.pdf?force_download=true
Transmission of prion infectivity from CWD-infected macaque tissues to rodent models demonstrates the zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease.
Further passage to cervidized mice revealed transmission with a 100% attack rate.
Our findings demonstrate that macaques, considered the best model for the zoonotic potential of prions, were infected upon CWD challenge, including the oral one.
The disease manifested as atypical in macaques and initial transgenic mouse transmissions, but with infectivity present at all times, as unveiled in the bank vole model with an unusual tissue tropism.
Epidemiologic surveillance of prion disease among cervid hunters and people likely to have consumed venison contaminated with chronic wasting disease
=====
https://intcwdsympo.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/final-agenda-with-abstracts.pdf?force_download=true
https://defrauktseprp.blogspot.com/2026/06/hazard-identification-for-risks-to.html USA Report, Scrapie, CWD, BSE, TSE, Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Cervid, Humans, Zoonotic, 2026
April 2026
https://fdabse589.blogspot.com/2026/04/usa-report-scrapie-cwd-bse-tse-cattle.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403956772_USA_Report_Scrapie_CWD_BSE_TSE_Cattle_Sheep_Pigs_Cervid_Humans_Zoonotic_2026
SUNDAY, AUGUST 09, 2026
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD and Population Declines of Cervid
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/08/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-and.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/229/cwd-prion-population-declines-cervid
***> 1. 01 Determined that white-tailed deer (WTD) infected with scrapie from sheep can transmit the disease to other deer under conditions mimicking natural exposure.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=440677&fy=202
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=336834
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/8/24-0007_article
cwd tse prion, cattle, pigs, sheep, primates, oh my! Prion Conference 2023
Transmission of the chronic wasting disease agent from elk to cattle after oronasal exposure
Justin Greenlee, Jifeng Bian, Zoe Lambert, Alexis Frese, and Eric Cassmann Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA-ARS, Ames, IA, USA
Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the susceptibility of cattle to chronic wasting disease agent from elk.
Materials and Methods: Initial studies were conducted in bovinized mice using inoculum derived from elk with various genotypes at codon 132 (MM, LM, LL). Based upon attack rates, inoculum (10% w/v brain homogenate) from an LM132 elk was selected for transmission studies in cattle. At approximately 2 weeks of age, one wild type steer (EE211) and one steer with the E211K polymorphism (EK211) were fed 1 mL of brain homogenate in a quart of milk replacer while another 1 mL was instilled intranasally. The cattle were examined daily for clinical signs for the duration of the experiment. One steer is still under observation at 71 months post-inoculation (mpi).
Results: Inoculum derived from MM132 elk resulted in similar attack rates and incubation periods in mice expressing wild type or K211 bovine PRNP, 35% at 531 days post inoculation (dpi) and 27% at 448 dpi, respectively. Inoculum from LM132 elk had a slightly higher attack rates in mice: 45% (693 dpi) in wild type cattle PRNP and 33% (468) in K211 mice. Inoculum from LL132 elk resulted in the highest attack rate in wild type bovinized mice (53% at 625 dpi), but no K211 mice were affected at >700 days. At approximately 70 mpi, the EK211 genotype steer developed clinical signs suggestive of prion disease, depression, low head carriage, hypersalivation, and ataxia, and was necropsied. Enzyme immunoassay (IDEXX) was positive in brainstem (OD=4.00, but non-detect in retropharyngeal lymph nodes and palatine tonsil. Immunoreactivity was largely limited to the brainstem, midbrain, and cervical spinal cord with a pattern that was primarily glia-associated.
“Conclusions: Cattle with the E211K polymorphism are susceptible to the CWD agent after oronasal exposure of 0.2 g of infectious material.”
Strain characterization of chronic wasting disease in bovine-PrP transgenic mice
Conclusions: Altogether, these results exhibit the diversity of CWD strains present in the panel of CWD isolates and the ability of at least some CWD isolates to infect bovine species. Cattle being one of the most important farming species, this ability represents a potential threat to both animal and human health, and consequently deserves further study.
Prion 2023 Congress Organizing Committee and the NeuroPrion Association, we invite you to join us for the International Conference Prion2023 from 16-20 October 2023 in Faro, Portugal.
https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20250828201533/https://prion2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meeting-book-final-version2.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Syed-Zahid-Shah/publication/378314391_Meeting-book-final-version_prion_2023/links/65d44dad28b7720cecdca95f/Meeting-book-final-version-prion-2023.pdf
don’t forget the pigs, outbreak of cwd in pigs in Texas and Arkansas;
Chronic wasting disease prions in cervids and wild pigs in North America Preliminary Outbreak Assessment DEFRA 26 January 2026 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Preliminary Outbreak Assessment
Chronic wasting disease prions in cervids and wild pigs in North America
26 January 2026
Disease report
“They analysed over 300 brain and lymph node samples from 178 wild pigs living across Arkansas and Texas, USA…the researchers identified CWD prions in up to 37% of the lymph node samples and 15% of brain samples. The lowest detection rates were in the Texas samples (below 16%), matching the lower CWD prevalence in the state’s cervid population.”
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697a3b013c71d838df6bd413/CWD_Prions_in_Cervids_and_Wild_Pigs_in_North_America.pdf
Detection of Prions in Wild Pigs (Sus scrofa) from Areas with Reported Chronic Wasting Disease Cases, United State Volume 31, Number 1—January 2025
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/1/24-0401_article
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Preliminary Outbreak Assessment
Chronic wasting disease prions in cervids and wild pigs in North America
26 January 2026
Disease report
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of cervids, such as deer, elk, moose and reindeer. It is caused by prions – infectious proteins that cause normal cellular prion proteins to misfold (CIDRAP, 2025). The disease is widespread in captive and free-ranging cervids in North America (Figure 1). For the first time, CWD prions have also been detected in the tissues of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) caught in CWD-affected areas of the USA (Soto et al. 2025). This discovery emerged from a study designed to investigate potential interactions between wild pigs and CWD prions, as wild pigs often coexist with cervids, which can shed prions into the environment. The following assessment discusses the epidemiology of CWD in North America and the detection of CWD prions in wild pigs. It also considers the potential implications for Great Britain.
