BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — According to a recent news release, Idaho Fish and Game received test results confirming a positive case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a mule deer buck harvested roughly seven miles south of New Meadows in Game Management Unit 32A.
This is the first known case of CWD outside Unit 14 north of Riggins, where the disease was first detected in Idaho in the fall of 2021.
CWD is a contagious, fatal neurological disease affecting deer, elk and moose. There is no cure, vaccine or reliable live test for wild animals. It is found in 31 states and four Canadian provinces, including all neighboring states east of Idaho.
The disease affects the brain of infected animals, and symptoms include excessive salivation, drooping head or ears, tremors, low body weight and unusual behavior, such as showing no fear of humans and lack of coordination.
Fish and Game wants to get as many samples as possible from animals in Unit 32A and adjacent units to determine the extent of the disease in that area. Fish and Game asks all hunters participating in deer or elk hunts still open in Units 32A, 22, 23, 24, and 32 to have their harvested animal tested for the disease.
Hunters can take heads of harvested deer and elk to any regional Fish and Game office or get directions at idfg.idaho.gov/cwd on removing lymph nodes and submitting them for sampling.
This is the first positive case of CWD from the 2023 fall hunting season, but more samples are at the lab, and those test results will arrive throughout November and December.
Fish and Game also asks people to report any road-killed deer and elk in the Highway 95 corridor between Riggins and Weiser and any deer or elk that appear sick. People can call the Nampa regional office at (208)465-8465 or the McCall regional office at (208)634-8137. People can also use the roadkill reporting webpage.
The Fish and Game Commission has a regularly scheduled meeting on Nov. 15-16 in Lewiston, where they will hear an update on the situation.
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