Arkansas officials are warning hunters about the potential threat of chronic wasting disease (CWD) spreading among white-tailed deer and elk populations. While first identified in the 1960s, it was not until ten years ago, in 2016, that wildlife experts detected the neurological disease in Arkansas.
As Little Rock Public Radio reports, wildlife health biologist Amanda “AJ” Riggs, with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), says despite regulations on transporting deer across certain counties, they continue to track new cases of CWD. “We’ve had some of these more recent surprises in Union County, Randolph County and now Grant and Sevier County this past year that are likely new or individual outbreak[s].”
Riggs goes on to explain that the apparent prevalence rate in Newton and Searcy Counties in North-Central Arkansas is above 30% and in some cases exceeding 50%. She then adds, “But in all of the tier two counties, the apparent prevalence rate is below 5%.” The AGFC reports that CWD has now been detected in 25 of the state’s 75 counties overall.
Riggs says CWD affects the animal’s brain, leading to death, and can severely impair populations if left unchecked. "It is a prion disease. So it's not something that's alive, so it can't be killed. It's a misformed protein, and once that protein starts misfolding, it has others misfold, and then that ultimately causes cell death, specifically or more prominently in the brain, literally making it look like Swiss cheese underneath a microscope.”
One of the primary challenges in detection comes from the fact that CWD typically incubates for 12 to 18 months, often quietly spreading through a deer or elk population in those intervening months. Physical symptoms only present themselves in its final stages of the disease, shortly before death.
Free testing is available for hunters for any kill, according to Riggs. She calls it important on two counts, first to prevent declining numbers and second to prevent consumption of infected meat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers guidance on chronic wasting disease infecting animals in 36 states in the continental United States.
Symptoms in infected animals include drastic weight loss, stumbling, drooling, and listlessness. There are no vaccines or treatments for CWD. As Riggs explains, "The easiest way to submit samples is through our CWD testing drop-off container network. There is 110 of those across the state.” Most of them are available 24 hours a day. Some aren't, so check that once hunting season gets a little bit closer.”
The AGFC has instructed the public to Call the agency’s radio room at 833-356-0824 with exact locations of any deer found in the wild displaying clinical signs of CWD. Learn more about CWD and its impacts throughout North America at www.cwd-info.org.