Conclusion
CWD has continued to spread among captive and free-ranging cervids in North America since it was first detected in the 1960s. The finding of CWD prions in wild pigs in the USA suggests they could contribute towards transmission of the disease, influencing its epidemiology, geographic distribution and interspecies spread. However, further research is needed to confirm this. CWD has never been reported in Great Britain and the current risk of CWD prions being introduced into Great Britain’s wild pig or cervid population ranges from very low to negligible.
Readers are reminded to be vigilant for signs of CWD. Information on how to spot the disease can be found here. Suspected cases must be reported immediately to the Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301. In Wales, call 0300 303 8268. In Scotland, contact your local Field Services Office. Failure to do so is an offence. We will continue to monitor the situation.
Authors • Lawrence Finn • Dr. Lauren Perrin • John Spiropoulos • Dr. Helen RobertsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
References
snip…see full report;
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697a3b013c71d838df6bd413/CWD_Prions_in_Cervids_and_Wild_Pigs_in_North_America.pdf
Detection of Prions in Wild Pigs (Sus scrofa) from Areas with Reported Chronic Wasting Disease Cases, United State Volume 31, Number 1—January 2025
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/1/24-0401_article
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2026
Chronic wasting disease prions in cervids and wild pigs in North America Preliminary Outbreak
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.01800-25
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/1/24-0401_article
https://media.ark.org/agri/Moore_2017_Swine_CWD.pdf
https://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2026/01/chronic-wasting-disease-prions-in.html
cwd to sheep
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD vs Scrapie TSE Prion
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=410511
Detection of infectivity in orally inoculated pigs using mouse bioassay raises the possibility that naturally exposed pigs could act as a reservoir of CWD infectivity. Currently, swine rations in the U.S. could contain animal derived components including materials from deer or elk. In addition, feral swine could be exposed to infected carcasses in areas where CWD is present in wildlife populations. The current feed ban in the U.S. is based exclusively on keeping tissues from TSE infected cattle from entering animal feeds. These results indicating the susceptibility of pigs to CWD, coupled with the limitations of the current feed ban, indicates that a revision of the feed ban may be necessary to protect swine production and potentially human health.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=353091
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=432011&fy=2017
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=337105
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=326166
Research Project: Elucidating the Pathobiology and Transmission of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
Location: Virus and Prion Research
Title: Differentiation of scrapie from chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer
Accomplishments
1. 01 Determined that white-tailed deer (WTD) infected with scrapie from sheep can transmit the disease to other deer under conditions mimicking natural exposure. It has long been suggested that prion disease in deer (chronic wasting disease (CWD)) was caused by the prion agent from sheep. The prion disease that affects sheep, scrapie, has been recognized for hundreds of years. However, chronic wasting disease, a similar disease found in WTD, has only been recognized since the 1960s. ARS researchers in Ames, Iowa, showed that white-tailed deer sick with scrapie from sheep can infect other deer under conditions mimicking natural exposure. Furthermore, this work shows that CWD is difficult to differentiate from WTD infected with scrapie. WTD scrapie prions accumulate in the lymphoreticular system in a manner similar to CWD, meaning that environmental contamination may occur through feces, saliva, and other body fluids of scrapie affected WTD as has been shown for CWD. The presence of WTD infected with scrapie could confound mitigation efforts for chronic wasting disease. This information informs regulatory officials, the farmed cervid industry, and officials tasked with protecting animal health such as state Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, or Parks and Wildlife with regard to a disease similar to CWD but arising from sheep scrapie that could be present in WTD that have contact with scrapie affected sheep and/or goats.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=440677&fy=202
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2026
Limited transmission of cervid prions to nonhuman primates provides insights into the zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeb7613
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/05/limited-transmission-of-cervid-prions.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/220/limited-transmission-cervid-nonhuman-primates
Cervid CWD TSE PrP Transmission to Humans, has it already happened and being masked as sporadic CJD, What if? July 2026 Review
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/07/cervid-cwd-tse-prp-transmission-to.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/224/cervid-transmission-humans-july-review
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion, Economical, Environmental, Zoonotic, Risk Factors 2026
https://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2026/02/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse-prion.html
Deer don’t die from CWD, it’s the insurance companies, or it's a Government conspiracy?
For all you …folks, that keep saying deer don’t die form CWD, or it's a Government conspiracy?
here’s your sign…
“The deer was found dead by a landowner and was severely emaciated.”
CWD-POSITIVE DETECTED IN CARBON COUNTY
February 12, 2025
HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced an additional CWD-positive deer has been detected in the northeastern part of the state.
The deer, an adult male, was detected in Packer Township, Carbon County. This detection is the first in Carbon County and is more than 10 miles from any other confirmed CWD-positive deer. The deer was found dead by a landowner and was severely emaciated.
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pgc/newsroom/pheasants-to-be-released-next-week/cwd-positive-detected-in-carbon-county.html
Ever seen a dead deer from Cwd?
That dog don’t hunt!
First chronic wasting disease case confirmed in Spokane County
SPOKANE- Washington’s first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed in an adult female white-tailed deer that was found dead in the Fairwood area of north Spokane.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/newsroom/news-release/first-chronic-wasting-disease-case-confirmed-spokane-county
Case of Chronic Wasting Disease found in dead deer at Breckinridge County farm Oct 14, 2024 Updated Oct 14, 2024 The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife said Monday that a case of the disease was found in a dead deer from a Breckinridge County deer farm. This is Kentucky's first case of CWD in a captive group of deer, the department said in a news release.
https://www.wdrb.com/news/case-of-chronic-wasting-disease-found-in-dead-deer-at-breckinridge-county-farm/article_e874f26c-8a95-11ef-b4fb-2f583a5d3105.html
Oklahoma CIMARRON COUNTY SSA ENLARGED AFTER CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CONFIRMED IN DEAD DEER
https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/outdoor-news/cimarron-county-ssa-enlarged-after-chronic-wasting-disease-confirmed-dead-deer
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirms the first positive test result for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a wild deer in Waushara County. The deer was found dead in early February in the town of Wautoma and is within 10 miles of the Marquette and Portage county borders.
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/newsroom/release/91086
Ever see a dead deer from Cwd?
CWD, Seeing is believing Videos Part 1, Part 2
The below video series is provided by the Mississippi State Deer Lab with many contributing Partners. Click image to find all videos in the series.
