Last week, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) reported that two more cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) have been discovered in Lauderdale County.
The ADCNR announced that the two additional cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) were found in hunter harvested, white-tailed deer in northern Lauderdale County in northwest Alabama. The two additional deer bring Alabama’s total number of confirmed CWD cases to five.
CWD in Alabama’s deer herd was first detected in Lauderdale County in January 2022. After the first case was confirmed, all of Lauderdale and Colbert counties were designated as a CWD Management Zone (CMZ).
According to the state, during the 2023-2024 hunting season, samples were collected from more than 1,700 white-tailed deer harvested statewide, with 420 collected within the CMZ. One of the positive samples was submitted during the second CMZ mandatory sampling weekend on December 2-3. A hunter voluntarily submitted The other positive sample at a drop-off sampling location as part of ADCNR’s ongoing CWD monitoring efforts. The next mandatory sampling weekend in the buffer zone of the CMZ is set for January 6-7, 2024.
Chris Blankenship is the ADCNR Commissioner. In the most recent statement he noted “I would like to thank hunters for their continued support by providing a robust number of samples for CWD testing since the disease was first detected in Alabama.”
“Hunters are our most important partners in the management of CWD as we move forward with future deer seasons. We also thank the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries for their continued partnership with statewide CWD monitoring. Their assistance by testing the samples allows us to better serve our constituents by providing them with timely information on the distribution and extent of CWD in Alabama.”
The state website notes that CWD is a contagious neurological disease of white-tailed deer and other deer species. It belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The disease is caused by a mutated protein called a prion. It is always fatal for white-tailed deer. The best-known prion disease is mad cow disease – where a major outbreak in Great Britain led to the deaths of thousands of cattle and sheep as well as the deaths of some persons who consumed the infected beef. Unlike Mad Cow Disease, there is no known case of CWD infecting humans who consume infected animals; however, avoid consuming the brain or spinal cord tissue of any deer as a precaution or consuming any meat from a deer that is a confirmed positive CWD infected deer.
Among cervids, CWD is a progressive, fatal disease that commonly results in altered behavior due to microscopic changes of the brain of affected animals. An animal may carry the disease for years without outward indication. In later stages of the disease, signs may include listlessness, lowering of the head, weight loss, repetitive walking in set patterns and, a lack of responsiveness.
Hunters should become familiar with Alabama’s CWD testing regulations. To review Alabama’s regulations and the latest information about CWD in the state, visit www.outdooralabama.com/cwd-info
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