More than 1,000 Ohio deer tested negative for a fatal brain disease, yet there is some evidence to suggest the disease is spreading to the Midwest.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Agriculture tested 1,021 samples from hunter-harvest deer during the 2008 hunting season for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), said Carolyn Caldwell, Division of Wildlife program administrator for Wildlife Management and Research.
This is the seventh straight year we've tested and every sample has come back negative
she said.
The disease affects cervidae-white-tailed and mule deer, elk, and moose-by attacking the proteins in the brain, said Ohio Assistant State Veterinarian Leah Dorman.
CWD is a degenerative disease; it's completely fatal she said. We have no vaccination or cure.
The abnormal proteins begin to eat away the brain tissue, so deer literally waste away until death, Dorman said.
So far, there is no strong evidence to suggest CWD is transmittable to humans, Dorman said.
The disease was first discovered in the 1960s and primarily affected deer only in western states.
However, there is some evidence that suggests the disease is spreading closer to Ohio. CWD has been found in West Virginia, Illinois, and Wisconsin, said Bryan Richards, CWD project manager at the National Wildlife Health Center.
The most likely explanation for the spread of CWD is from the deer farming industry which transport live deer across the United States
he said.
Richards added that anytime people transport live animals, they incur some risk of spreading diseases along with them.
Deer can also pick up the disease from the soil where it can stay active for at least three years, he said.
One of the features of this disease that is rather disconcerting is how resilient it is
Richards said, adding that the disease has an average incubation period of two years.
Ohio and surrounding states should continue to test for CWD because the disease has potential financial and environmental consequences, Richards said.
Hunters pay a fee to the state where they kill a deer; however, hunters will leave states where CWD has been found, meaning that a state will lose that funding, Richards said.
Hunting is the primary way we keep deer populations in check
he said. If hunters are going other places
we're going to have too many deer
which could mean more vehicle collisions.
Richards acknowledged that although there is no evidence linking CWD to humans, that disease is in a similar family as Mad Cow disease, which can affect humans.
Right now
we don't have any strong evidence
but this disease is very complex and we need to keep monitoring what's happening
he said.