Seeing is Believing is a two part documentary film that hopes to increase awareness about chornic wasting disease (CWD). Although most hunters and landowners may never witness a clinically ill animal in an area with high CWD prevalence, the documentary demonstrates how CWD is certainly present, explains why it is a major concern, and how stakeholders are key to managing the disease. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) developed these films in partnership with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and multiple private conservation organizations.
CWD Seeing is believing part 1 Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDTHEwnmO8
CWD Seeing is believing part 2 Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbaYYLWewNg
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation - CWD Informational Video
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Wildlife-in-Wyoming/More-Wildlife/Wildlife-Disease/CWD-in-Wyoming-Wildlife/CWD-Videos-Learn-all-about-CWD
https://web.archive.org/web/20240229085226/https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Wildlife-in-Wyoming/More-Wildlife/Wildlife-Disease/CWD-in-Wyoming-Wildlife/CWD-Videos-Learn-all-about-CWD
Cwd videos
15 minute mark video shows sick deer with cwd, and this deer DIED FROM CWD, IT'S DOCUMENTED, commentator says ''so if anyone every tells you, that a deer has never died from CWD, think of this picture, because the Wisconsin Veterinary Lab told us, what when they looked at her sample under a microscope, she was the hottest animal they had ever seen, and that's in terms of the fluorescents that comes off the slide when the look at it, so, a lot of Prion in her system.''
''SCENTS AND LURES, we know that the Prion is shed in urine, and essentially the production of these products is unregulated, we have no idea, you can't tell where they come from, what species are in them, how many animals, how they are processed, there is really no rules about them, so we are concerned it is a way to bring the disease into new areas, and have us fighting on multiple fronts, AND there are zero risk synthetic options that are readily available in stores, so we have ask hunters to switch to zero risk options.''
see much more about 2 hours long...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3CAI-EwlgM&t=922s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3CAI-EwlgM
TEXAS BREEDER DEER ESCAPEE WITH CWD IN THE WILD, or so the genetics would show?
OH NO, please tell me i heard this wrong, a potential Texas captive escapee with cwd in the wild, in an area with positive captive cwd herd?
apparently, no ID though. tell me it ain't so please...
23:00 minute mark
''Free Ranging Deer, Dr. Deyoung looked at Genetics of this free ranging deer and what he found was, that the genetics on this deer were more similar to captive deer, than the free ranging population, but he did not see a significant connection to any one captive facility that he analyzed, so we believe, Ahhhhhh, this animal had some captive ahhh, whatnot.''
https://youtu.be/aoPDeGL6mpQ?t=1384
Texas symposium Cwd
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nsX4MUWX_d8
Arkansas Cwd
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OWpyhEu77hw
Wyoming Cwd 2022 test results
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cy_CDnNKQSE
key takeaways ;
CWD substantially reduces deer survival rates and suppresses population growth.
Where CWD prevalence is high, deer populations are likely declining.
If CWD continues to spread, it will eventually impact deer populations elsewhere.
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/research/projects/dpp/StudyResults
***> Captive CWD Indemnity Program or Entitlement Program? <***
***> CWD money grab you say, who’s getting paid?
The funding opportunity was open to State departments of agriculture; State animal health agencies; State departments of wildlife or natural resources; Federally Recognized Native American Tribal governments; Native American Tribal organizations or universities representing Federally Recognized Tribes; and research institutions and universities.
Eligible applicants were permitted to submit multiple proposals, with each proposal requesting up to $250,000 for activities aimed at controlling or preventing CWD in farmed cervids.
i These awards include indemnity funds for the removal of CWD-positive or -exposed animals.
ii Noncompetitively awarded using declined funds. $130,717ii $6
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2024-cwd-receipient-summaries.pdf
Chronic Wasting Disease in Cervids; Payment of Indemnity A Rule by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on 02/08/2002
Amount of Indemnity Payments and Conditions for Receiving Indemnity
Subject to the availability of funding, the amount of indemnity payments for eligible animals will be determined by appraisal, with the indemnity payment set at 95 percent of the appraised value, with a cap on payments of $3,000 per animal. CWD positive herds will be appraised by an APHIS official appraiser and a State official appraiser jointly, or, if APHIS and State authorities agree that both appraisers are not needed for a given situation, by either a State official appraiser or an APHIS official appraiser alone. The appraised value of the cervids will be their fair market value as determined by the meat or breeding value of the animals. Animals may be appraised in groups, provided that where appraisal is by the head, each animal in the group is the same value per head, and where appraisal is by the pound, each animal in the group is the same value per pound.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2002/02/08/02-3081/chronic-wasting-disease-in-cervids-payment-of-indemnity
Displaying title 9, up to date as of 8/13/2026. Title 9 was last amended 7/20/2026.
Subpart A—Chronic Wasting Disease Indemnification Program
§ 55.2 Payment of indemnity.
The Administrator is authorized to pay for the purchase and destruction of CWD positive animals, CWD exposed animals, and CWD suspect animals. Subject to available funding, the amount of the Federal payment for any such animals will be 95 percent of the appraised value established in accordance with § 55.3 of this part, but the Federal payment shall not exceed $3,000 per animal. If a non-Federal source makes a payment for an animal for which a Federal indemnity is paid, and the non-Federal payment exceeds 5 percent of the appraised value established in accordance with § 55.3 of this part, the amount of the Federal payment for any such animals will be reduced by the amount by which the non-Federal payment exceeds 5 percent of the appraised value. The Administrator is also authorized to reimburse State governments or State animal health agencies for payments they make for the purchase and destruction, on or after October 1, 2001, of CWD positive animals, CWD exposed animals, and CWD suspect animals, and for State expenditures for associated carcass disposal and cleaning and disinfection costs resulting from such purchase and destruction, in accordance with cooperative agreements signed by the Administrator and the duly authorized agent of the State.§ 55.3 Appraisal and destruction of captive cervids.
snip…see;
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-9/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-55/subpart-A
USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE 2025-2014 CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE CERVID
2025 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
In 2023, eight percent of the farmed cervids in the HCP were tested for CWD at APHIS and State laboratories.
Of the 303,242 farmed cervids tested in 2023, APHIS confirmed 22 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate one of the newly identified positive herds and approved an indemnity payment for a second positive herd which will be provided in 2024 once depopulation occurs. The remaining infected herds are under State quarantines.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/22-APHIS-2025-ExNotes.pdf
2024 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
Cervids
In 2022, 7 percent of the 285,589 farmed cervids in the HCP participating states were tested for CWD at State and APHIS laboratories.
