What is chronic wasting disease?
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, neurological illness occurring in North American cervids (members of the deer family), including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. Since its discovery in 1967, CWD has spread geographically and increased in prevalence locally. CWD is contagious; it can be transmitted freely within and among cervid populations. No treatments or vaccines are currently available.
Chronic wasting disease is of great concern to wildlife managers. It has been detected in at least 23 states, two Canadian provinces, and South Korea. CWD is not known to infect livestock or humans.
CWD is transmitted directly through animal-to-animal contact, and indirectly through contact with objects or environment contaminated with infectious material (including saliva, urine, feces, and carcasses of CWD-infected animals).
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What are the visual signs of chronic wasting disease?
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Chronic Wasting Disease in White-Tailed Deer
Chronic wasting disease may have long-term negative effects on white-tailed deer, a highly visible and economically valuable keystone species, according to a new study from the USGS and published in Ecology.
Environmental Persistence of Chronic Wasting Disease Exacerbates Deer Population Declines
Long-term impacts of the chronic wasting disease (CWD) epidemic in North American deer, elk and moose will depend on how the disease persists in the environment, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.
Lichens May Aid in Combating Deadly Chronic Wasting Disease in Wildlife
Certain lichens can break down the infectious proteins responsible for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a troubling neurological disease fatal to wild deer and elk and spreading throughout the United States and Canada, according to U.S. Geological Survey research published today in the journal PLoS ONE.
Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America
Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America, updated December 17, 2020.
Outstanding in the Field (Ep 3): Chronic Wasting Disease - Oh, Deer
The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area brings you Outstanding in the Field, a series of stories about our science, our adventures, and our efforts to better understand our fish and wildlife and the ecosystems that support them. In this episode we’ll be talking about chronic wasting disease, or CWD, a fatal and contagious wildlife disease that affects animals in the deer family
A bull elk with chronic wasting disease
A bull elk with chronic wasting disease at Wind Cave National Park. The emaciated appearance and drooping ears are characteristic of latter stages of infection.
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Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease
This deer shows visible signs of chronic wasting disease.