Norway Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Update September 2026
Norway Chronic Wasting Disease CWD TSE Prion Update September 2026
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a prion disease that has been known for decades in deer in North America. In 2016, this serious animal disease was first detected in wild reindeer and moose in Norway, and in 2017 it was also detected in deer.
The Norwegian Veterinary Institute detected the first case of rabies in a wild reindeer from the Nordfjella reindeer area in April 2016. Based on recommendations from the Norwegian professional community, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food decided to cull the entire wild reindeer herd in northern Nordfjella, zone 1. After a fallow period of at least 5 years, the goal is to build up a healthy wild reindeer population.
Sickness is characterized by the gradual loss of nerve cells in the brain, neurological symptoms and emaciation, and always ends in death.
In the video below, prion researcher Sylvie Benestad at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute explains what CWD is. (The video was made in connection with the WiLiMan-ID project):
Questions and answers about CWD
As a result of many questions about sickle cell disease, we have created an overview of common questions and answers about sickle cell disease . Sickle cell disease is a list 2 disease, and the occurrence of or suspicion of sickle cell disease must be reported immediately to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
Shortcuts:
- Sickness statistics
- Research and publications on sickle cell disease
- Questions and answers about sickle cell disease
- Surveillance program for sickle cell disease
- Materials for testing for CWD can be ordered here
National survey of sickle cell disease
The prevalence (number of infected animals in a population) of anthrax in cervids in Europe is unknown. Testing of cervids for anthrax is carried out through a surveillance program that the Veterinary Institute runs on behalf of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. The number of animals that were examined before the detection of the disease in 2016 was approximately 2200, in the period 2004-2015. Findings of anthrax triggered increased testing and expansion of the program. A comprehensive and updated overview of how many animals are tested in the surveillance program can be found in the Veterinary Institute's anthrax statistics .
This includes all samples from 2016 and to date from various species of deer. The diagnosis of anthrax is made in several stages. Initial examinations where a positive result is found are further examined for verification. The figures given here for positive cases only include verified results.
In cases where initial investigations give rise to suspicion, authorities will contact hunters and collect meat and slaughterhouse remains. This is done to avoid any possible spread of infection, and to collect material for further investigation.
Infectious agents and routes of infection
There are different types of prion diseases in animals. The best known are scrapie in sheep, mad cow disease (BSE) in cattle and brucellosis in deer. Of these diseases, only BSE in cattle is known to be transmissible to humans. Human transmission has not been reported in association with scrapie in sheep or brucellosis in deer. As a precautionary principle, it is nevertheless desirable to avoid infectious agents (prions) of any kind entering our food chain.
In Norway, after the first detection in wild reindeer, we have discovered that the disease found in Norwegian moose and deer is not exactly the same as what we see in wild reindeer. The difference means that we have so far, roughly speaking, distinguished between two types of disease: classical (wild reindeer) and atypical (moose and deer). The most important difference for management is that the prion in wild reindeer is detected in lymphatic tissue. We have not found this in moose and deer. In wild reindeer, we have detected infection in several animals in the same herd, while in the other two species there is no indication that infection spreads between different individuals. Comparing these findings, our understanding is that there are different characteristics in how the disease occurs and develops for the two types.
The development of prion diseases is linked to abnormal folding of the cellular prion protein (PrPC), a protein normally found in cells. The body's own enzymes are unable to break down the misfolded prion protein (the prion, PrPSc), which then accumulates and destroys nerve cells in the brain.
Classical distemper can be transmitted through direct contact between sick and healthy deer, or indirectly by healthy animals coming into contact with the infectious agent in the environment (pasture, infected carcasses). The infectious agent is excreted in saliva, urine and feces of sick animals. The prion is very resistant to chemical and physical influences, and pastures where sick animals have been can remain infectious for a long time.
Disease signs and diagnostics
The time from when an animal is infected to when the disease appears (the incubation period) is long, up to several years, and the disease is most often found in young adult animals. The most important symptoms are weight loss and changes in behavior. These develop over weeks and months. In addition, drooling, uncoordinated movements with repetitive movement patterns, head tremors, grinding of teeth, and lowered head may be seen. Uncoordinated movements and tremors are less pronounced than in scrapie in sheep. The fur may become dry and shaggy, but itching is not common. Late in the disease, animals may drool, drink, and urinate a lot, and show clear signs of damage to the nervous system.
After a course of illness lasting from a few weeks to several months, the animals die. They can also die in connection with acute stress during the illness period. Various secondary diseases such as pneumonia or injuries can shorten the illness period.
Diagnostics
In animals, the diagnosis of "prion disease" (scrapie, mad cow disease and distemper) is normally made by detection of infection in brain tissue. In the case of classical distemper, the infectious agent, misfolded prion protein (PrPCWD), can be detected in lymphatic tissue, even in an early phase, before the disease breaks out (the incubation period). This detection therefore occurs before it is possible to find PrPCWD in brain tissue.
For approved methods for diagnosing sickle cell disease, with a result of "not detected", there is a requirement that the tested sample must contain brain tissue.