APHIS confirmed 23 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate nine of the newly identified positive herds in 2022. The remaining infected herds are under State quarantines. APHIS determines the use of Federal indemnity payments within the CWD program on a case-by-case basis.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/23-2024-APHIS.pdf
2023 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
Cervids
Currently, 28 States participate in the national CWD HCP. In FY 2021, more than 20,502 farmed cervids were tested for CWD at State and APHIS laboratories.
As a result, APHIS identified 35 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate nine of the newly identified deer herds in FY 2021. The remaining infected herds are under State quarantines. APHIS determines the use of Federal indemnity payments within the CWD program on a case-by-case basis.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/23-2023-APHIS.pdf
2022 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
Cervids
Currently, 28 States participate in the national CWD HCP. In FY 2020, more than 11,182 farmed cervids were tested for CWD at State and APHIS laboratories.
As a result, APHIS identified 22 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate 15 of the 22 newly identified deer herds in FY 2020.
Four additional farmed cervid herds that were identified as CWD positive herds in FY 2019, were indemnified in FY 2020.
The remaining infected herds are under State quarantines.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/22APHIS2022Notes.pdf
2021 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
In FY 2019 APHIS tested more than 11,000 farmed cervids for CWD.
As a result, APHIS identified 17 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate 7 of the 17 newly identified deer herds in FY 2019. The remaining infected herds found in FY 2019 are under State quarantines.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2021notes.pdf
2020 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
Cervids
In FY 2018, APHIS identified 15 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds (14 deer herds and 1 reindeer herd).
The reindeer herd in Illinois was the first confirmed case of CWD in a reindeer in North America.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate seven of the 15 newly identified deer herds in FY 2018.
The Agency also provided funding for the test and removal of 161 high risk animals that were in close proximity to reactors.
The remaining herds in FY 2018 are under State quarantines.
The Agency determines the use of Federal indemnities within the CWD program on a case-by-case basis. 20-59
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2020notes.pdf
2019 President’s Budget Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Cervids
APHIS’ voluntary national CWD Herd Certification Plan (HCP) helps States, Tribes, and the cervid industry control CWD in farmed cervids by allowing the interstate movement only from certified herds.
Currently, 28 States participate in the national CWD HCP and the program tested 23,053 farmed cervids for CWD.
In FY 2017, eight new CWD positive farmed corvid herds were identified– one white-tail deer in Iowa, one white-tail deer herd in Minnesota, one white-tail and mule deer herd in Minnesota, one white-tail and sika deer herd in Michigan, three white-tail deer herds in Pennsylvania, and one white-tail deer herd in Texas.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate the Iowa herd, the white-tail deer herd in Minnesota, one herd in Pennsylvania and the Texas herd. The State depopulated the Michigan herd. The remaining herds are under State quarantines. One Texas herd used Federal indemnity to remove and test select, high-risk animals to inform the epidemiological investigation and to evaluate the performance of ante-mortem tests.
The Agency determines the use of Federal indemnities within the CWD program on a case-by-case basis.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2019notes.pdf
2018 President’s Budget Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Cervids
APHIS’ voluntary national CWD Herd Certification Plan (HCP) helps States, Tribes, and the cervid industry control CWD in farmed cervids by allowing the interstate movement only from certified herds considered to be low risk.
Currently, 29 States participate in the national CWD HCP.
In FY 2016, the program tested 14,503 farmed cervids for CWD and identified seven new CWD positive farmed cervid herds – two white-tail deer herds in Texas, three white-tail deer herds in Wisconsin, one elk herd in Colorado and one elk herd in Iowa. The elk herd in Colorado was depopulated without Federal indemnity and the rest of the herds are under State quarantines. One Texas herd used Federal indemnity to remove and test select animals to inform the epidemiological investigation and to evaluate 20-72 the performance of ante-mortem tests.
The use of Federal indemnities within the CWD program is determined on a case-by-case basis. APHIS is also conducting several pilot projects related to new technologies. In FY 2016, the Agency
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphisexnotes2018.pdf
2017 Explanatory Notes Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Cervids
APHIS’ voluntary national CWD Herd Certification Plan (HCP) helps States, Tribes, and the cervid industry control CWD in farmed cervids by allowing the interstate movement only from certified herds considered to be low risk.
Currently, 30 States participate in the national CWD HCP: 29 have Approved Status and 1 has Provisional Approved Status. States that meet the CWD HCP requirements have Approved Status and States that do not meet CWD HCP program requirements but have developed a work plan and time frame with APHIS to complete those requirements have Provisional Approved Status.
In FY 2015, the program tested approximately 20,000 farmed cervids for CWD and identified eight new CWD positive farmed white-tailed deer herds – one in Utah, one in Pennsylvania, two in Ohio, two in Wisconsin, and two in Texas.
APHIS depopulated five of these herds (Pennsylvania, Utah, and one each in Wisconsin, Texas, and Ohio). Six elk herds in Colorado, four elk herds in Nebraska, one white-tailed deer herd in Wisconsin and one white-tailed deer herd in Texas remained in quarantine at the end of FY 2015.
APHIS also provided indemnity for and was the lead agency for the depopulation and disposal of four large CWD infected farmed cervid herds in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, and Texas. In cooperation with the National Agricultural Statistics Service, APHIS conducted the first national study of the U.S. farmed-cervid industry in FY 2015. The study provides baseline industry statistics, a description of production practices and challenges, producer-reported disease occurrences, and an overview of health management and biosecurity practices.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2017notes.pdf
2016 Explanatory Notes Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
In FY 2014, the program tested approximately 20,000 farmed cervids for CWD.
Two new CWD positive farmed white-tailed deer herds were identified – one in Pennsylvania and one in Wisconsin.
The program depopulated the PA herd and two additional CWD positive herds in quarantine since FY 2012 in Iowa (white-tailed deer herd) and Minnesota (red deer herd).
Six elk herds in Colorado, four elk herds in Nebraska, and one white-tailed deer in Wisconsin remained in quarantine at the end of FY 2014.
