Two more CWD cases detected
Dec. 31—Idaho Fish and Game officials said Thursday that testing has detected two additional cases of chronic wasting disease in deer near Lucile in the Slate Creek drainage.
The new detections, from two whitetail bucks, mark the third and fourth known cases of the fatal neurological illness ever detected in the state and following two cases from a pair of mule deer bucks detected in October.
"While unfortunate, these latest CWD detections show our surveillance efforts are working, and we greatly appreciate the assistance we've received from hunters and landowners to help us learn how widespread CWD may be, and what percentage of the deer population may be affected," Fish and Game State Wildlife Manager Rick Ward said in a news release.
Following the first two cases, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission established a chronic disease management zone in game management Unit 14 which stretches from Cottonwood to Riggins and Unit 15 to the east along the South Fork of the Clearwater River and a CWD surveillance zone that includes all or parts of adjacent units. The commission also gave Idaho Fish and Game Director Ed Schriever authority to establish emergency deer hunts designed to increase sampling for the disease that is present in 27 other states, including Montana, Wyoming and Utah and in four Canadian provinces.
Those hunts, and samples collected at game check stations during the tail end of the regular deer hunting season, produced hundreds of additional samples.
In addition to the four positive test results, 448 samples taken in the surveillance zone tested negative and 72 samples are still pending. Statewide, the agency tested more than 2,500 animals for the disease this year.
"We still have test results pending from deer harvested within the surveillance zone," Ward said. "When we get the results of all tests, we will then assess our management options. Hunters and the general public will be involved in this process as the Fish and Game Commission deliberates future CWD management actions."
Rules within the CWD management zone prohibit people from feeding deer and elk and prohibit those who salvage road-killed animals from removing the head or spinal column. There is an exception for those who are bringing the parts to Fish and Game offices for testing.
The disease has never been documented to jump from wild animals to humans. Even so, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions recommends against consuming the meat of animals that test positive for CWD.
Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.
