United States: The Georgia Department of Natural Resources validated the initial Chronic Wasting Disease diagnosis in a white-tailed deer within the state boundaries.
The neurological dysfunction known as CWD has been discovered in a two-and-a-half-year-old male deer obtained through hunting activities in Lanier County.
More about the news
A National Veterinary Services Laboratories testing division of the USDA confirmed the first CWD case through its routine surveillance program.
The DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) executed its CWD Response Plan and started additional area testing.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has confirmed the state’s first case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a white-tailed deer. https://t.co/BMEgB6CAi4
— FOX 5 Atlanta (@FOX5Atlanta) January 24, 2025
Management of the situation
The CWD Management Area now extends across both Lanier and Berrien counties, fox5atlanta.com reported.
The DNR aims to discover disease scope throughout this designated region by requiring landowners to assist with targeted testing of wildlife clusters.
Scientists first detected CWD in Colorado in 1967 before understanding it spreads through infectious prions that ultimately cause death in deer elk and moose species.
About CWD
The disease has been documented throughout 36 US states and three provinces located in Canada.
People should get their animal meat tested within CWD-prone regions before human consumption, according to the recommendations from the CDC.
- Moving live deer between locations remains the primary way CWD spreads and should never be done.
- Proper carcass disposal methods include leaving deer remains where hunting occurred or sending them to the landfill while burying remains represents another alternative.
- Document any deer showing sickness or abnormal symptoms to a WRD Game Management Office.
Hunters have to remember they cannot bring entire carcasses across the boundaries of the CWD Management Area, fox5atlanta.com reported.
Weekly updates on the situation will be provided by the Georgia DNR, which works alongside the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study.