There also are numerous CWD exposed herds that are epidemiologically linked to CWD positive herds that remain in State quarantine pending completion of the epidemiology investigations.
snip…
APHIS provided indemnity for and was the lead agency for the depopulation and disposal of two large CWD infected farmed cervid herds in Iowa and Minnesota.
APHIS also provided indemnity for and assisted with the 20-80 appraisal and depopulation of a CWD infected farmed cervid herd in Pennsylvania.
APHIS also provided assistance to States with outbreak investigation, assessment of risk posed by infected or exposed animals, development of herd plans and continues to develop strategies for the purpose of controlling and managing CWD in farmed cervids.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2016notes.pdf
2015 Explanatory Notes Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
In FY 2013, the program tested approximately 18,100 farmed cervids for CWD, a fatal, degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system and lymphoid system of cervids. Through this routine surveillance, no new CWD cases were reported in farmed cervids in FY 2013. The last CWD positive herd was reported in FY 2012 in an Iowa white tail deer herd. Twelve positive herds remain (seven elk herds in Colorado, three elk herds in Nebraska, one white tail deer herd in Iowa, and one red deer herd in Minnesota).
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2015notes.pdf
2014 Explanatory Notes Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
In 2007, the cervid industry in the United States included 5,600 deer farms and 1,900 elk farms with an economic value of $894 million that supported nearly 30,000 jobs.
APHIS’ main cervid activities are testing approximately 15,000 captive cervids for tuberculosis each year and supporting the chronic wasting disease (CWD) herd certification program (HCP). The joint tuberculosis (TB) and brucellosis proposed rule will represent significant changes to TB activities in captive cervids when implemented; it proposes to bring cervids into the regulatory program for brucellosis, as requested by stakeholders. As a result, surveillance will be enhanced and the number of captive cervids that are tested for TB annually is expected to increase. In 2014, APHIS will implement a survey to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of new APHIS regulations on the industry. Additionally, approval for a new diagnostic test for TB in captive cervids is expected to occur by FY 2013. The CWD HCP allows participating States to enroll herd owners
18-26
to meet minimum Federal standards to achieve and maintain a herd certification status. APHIS approves State applications for the national voluntary CWD herd certification program, conducts periodic reviews to ensure compliance, and supports confirmatory testing of presumptive CWD cases.
snip…
Without continued program funding, there would be a reduced preparedness, surveillance, and response to equine/cervid health issues that could increase the likelihood of disease spread resulting in larger and more serious disease outbreaks, lack of national standards leading to a patchwork of State level requirements which diminish interstate commerce, and loss in international credibility regarding U.S. animal health status.
Approximately 59 percent of the Equine and Cervid Health funding will be used for salaries and benefits, less than 1 percent for cooperative agreements and programmatic contracts, and the remaining supports normal operating costs such as travel, supplies, rent and utilities.
Reduce lower priority program activities (-$1.295 million) APHIS will reduce lower priority equine and cervid program activities in 2014, including eliminating Federal contributions for addressing CWD.
CWD is a degenerative neurological illness affecting elk and deer (cervids) in North America.
***> APHIS has determined that continued efforts to manage CWD are not practical and therefore considers this to be a low priority for the Agency.
***> On August 13, 2012, the rule that established uniform standards for a voluntary Federal-State cooperative CWD HCP and interstate movement requirements became effective. Implementation of the interstate movement of cervids was implemented in December 2012.
***> Many States have herd certification programs in place, and the incidence of CWD detections in farmed cervids is decreasing.
***> With the regulatory framework in place, continued APHIS activity, while useful, is no longer essential.
Stakeholders can continue to carry on program activities. The success of the voluntary HCP is based upon cooperation and shared responsibility among the Federal government and State and local interests. However, since these are local or regional disease spread issues, State and local governments are better positioned to take a more active role and to better anticipate and plan for local or regional needs. APHIS will continue to conduct higher priority equine and cervid health activities and address concerns when identified. APHIS will reassign staff years to other Equine and Cervid Health activities as practical and reduce the overall staff years by eliminating the positions when vacancies arise. Reduction in Agency-level operating expenses (-$66,000) A reduction of $66,000 is requested for this line item related to Agency-level cost savings measures and operating efficiencies. Please refer to second paragraph on page 18-18.
18-27
Pay Increase (+$15,000)
An increase of $15,000 for pay costs which includes $3,000 for annualization of the FY 2013 pay raise and $12,000 for the anticipated FY 2014 pay raise.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/18aphis2014notes.pdf
***> APHIS has determined that continued efforts to manage CWD are not practical and therefore considers this to be a low priority for the Agency.
***> On August 13, 2012, the rule that established uniform standards for a voluntary Federal-State cooperative CWD HCP and interstate movement requirements became effective. Implementation of the interstate movement of cervids was implemented in December 2012.
***> Many States have herd certification programs in place, and the incidence of CWD detections in farmed cervids is decreasing.
***> With the regulatory framework in place, continued APHIS activity, while useful, is no longer essential.
***> The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the respective wildlife research programmes. Despite its subsequent recognition as a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific research funding was forthcoming. The USDA viewed it as a wildlife problem and consequently not their province!” page 26.
https://web.archive.org/web/20060307063531/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion, Economical, Environmental, Zoonotic, Risk Factors 2026
https://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2026/02/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse-prion.html
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 .
Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America APRIL 11, 2025
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/05/distribution-of-chronic-wasting-disease.html
***> USA Report, Scrapie, CWD, BSE, TSE, Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Cervid, Humans, Zoonotic, 2026
April 2026
https://fdabse589.blogspot.com/2026/04/usa-report-scrapie-cwd-bse-tse-cattle.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403956772_USA_Report_Scrapie_CWD_BSE_TSE_Cattle_Sheep_Pigs_Cervid_Humans_Zoonotic_2026
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Hazard identification for the risks to terrestrial animal health from the import of hay and straw, BSE, CWD, Scrapie, TSE, Prion
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hazard-identification-for-the-risks-to-terrestrial-animal-health-from-the-import-of-hay-and-straw/hazard-identification-for-the-risks-to-terrestrial-animal-health-from-the-import-of-hay-and-straw
https://defrauktseprp.blogspot.com/2026/06/hazard-identification-for-risks-to.html
SUNDAY, AUGUST 09, 2026
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD and Population Declines of Cervid
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/08/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-and.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/229/cwd-prion-population-declines-cervid
Cervid CWD TSE PrP Transmission to Humans, has it already happened and being masked as sporadic CJD, What if? July 2026 Review
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/07/cervid-cwd-tse-prp-transmission-to.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/224/cervid-transmission-humans-july-review
terry
Cwd videos
15 minute mark video shows sick deer with cwd, and this deer DIED FROM CWD, IT'S DOCUMENTED, commentator says ''so if anyone every tells you, that a deer has never died from CWD, think of this picture, because the Wisconsin Veterinary Lab told us, what when they looked at her sample under a microscope, she was the hottest animal they had ever seen, and that's in terms of the fluorescents that comes off the slide when the look at it, so, a lot of Prion in her system.''
