SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2024 Chronic Wasting Disease found near Bishop

State asking hunters to aid in surveillance efforts

Chronic wasting disease has been detected for the first time in California’s deer and elk.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife received confirmation on May 6 that samples collected from two deer, one of which was near Bishop. The other was found near Yosemite Lakes in Madera County.

Fish and Wildlife said that the deer in Bishop was found dead after a vehicle collision, while the Madera County deer’s cause of death is unknown.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease in deer, elk, moose and reindeer that has been detected in free-ranging animals from 34 states and five Canadian provinces, as well as Scandinavia, the agency said.

The disease affects the brain, causing progressive damage and eventually death. There is no effective treatment or vaccine to combat this disease.

There appears to be no known link between CWD and human disease, although a similar prion animal disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy — or mad cow disease in cattle — has been linked to fatal disease in humans through the consumption of infected beef.

As a result, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend keeping the agents of all known prion diseases from entering the human food chain.

Fish and Wildlife said it has been monitoring the elk and deer populations for in California for CWD through lymph node sampling and testing since 2000.

More than 6,500 deer and elk have been tested, and the agency been working to increase surveillance efforts with the help of hunters, taxidermists and meat processors since 2018.

Disease symptoms include progressive weight loss, clumsy movements and lack of coordination, listlessness, drooling, excessive thirst or urination and behavioral changes. Once these symptoms develop, death occurs quickly, the agency said.

Because the disease was found in two differing locations, the agency said it believes the disease has most likely been present in California for some time, as the incubation period can be months to years.

“CWD infected animals can excrete infectious prions before clinical signs appear and these prions can persist in the environment for years, making it very difficult to prevent or control the spread once it has been introduced,” Dr. Brandon Munk, the agency’s veterinarian who oversees CWD surveillance and response efforts, said.

“The public can help limit the spread of CWD by reporting any signs of illness in deer and elk populations, and hunters should strongly consider testing their harvested deer or elk,” he added.

Fish and Wildlife continues to provide surveillance, response, long-term management plans and public outreach and education through its “No Time to Waste” campaign to limit the spread.

Hunters can assist in the efforts by voluntarily participating in the agency’s statewide CWD surveillance and sampling efforts and encouraging other hunters to participate.

To report a sick deer or elk visit tinyurl.com/InyoSickElk

To learn more and find out how to get your cervid harvest tested, visit tinyurl.com/ CWDMonitoring.