Chronic wasting disease (CWD) affects cervids (elk, moose, mule deer, and white-tailed deer) throughout the U.S. CWD affects the nervous system in these animals and creates distinctive brain lesions. At this time, we have no treatment for CWD and it is fatal to the animals who contract it.
CWD is caused by an infectious, irregular form of cellular prion protein. CWD can be directly and indirectly transmitted through the contact with saliva, urine, feces, and infected carcasses, or CWD contaminated environmental surfaces.
USGS scientists are studying CWD to determine how the disease is transmitted, whether sex and/or age of the animal play a role in infection, and whether a genetic resistance is present in some animals.
CWD Research by USGS & Partners
Find information on USGS science addressing CWD across the Nation in this interactive map. Search for projects by state or by species to find valuable information on research coming from each USGS Center or Cooperative Research Unit.
Current CWD Distribution
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 30 US states and four Canadian provinces. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 29 states and three provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 18 states and three provinces.
CWD Research
Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease
Modeling chronic wasting disease prevalence through time to investigate mechanisms of spread in deer and elk in Wyoming
Examining PRNP gene frequencies and ‘resistance’ to chronic wasting disease
Application of a systems approach for management of chronic wasting disease
Decision science support for Chronic Wasting Disease
Enhanced Capacity for Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Certified Diagnostics at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center
Assessing the Ability of Incineration to Inactivate CWD Prions from Carcasses
Advancing the Use of RT-QuIC for Applications in CWD Management
Chronic Wasting Disease
Effects of population density on prevalence of chronic wasting disease, physical condition, and vital rates of elk at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
- Overview
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) affects cervids (elk, moose, mule deer, and white-tailed deer) throughout the U.S. CWD affects the nervous system in these animals and creates distinctive brain lesions. At this time, we have no treatment for CWD and it is fatal to the animals who contract it.
CWD is caused by an infectious, irregular form of cellular prion protein. CWD can be directly and indirectly transmitted through the contact with saliva, urine, feces, and infected carcasses, or CWD contaminated environmental surfaces.
USGS scientists are studying CWD to determine how the disease is transmitted, whether sex and/or age of the animal play a role in infection, and whether a genetic resistance is present in some animals.
CWD Research by USGS & Partners
Find information on USGS science addressing CWD across the Nation in this interactive map. Search for projects by state or by species to find valuable information on research coming from each USGS Center or Cooperative Research Unit.
Current CWD Distribution
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 30 US states and four Canadian provinces. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 29 states and three provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 18 states and three provinces.
CWD ResearchExpanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 31 US states and four Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids and/or commercial captive cervid facilities. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 31 states and three provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 18 states and three provinces.Modeling chronic wasting disease prevalence through time to investigate mechanisms of spread in deer and elk in Wyoming
Diseases are challenging to manage in wild ungulate populations, particularly when there are many ways the disease can spread. Wildlife management agencies often need to take action to control disease spread, but it is unclear which actions are most effective in constraining disease because the importance of different spread mechanisms is not fully understood. This project will aid state wildlife...Examining PRNP gene frequencies and ‘resistance’ to chronic wasting disease
Multiple studies have demonstrated that various alleles of the cervid prion protein (PRNP) gene affect chronic wasting disease (CWD) progression.Application of a systems approach for management of chronic wasting disease
Managing chronic wasting disease (CWD) involves more than understanding the ecology of the disease. It includes complex relationships among social, economic, and political factors that affect intervention opportunities, consequences for stakeholders, and ultimately disease outcomes. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Ventana Systems, Inc., and the...Decision science support for Chronic Wasting Disease
Eastern Ecological Science Center adds the decision analytical skill set to the existing body of USGS expertise on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), in support of our sister DOI agencies.Enhanced Capacity for Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Certified Diagnostics at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal disease that impacts populations of deer, elk, moose, and other cervid species caused by an infectious protein called a prion.Assessing the Ability of Incineration to Inactivate CWD Prions from Carcasses
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurologic disease of cervids, presents a monumental management challenge, in part because the etiological agent, an infectious prion, is extremely difficult to inactivate and can be transmitted directly or indirectly to hosts. Due to these attributes of prions, proper disposal of CWD-infected carcasses is an important consideration for management agencies to...Advancing the Use of RT-QuIC for Applications in CWD Management
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging infectious disease that is fatal to free-ranging and captive animals in Cervidae, the deer family. The development of the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay has the potential to transform laboratory research of prions and provide new opportunities for improved surveillance and management.Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging infectious disease that is fatal to free-ranging and captive animals in Cervidae, the deer family. CWD is one member of a family of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), and is thought to be caused by prions. CWD is the only TSE known to affect free-ranging wildlife.Effects of population density on prevalence of chronic wasting disease, physical condition, and vital rates of elk at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
CWD is a degenerative neurological disease caused by infectious proteins called prions. Although documented cases are invariably fatal, infected elk commonly survive for several months or longer, passing prions directly to other individuals and into the environment, where they bind to surfaces or soils and can persist for years. CWD reached Wind Cave National Park about 1997 and rapidly became the... - Data
- Publications