''SCENTS AND LURES, we know that the Prion is shed in urine, and essentially the production of these products is unregulated, we have no idea, you can't tell where they come from, what species are in them, how many animals, how they are processed, there is really no rules about them, so we are concerned it is a way to bring the disease into new areas, and have us fighting on multiple fronts, AND there are zero risk synthetic options that are readily available in stores, so we have ask hunters to switch to zero risk options.''
see much more about 2 hours long...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3CAI-EwlgM&t=922s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3CAI-EwlgM
TEXAS BREEDER DEER ESCAPEE WITH CWD IN THE WILD, or so the genetics would show?
OH NO, please tell me i heard this wrong, a potential Texas captive escapee with cwd in the wild, in an area with positive captive cwd herd?
apparently, no ID though. tell me it ain't so please...
23:00 minute mark
''Free Ranging Deer, Dr. Deyoung looked at Genetics of this free ranging deer and what he found was, that the genetics on this deer were more similar to captive deer, than the free ranging population, but he did not see a significant connection to any one captive facility that he analyzed, so we believe, Ahhhhhh, this animal had some captive ahhh, whatnot.''
https://youtu.be/aoPDeGL6mpQ?t=1384
Texas symposium Cwd
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nsX4MUWX_d8
Arkansas Cwd
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OWpyhEu77hw
Wyoming Cwd 2022 test results
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cy_CDnNKQSE
key takeaways ;
CWD substantially reduces deer survival rates and suppresses population growth.
Where CWD prevalence is high, deer populations are likely declining.
If CWD continues to spread, it will eventually impact deer populations elsewhere.
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/research/projects/dpp/StudyResults
***> Captive CWD Indemnity Program or Entitlement Program? <***
***> CWD money grab you say, who’s getting paid?
The funding opportunity was open to State departments of agriculture; State animal health agencies; State departments of wildlife or natural resources; Federally Recognized Native American Tribal governments; Native American Tribal organizations or universities representing Federally Recognized Tribes; and research institutions and universities.
Eligible applicants were permitted to submit multiple proposals, with each proposal requesting up to $250,000 for activities aimed at controlling or preventing CWD in farmed cervids.
i These awards include indemnity funds for the removal of CWD-positive or -exposed animals.
ii Noncompetitively awarded using declined funds. $130,717ii $6
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2024-cwd-receipient-summaries.pdf
Chronic Wasting Disease in Cervids; Payment of Indemnity A Rule by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on 02/08/2002
Amount of Indemnity Payments and Conditions for Receiving Indemnity
Subject to the availability of funding, the amount of indemnity payments for eligible animals will be determined by appraisal, with the indemnity payment set at 95 percent of the appraised value, with a cap on payments of $3,000 per animal. CWD positive herds will be appraised by an APHIS official appraiser and a State official appraiser jointly, or, if APHIS and State authorities agree that both appraisers are not needed for a given situation, by either a State official appraiser or an APHIS official appraiser alone. The appraised value of the cervids will be their fair market value as determined by the meat or breeding value of the animals. Animals may be appraised in groups, provided that where appraisal is by the head, each animal in the group is the same value per head, and where appraisal is by the pound, each animal in the group is the same value per pound.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2002/02/08/02-3081/chronic-wasting-disease-in-cervids-payment-of-indemnity
Displaying title 9, up to date as of 8/13/2026. Title 9 was last amended 7/20/2026.
Subpart A—Chronic Wasting Disease Indemnification Program
§ 55.2 Payment of indemnity.
The Administrator is authorized to pay for the purchase and destruction of CWD positive animals, CWD exposed animals, and CWD suspect animals. Subject to available funding, the amount of the Federal payment for any such animals will be 95 percent of the appraised value established in accordance with § 55.3 of this part, but the Federal payment shall not exceed $3,000 per animal. If a non-Federal source makes a payment for an animal for which a Federal indemnity is paid, and the non-Federal payment exceeds 5 percent of the appraised value established in accordance with § 55.3 of this part, the amount of the Federal payment for any such animals will be reduced by the amount by which the non-Federal payment exceeds 5 percent of the appraised value. The Administrator is also authorized to reimburse State governments or State animal health agencies for payments they make for the purchase and destruction, on or after October 1, 2001, of CWD positive animals, CWD exposed animals, and CWD suspect animals, and for State expenditures for associated carcass disposal and cleaning and disinfection costs resulting from such purchase and destruction, in accordance with cooperative agreements signed by the Administrator and the duly authorized agent of the State.§ 55.3 Appraisal and destruction of captive cervids.
snip…see;
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-9/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-55/subpart-A
USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE 2025-2014 CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE CERVID
2025 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
In 2023, eight percent of the farmed cervids in the HCP were tested for CWD at APHIS and State laboratories.
Of the 303,242 farmed cervids tested in 2023, APHIS confirmed 22 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate one of the newly identified positive herds and approved an indemnity payment for a second positive herd which will be provided in 2024 once depopulation occurs. The remaining infected herds are under State quarantines.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/22-APHIS-2025-ExNotes.pdf
2024 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
Cervids
In 2022, 7 percent of the 285,589 farmed cervids in the HCP participating states were tested for CWD at State and APHIS laboratories.
APHIS confirmed 23 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate nine of the newly identified positive herds in 2022. The remaining infected herds are under State quarantines. APHIS determines the use of Federal indemnity payments within the CWD program on a case-by-case basis.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/23-2024-APHIS.pdf
2023 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
Cervids
Currently, 28 States participate in the national CWD HCP. In FY 2021, more than 20,502 farmed cervids were tested for CWD at State and APHIS laboratories.
