A Wisconsin deer farm has been quarantined after confirming positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), an extremely contagious as well as deadly brain condition.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture reported Thursday that researchers with the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, verified that samples from a three-year-old doe screened positive for the neurological condition.
The 150-acre farm, Thundeer Trophy Whitetails in Washburn County, has been quarantined while federal and state agriculture officials perform epidemiological investigations. The farm has roughly 300 deer on its property.
According to records, the doe arrived at the preserve on Oct. 4 from Rodenkirch Whitetails and Genetics, a deer farm in Beaver Dam. From the time of the transfer, neither facility had been found to have the disease, albeit a doe at the Rodenkirch farm tested positive in March.
As a consequence, the doe from Thundeer Trophy Whitetails was removed from their herd. The sanctuary is home to approximately 300 deer distributed across 150 acres.
Chronic Wasting Disease a Fatal Neurological Disease
Chronic wasting illness is a deadly neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose. Based on the CDC, it has been discovered in 31 states, four Canadian provinces, and several other nations.
The National Wildlife Center of the Geological Survey. It was discovered for the first time in Wisconsin in 2002.
Only after a deer has died can it be checked for chronic wasting disease. The doe at Thundeer Trophy Whitetails passed away at an unknown time, according to state agriculture officials.
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Symptoms of CWD
Based on the CDC, chronic wasting disease is a prion infection that may lead to loss of weight, stumbling, languid, as well as neurological symptoms.
It has been discovered in deer, elk, reindeer, as well as moose in North America, Canada, Norway, and South Korea. It can take up to a year for symptoms to appear.
It was discovered in Wisconsin in 2002 and has caused the depopulation of deer at 22 sites across the state.
CWD is lethal to affected animals, and no therapies or vaccinations have been developed to date.
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