It looks like Chronic Wasting Disease made its way to the northwest part of North Dakota. Jeb Williams, North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife chief in Bismarck, told the Bismarck Tribune that an initial test on a mule deer buck shot in Unit 3A1 came back positive. A follow-up test is expected to confirm that.
Testing confirmed North Dakota’s first CWD case in 2009. Two initial positive cases now total 11 in 3F2 and another likely in 3A1.
CWD is a fatal neurological (brain and nervous system) disease found in cervids – deer, elk and moose. The disease attacks the brains of infected animals and produces small lesions that result in death. There is no cure; once an animal is infected, it will die.
For more information about CWD, go to the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance website.
(Photo source: North Dakota Game and Fish Department)