As a result, APHIS identified 35 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate nine of the newly identified deer herds in FY 2021. The remaining infected herds are under State quarantines. APHIS determines the use of Federal indemnity payments within the CWD program on a case-by-case basis.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/23-2023-APHIS.pdf
2022 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
Cervids
Currently, 28 States participate in the national CWD HCP. In FY 2020, more than 11,182 farmed cervids were tested for CWD at State and APHIS laboratories.
As a result, APHIS identified 22 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate 15 of the 22 newly identified deer herds in FY 2020.
Four additional farmed cervid herds that were identified as CWD positive herds in FY 2019, were indemnified in FY 2020.
The remaining infected herds are under State quarantines.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/22APHIS2022Notes.pdf
2021 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
In FY 2019 APHIS tested more than 11,000 farmed cervids for CWD.
As a result, APHIS identified 17 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate 7 of the 17 newly identified deer herds in FY 2019. The remaining infected herds found in FY 2019 are under State quarantines.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2021notes.pdf
2020 USDA EXPLANATORY NOTES – ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE
Cervids
In FY 2018, APHIS identified 15 new CWD positive farmed cervid herds (14 deer herds and 1 reindeer herd).
The reindeer herd in Illinois was the first confirmed case of CWD in a reindeer in North America.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate seven of the 15 newly identified deer herds in FY 2018.
The Agency also provided funding for the test and removal of 161 high risk animals that were in close proximity to reactors.
The remaining herds in FY 2018 are under State quarantines.
The Agency determines the use of Federal indemnities within the CWD program on a case-by-case basis. 20-59
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2020notes.pdf
2019 President’s Budget Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Cervids
APHIS’ voluntary national CWD Herd Certification Plan (HCP) helps States, Tribes, and the cervid industry control CWD in farmed cervids by allowing the interstate movement only from certified herds.
Currently, 28 States participate in the national CWD HCP and the program tested 23,053 farmed cervids for CWD.
In FY 2017, eight new CWD positive farmed corvid herds were identified– one white-tail deer in Iowa, one white-tail deer herd in Minnesota, one white-tail and mule deer herd in Minnesota, one white-tail and sika deer herd in Michigan, three white-tail deer herds in Pennsylvania, and one white-tail deer herd in Texas.
APHIS provided Federal indemnity to depopulate the Iowa herd, the white-tail deer herd in Minnesota, one herd in Pennsylvania and the Texas herd. The State depopulated the Michigan herd. The remaining herds are under State quarantines. One Texas herd used Federal indemnity to remove and test select, high-risk animals to inform the epidemiological investigation and to evaluate the performance of ante-mortem tests.
The Agency determines the use of Federal indemnities within the CWD program on a case-by-case basis.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2019notes.pdf
2018 President’s Budget Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Cervids
APHIS’ voluntary national CWD Herd Certification Plan (HCP) helps States, Tribes, and the cervid industry control CWD in farmed cervids by allowing the interstate movement only from certified herds considered to be low risk.
Currently, 29 States participate in the national CWD HCP.
In FY 2016, the program tested 14,503 farmed cervids for CWD and identified seven new CWD positive farmed cervid herds – two white-tail deer herds in Texas, three white-tail deer herds in Wisconsin, one elk herd in Colorado and one elk herd in Iowa. The elk herd in Colorado was depopulated without Federal indemnity and the rest of the herds are under State quarantines. One Texas herd used Federal indemnity to remove and test select animals to inform the epidemiological investigation and to evaluate 20-72 the performance of ante-mortem tests.
The use of Federal indemnities within the CWD program is determined on a case-by-case basis. APHIS is also conducting several pilot projects related to new technologies. In FY 2016, the Agency
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphisexnotes2018.pdf
2017 Explanatory Notes Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Cervids
APHIS’ voluntary national CWD Herd Certification Plan (HCP) helps States, Tribes, and the cervid industry control CWD in farmed cervids by allowing the interstate movement only from certified herds considered to be low risk.
Currently, 30 States participate in the national CWD HCP: 29 have Approved Status and 1 has Provisional Approved Status. States that meet the CWD HCP requirements have Approved Status and States that do not meet CWD HCP program requirements but have developed a work plan and time frame with APHIS to complete those requirements have Provisional Approved Status.
In FY 2015, the program tested approximately 20,000 farmed cervids for CWD and identified eight new CWD positive farmed white-tailed deer herds – one in Utah, one in Pennsylvania, two in Ohio, two in Wisconsin, and two in Texas.
APHIS depopulated five of these herds (Pennsylvania, Utah, and one each in Wisconsin, Texas, and Ohio). Six elk herds in Colorado, four elk herds in Nebraska, one white-tailed deer herd in Wisconsin and one white-tailed deer herd in Texas remained in quarantine at the end of FY 2015.
APHIS also provided indemnity for and was the lead agency for the depopulation and disposal of four large CWD infected farmed cervid herds in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, and Texas. In cooperation with the National Agricultural Statistics Service, APHIS conducted the first national study of the U.S. farmed-cervid industry in FY 2015. The study provides baseline industry statistics, a description of production practices and challenges, producer-reported disease occurrences, and an overview of health management and biosecurity practices.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2017notes.pdf
2016 Explanatory Notes Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
In FY 2014, the program tested approximately 20,000 farmed cervids for CWD.
Two new CWD positive farmed white-tailed deer herds were identified – one in Pennsylvania and one in Wisconsin.
The program depopulated the PA herd and two additional CWD positive herds in quarantine since FY 2012 in Iowa (white-tailed deer herd) and Minnesota (red deer herd).
Six elk herds in Colorado, four elk herds in Nebraska, and one white-tailed deer in Wisconsin remained in quarantine at the end of FY 2014.
There also are numerous CWD exposed herds that are epidemiologically linked to CWD positive herds that remain in State quarantine pending completion of the epidemiology investigations.
snip…
APHIS provided indemnity for and was the lead agency for the depopulation and disposal of two large CWD infected farmed cervid herds in Iowa and Minnesota.
APHIS also provided indemnity for and assisted with the 20-80 appraisal and depopulation of a CWD infected farmed cervid herd in Pennsylvania.
