Published Date: 2002-01-24 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH> Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (Nebraska)
Archive Number: 20020124.3374
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE, CERVIDS - USA (NEBRASKA)
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See Also
Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (Kansas) 20020101.31452001
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Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (Nebraska) 20011228.3123
Chronic wasting disease - USA: test 20011223.3102
Chronic wasting disease, cervids - USA (Colorado) (04) 20011029.2670
Date: 23 Jan, 2002
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org.>
Source: Lincoln Journal Star, 23 Jan 2001 [edited
<http://www.journalstar.com/nebraska?story_id=5391&past=>
One of 300 western Nebraska wild deer has tested positive for chronic
wasting disease (CWD) as state game managers await hundreds of additional
results. Out of the first 300 tests, 53 were from Sioux County and none of
those came back positive, Morrison said.
During November's firearm deer season, hunters in 14 western counties
allowed the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to test their deer for CWD.
The first 300 tests revealed one infected mule deer buck in Kimball County,
said Bruce Morrison, assistant administrator of the commission's wildlife
division.
The 2 year old buck that tested positive for CWD was shot 9 miles south and
7 miles west of Kimball. It was the third free-ranging deer in the state to
test positive with wasting disease. The previous 2 were killed last year
within a 7 mile radius of the recent positive deer.
CWD is a protein disorder that forms holes in the brains of infected deer
and elk. It is always fatal. Although it is related to bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) and a fatal human brain illness called variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), it has not been shown to trigger the
illnesses in humans or livestock. Nonetheless, scientists advise hunters
against eating venison from infected animals.
Hunters whose deer tested negative will be notified by mail. The commission
has operated the voluntary testing program for hunted deer since 1997
because both Colorado and Wyoming have had infected wild deer for years.
All 3 infected deer in Kimball County were killed within several miles of
the Colorado and Wyoming borders.
The most reliable test involves examining the animal's brain stem and can
only be done at 3 laboratories nationally. The first Nebraska results were
reported by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames,
Iowa. Commission biologists are awaiting another 505 tests sent to the
University of Wyoming in Laramie, which have been delayed by equipment
problems and a backlog of tests.
They especially want to see results from deer killed in Sioux County, near
a shooting preserve plagued by a recent outbreak of wasting disease. In the
Sioux County operation, 11 of 21 fenced whitetail deer tested positive in
recent months, as have 7 domestic elk.
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