Watch a video about how to take a brain sample for testing for dementia.
Watch a video about how to remove lymph nodes for examination for tuberculosis.
Occurrence
Sickness was first described in 1967, in captive mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) in the United States. In wild deer, the first case was discovered in the early 1980s, and the disease has been detected in wild mule deer, white-tailed deer ( O. virginianus ), elk/wapiti ( Cervus elaphus nelsoni ), and North American moose ( Alces alces shiras i ). The disease is widespread and occurs in both wild and farmed deer in many states in the United States and several provinces in Canada . In the 1990s, the disease was diagnosed in South Korea, after live animals were imported from Canada. Sickness was first detected in Europe, in wild reindeer in Norway, in the spring of 2016.
Monitoring
Norway has a surveillance program for rabies, funded by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. The program includes rabies testing of domestic reindeer, wild deer and farmed deer. Until March 2016, rabies had not been detected in Norway or other European countries.
See the surveillance program for sickle cell disease
Measures
Lyme disease is a List 2 disease, and there is a surveillance program for this disease in Norway (see link above).
It is important that people who observe sick deer contact municipal wildlife management, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority or the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate with a view to taking samples for laboratory examination at the Veterinary Institute.
The Norwegian Veterinary Institute is the national reference laboratory for prion diseases in animals and coordinates the Norwegian Food Safety Authority's surveillance programs for scrapie in sheep, BSE in cattle and CWD in farmed deer.
Questions and answers
Here you will find common questions and answers about sickle cell disease .
Contact person:
Report
Research projects
Current animals
Antall prøver undersøkt for skrantesjuke
Oversikt over undersøkte prøver fra hjortedyr i Norge i 2026. Antallet er gruppert på utvalgte områder og art/produksjonsform. Data oppdatert per 18.09.2026.
| Art og produksjonsform | Antall negative | Antall positive |
|---|---|---|
| Villrein | 1869 | 0 |
| Nordfjella | 1 | 0 |
| Hardangervidda | 433 | 0 |
| Andre områder | 1423 | 0 |
| Ukjent | 5 | 0 |
| Svalbard | 7 | 0 |
| Tamrein | 1403 | 0 |
| Vill hjort | 454 | 0 |
| Gjemnes | 6 | 0 |
| Andre områder | 447 | 0 |
| Ukjent | 1 | 0 |
| Oppdrettshjort | 18 | 0 |
| Elg | 440 | 0 |
| Selbu-sonen | 28 | 0 |
| Lierne | 1 | 0 |
| Andre områder | 409 | 0 |
| Ukjent | 2 | 0 |
| Rådyr | 1125 | 0 |
| Ukjent art | 98 | 0 |
| Totalt | 5407 | 0 |
Chronic Wasting Disease in game
The Norwegian Veterinary Institute monitors chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Norwegian deer populations.
The monitoring program includes samples from moose ( Alcec alces ), red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ), reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ) and fallow deer ( Dama dama ).
The purpose of the surveillance program is to document the status of CWD in deer.
→ See the latest updates in our sick leave statistics
The prion disease CWD is a disease in the group of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which cause destruction of brain tissue with fatal outcomes in affected animals and humans.
2025
A total of 11,612 samples of wild, semi-domesticated and captive Norwegian cervids were analyzed in 2025. Of these, three moose (Alces alces) tested positive for CWD. All were old females culled in Folldal (20 years old), Tvedestrand (17 years old) and Selbu (16 years old) municipalities. The later case was a traffic injury.
The cases detected showed disease characteristics previously described for the species in previous reports, ie PrPSc was only detected in brain tissue, and no prions were detected in lymphoid tissues with diagnostic tests (ELISA and western blot). In the Nordic countries, CWD has shown sporadic appearance in moose and red deer, whilst in reindeer the disease has been contagious and with lymphoid detections in routine diagnostics.
Download the report
- Chronic wasting disease 2025 (pdf 2mb)
Older reports
- Chronic wasting disease 2024 (pdf 3mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2023 (pdf 2mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2022 (pdf 4mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2021 (pdf 5mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2020 (pdf 5mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2019 (pdf 5mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2018 (pdf 3mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2017 (pdf 2mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2016 (pdf 4mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2015 (pdf 1mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2014 (pdf 539kb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2013 (pdf 1mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2012 (pdf 1mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2011 (pdf 904kb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2010 (pdf 616kb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2009 (pdf 530kb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2008 (pdf 497kb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2007 (p. 103) (pdf 6mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2006 (p. 109) (pdf 3mb)
- Chronic wasting disease 2005 (p. 105) (pdf 4mb)
In addition to the annual monitoring reports, the Veterinary Institute has also published a summary report in collaboration with NINA.
- Mapping and monitoring of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) 2022
- Mapping and monitoring of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) 2021
- Mapping and monitoring of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) 2020
- Mapping and monitoring of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) 2019
- Mapping and monitoring of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) 2016-2018
- Mapping and monitoring of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) 2016-2017
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
8:40 AM
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