APHIS also provided assistance to States with outbreak investigation, assessment of risk posed by infected or exposed animals, development of herd plans and continues to develop strategies for the purpose of controlling and managing CWD in farmed cervids.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2016notes.pdf
2015 Explanatory Notes Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
In FY 2013, the program tested approximately 18,100 farmed cervids for CWD, a fatal, degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system and lymphoid system of cervids. Through this routine surveillance, no new CWD cases were reported in farmed cervids in FY 2013. The last CWD positive herd was reported in FY 2012 in an Iowa white tail deer herd. Twelve positive herds remain (seven elk herds in Colorado, three elk herds in Nebraska, one white tail deer herd in Iowa, and one red deer herd in Minnesota).
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/20aphis2015notes.pdf
2014 Explanatory Notes Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
In 2007, the cervid industry in the United States included 5,600 deer farms and 1,900 elk farms with an economic value of $894 million that supported nearly 30,000 jobs.
APHIS’ main cervid activities are testing approximately 15,000 captive cervids for tuberculosis each year and supporting the chronic wasting disease (CWD) herd certification program (HCP). The joint tuberculosis (TB) and brucellosis proposed rule will represent significant changes to TB activities in captive cervids when implemented; it proposes to bring cervids into the regulatory program for brucellosis, as requested by stakeholders. As a result, surveillance will be enhanced and the number of captive cervids that are tested for TB annually is expected to increase. In 2014, APHIS will implement a survey to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of new APHIS regulations on the industry. Additionally, approval for a new diagnostic test for TB in captive cervids is expected to occur by FY 2013. The CWD HCP allows participating States to enroll herd owners
18-26
to meet minimum Federal standards to achieve and maintain a herd certification status. APHIS approves State applications for the national voluntary CWD herd certification program, conducts periodic reviews to ensure compliance, and supports confirmatory testing of presumptive CWD cases.
snip…
Without continued program funding, there would be a reduced preparedness, surveillance, and response to equine/cervid health issues that could increase the likelihood of disease spread resulting in larger and more serious disease outbreaks, lack of national standards leading to a patchwork of State level requirements which diminish interstate commerce, and loss in international credibility regarding U.S. animal health status.
Approximately 59 percent of the Equine and Cervid Health funding will be used for salaries and benefits, less than 1 percent for cooperative agreements and programmatic contracts, and the remaining supports normal operating costs such as travel, supplies, rent and utilities.
Reduce lower priority program activities (-$1.295 million) APHIS will reduce lower priority equine and cervid program activities in 2014, including eliminating Federal contributions for addressing CWD.
CWD is a degenerative neurological illness affecting elk and deer (cervids) in North America.
***> APHIS has determined that continued efforts to manage CWD are not practical and therefore considers this to be a low priority for the Agency.
***> On August 13, 2012, the rule that established uniform standards for a voluntary Federal-State cooperative CWD HCP and interstate movement requirements became effective. Implementation of the interstate movement of cervids was implemented in December 2012.
***> Many States have herd certification programs in place, and the incidence of CWD detections in farmed cervids is decreasing.
***> With the regulatory framework in place, continued APHIS activity, while useful, is no longer essential.
Stakeholders can continue to carry on program activities. The success of the voluntary HCP is based upon cooperation and shared responsibility among the Federal government and State and local interests. However, since these are local or regional disease spread issues, State and local governments are better positioned to take a more active role and to better anticipate and plan for local or regional needs. APHIS will continue to conduct higher priority equine and cervid health activities and address concerns when identified. APHIS will reassign staff years to other Equine and Cervid Health activities as practical and reduce the overall staff years by eliminating the positions when vacancies arise. Reduction in Agency-level operating expenses (-$66,000) A reduction of $66,000 is requested for this line item related to Agency-level cost savings measures and operating efficiencies. Please refer to second paragraph on page 18-18.
18-27
Pay Increase (+$15,000)
An increase of $15,000 for pay costs which includes $3,000 for annualization of the FY 2013 pay raise and $12,000 for the anticipated FY 2014 pay raise.
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/18aphis2014notes.pdf
***> APHIS has determined that continued efforts to manage CWD are not practical and therefore considers this to be a low priority for the Agency.
***> On August 13, 2012, the rule that established uniform standards for a voluntary Federal-State cooperative CWD HCP and interstate movement requirements became effective. Implementation of the interstate movement of cervids was implemented in December 2012.
***> Many States have herd certification programs in place, and the incidence of CWD detections in farmed cervids is decreasing.
***> With the regulatory framework in place, continued APHIS activity, while useful, is no longer essential.
***> The occurrence of CWD must be viewed against the contest of the locations in which it occurred. It was an incidental and unwelcome complication of the respective wildlife research programmes. Despite its subsequent recognition as a new disease of cervids, therefore justifying direct investigation, no specific research funding was forthcoming. The USDA viewed it as a wildlife problem and consequently not their province!” page 26.
https://web.archive.org/web/20060307063531/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion, Economical, Environmental, Zoonotic, Risk Factors 2026
https://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2026/02/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-tse-prion.html
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 .
Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America APRIL 11, 2025
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/05/distribution-of-chronic-wasting-disease.html
***> USA Report, Scrapie, CWD, BSE, TSE, Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Cervid, Humans, Zoonotic, 2026
April 2026
https://fdabse589.blogspot.com/2026/04/usa-report-scrapie-cwd-bse-tse-cattle.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403956772_USA_Report_Scrapie_CWD_BSE_TSE_Cattle_Sheep_Pigs_Cervid_Humans_Zoonotic_2026
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Hazard identification for the risks to terrestrial animal health from the import of hay and straw, BSE, CWD, Scrapie, TSE, Prion
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hazard-identification-for-the-risks-to-terrestrial-animal-health-from-the-import-of-hay-and-straw/hazard-identification-for-the-risks-to-terrestrial-animal-health-from-the-import-of-hay-and-straw
https://defrauktseprp.blogspot.com/2026/06/hazard-identification-for-risks-to.html
SUNDAY, AUGUST 09, 2026
Chronic Wasting Disease CWD and Population Declines of Cervid
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/08/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd-and.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/229/cwd-prion-population-declines-cervid
Cervid CWD TSE PrP Transmission to Humans, has it already happened and being masked as sporadic CJD, What if? July 2026 Review
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2026/07/cervid-cwd-tse-prp-transmission-to.html
https://prpsc.proboards.com/thread/224/cervid-transmission-humans-july-review
terry
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
9:37 AM
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