NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Louisiana is stepping up its program to test deer for a lethal, incurable brain disease that’s been found in two neighboring states.
Chronic wasting disease is “close enough that we need to be on guard,” Department of Wildlife and Fisheries veterinarian Jim LaCour told the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission on Thursday in Baton Rouge.
According to the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, the disease has been found in wild or penned deer, elk and other hoofed wildlife in about two dozen states and in two Canadian provinces. On Tuesday, the alliance posted a report of the first diagnosis in Europe, where the Norwegian Veterinary Institute found it in a free-ranging reindeer.
The disease, often referred to as CWD, is similar to mad cow disease and the sheep disease called scrapie.
There’s no evidence so far that eating meat from infected animals can infect people, but it’s too early to be sure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A human brain infection linked to eating beef from cattle with mad cow disease can take 10 years to show symptoms.
The CDC recommends avoiding meat from animals that look ill or test positive for CWD, and wearing gloves, minimizing handling of brain and spinal cord tissues when field dressing animals from areas with the infection, and boning-out the meat.
CWD was found last June at an elk breeding ranch in west Texas and this year among elk and wild deer in northern Arkansas, where 56 wild deer and elk have tested positive for the disease since late February.
It has not been found in Louisiana, LaCour and Jimmy Ernest, coordinator of the department’s deer management program, told the commission. A news release quoted LaCour as saying the department has checked more than 7,000 deer over 10 years without finding CWD.
LaCour said in an email that since the Arkansas cases turned up at the end of hunting season, the department is ramping up testing.
Domestic livestock appear resistant to the disease, according to the alliance’s website.
The disease was first recognized by wildlife researchers in Colorado in the late 1960s.
Ernst told the commission that once CWD is identified in Louisiana, feeding and baiting will be restricted in the area where infected deer are found to keep deer from gathering together. In addition, more hunting will be allowed in that area to thin the population, with all killed animals tested.
“Hopefully, working with hunters and landowners, we can minimize the spread of the disease with these measures,” he said.
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Online:
Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance: https://cwd-info.org/
Wildlife and Fisheries FAQ: https://1.usa.gov/22fNutm
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/index.html
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