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Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Service
and Fish and Wildlife Health Program

Has Chronic Wasting Disease been found in Maryland?
No. To date Maryland has had no confirmed cases of Chronic Wasting Disease.

What is CWD?
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord of deer and elk, specifically white-tailed deer, moose, mule deer, and Rocky Mountain elk. While the exact cause is not known, it is believed to be a prion disease. A prion is an altered protein that causes other normal proteins to change and cause sponge-like holes in the brain. The origin of these prions is currently unknown. CWD is related to, but different from, scrapie in sheep and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) in cattle and Creutzfelt-Jacob Disease (CJD) in humans. These diseases also attack the brain and cause deterioration and eventual death. CWD was first identified in the 1960s in a Colorado research facility and since that time it has been found in Wisconsin, Wyoming, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Illinois, Utah, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, New York, West Virginia and Canada. CWD has not been found in sika deer or white-tailed deer in Maryland. It is unknown whether sika deer are susceptible to CWD.

What are the signs of CWD?
In the early stages of the disease affected animals may not show signs of the disease. As the disease progresses animals infected with CWD will show signs of weight loss, generally accompanied by behavioral changes. In later stages of the disease, affected animals may show emaciation, excessive drooling, increased drinking and urination, listlessness, stumbling, trembling, loss of fear of humans and nervousness.

How is CWD spread?
CWD appears to be passed between animals via saliva, feces or urine. Transmission between females and their fetuses (maternal transmission) does not seem to be a factor although indirect transfer, from contaminated soil for example, may occur. CWD may be transmitted more readily within overpopulated herds and at deer or elk feeding stations where direct physical contact among individuals is more likely. Prion diseases, like CWD, do not move easily between species. There is no scientific evidence that CWD has been transmitted to animals other than deer, elk and moose.

What is being done to monitor CWD in Maryland?
The MD-DNR has conducted targeted surveillance since 1999 and began active surveillance in 2002. Each year a sample of hunter harvested deer are examined with brain and lymph node samples taken. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are integral partners in all CWD surveillance plans to assist in monitoring wild deer populations, and protect domestic animals and health.

If CWD has not been found to occur in Maryland, why is the DNR testing for the disease?
Maryland’s goal is to be proactive regarding the threat of this disease in an attempt to safeguard Maryland’s wildlife resources for future generations.

Can CWD be transmitted to people?
Research has not demonstrated transmission of CWD between deer or elk and humans. Scrapie, a similar prion disease in sheep has been studied for centuries and has not been shown to be transmissible to humans. However, in Great Britain, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease, was found to be transmissible to humans through the consumption of contaminated meat; the human form of this disorder is known as New Variant Creutzfelt-Jacob Disease (vCJD). As a precaution, people who handle deer and elk from areas where CWD is known to occur are being instructed to take special measures to avoid possible infection. As a general precaution it is recommended that people avoid all wild animals that appear sick.

Do animals recover from CWD?
Unfortunately, no known cure for CWD exists. Removal of infected animals from the herd may help prevent the spread of disease in a population.

Is it safe to hunt this year?
Yes. Marylanders should enjoy a successful hunting season this year. If you plan to hunt in a state where CWD is known to exist contact that state’s wildlife agency for guidance.

Advice to Hunters Concerning Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
Concerns over CWD shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the hunting season. CWD has not been found in Maryland and has not been shown to be transmissible to humans. However, hunters field-dressing or butchering deer should take the same precautions as they might to protect against other pathogens or diseases.

The following common-sense precautionary measures are recommended for the safe handling, field-dressing and home processing of venison:

• Avoid shooting or handling a deer that appears sick.

• Wear latex or rubber gloves when field-dressing or butchering deer.

• Remove all internal organs.

• Bone the deer (remove the meat from the bones and spinal column).

• Do not use household knives or utensils.

• Avoid cutting through bones or the spinal column (backbone).

• Never eat a deer’s brain, eyeballs, spinal cord, spleen, or lymph nodes.

• If you saw off antlers or through a bone, or if you sever the spinal column with a knife, be sure to disinfect these tools prior to using them for the butchering or removal of meat.

• Remove all fat, membranes and connective tissue from the meat. Note that normal field-dressing and trimming of fat from meat will remove lymph nodes.

• Always wash hands and instruments thoroughly after dressing and processing game meat.

• Use a 50/50 solution of household chlorine bleach and water to disinfect tools and work surfaces.

• Wipe down counters and let them dry; soak knives for one hour.

If you hunt deer or elk in other states and/or provinces, particularly those in which CWD has been detected, check with the respective fish and wildlife agencies regarding special regulations or specific advice for hunters. Also check with your home state fish and wildlife agency to ensure that animals lawfully killed elsewhere may be imported and possessed in your state.

A hunter may only bring the following parts of a dead deer, elk or other cervid into Maryland from an area indicated as positive for CWD in free ranging or captive cervids:

• Meat without the backbone

• Meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached

• Cleaned hide with no head attached

• Skull plate cleaned of all meat and brain tissue

• Antlers with no meat or soft tissue attached

• Clean upper canine teeth, also known as buglers, whistlers or ivories

• Finished taxidermy mount or tanned hide

The restricted deer body parts (brain, spinal column, lymph glands, etc) contain the highest concentrations of infectious tissues. By restricting the importation of tissues from known CWD infected areas, the risk of CWD being transported in Maryland is reduced.

Importation of whole deer, elk moose or other cervid carcasses is prohibited from the CWD positive areas identified within the states and provinces listed below. To get the latest information on CWD positive areas in any of these states or provinces call the number listed or go to http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/about.map.

* CWD has been confirmed in Hampshire County only. Unprocessed deer shot north of U.S. Rt. 50 in Hampshire County cannot be imported into MD.

Any person who imports or possesses a deer, elk or other cervid carcass or part of a cervid carcass that was tested for CWD in another state or province and is notified that the cervid tested positive, must report the test results to DNR within 24 hours of receiving the notification. The person must notify DNR by calling (301) 842-0332 or faxing (301) 842-1026 or emailing beyler@dnr.state.md.us

Travelers may pass through Maryland with cervid carcasses, provided that no parts are disposed of or remain in the state.

How can I help?
You can help by reporting any deer that are emaciated, unhealthy or act abnormally to the MD DNR toll free number 1-(877) 620-8367 (ext. 8540). During hunting seasons, hunters may be asked by biologists for permission to collect brain tissue samples from harvested deer at meat processors.

For more information, please contact:

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Wildlife and Heritage Service
Tawes State Office Building, E-1
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 260-8540
Toll-free in Maryland: 1-877-620-8DNR, Ext. 8540

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