CWD NOT FOUND IN PENNSYLVANIA

LifeNRA · April 6, 2005

CWD NOT FOUND IN PENNSYLVANIA HUNTER-KILLED DEER SAMPLES

Pennsylvania CWD Task Force monitoring CWD infection in captive deer herds in New York

HARRISBURG - Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was not detected in samples taken from hunter-killed deer during the state's 2004 hunting season, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Vern Ross.

Based on a significant increase in the number of deer samples collected for testing, Ross noted that the test results took two additional weeks to complete this year. In 2004, 3,699 hunter-killed deer samples were collected for testing, compared to the 2,003 deer sampled in 2003. Last year's results for CWD also were negative.

Results showing that the CWD tests of hunter-killed elk from 2004 were all negative and were announced on March 24.

"We are pleased to announce that Pennsylvania continues to have no confirmed or suspected cases of CWD-infected wild deer or elk in Pennsylvania, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that it stays that way," Ross said. "By conducting these tests on a random sample of hunter-killed deer and on all hunter-killed elk, we will help to assure ourselves and the general public that it is unlikely that CWD is present in wild deer and elk in the state."

CWD tests on the deer samples were conducted by the New Bolton Center, which is the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary diagnostics laboratory, and the Department of Agriculture's State Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg. The New Bolton Center also conducted the CWD tests on the elk samples. Under a contract with Penn State University, the elk samples also were tested for brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis and found to be free from these diseases.

All costs for conducting these tests are covered by a $54,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture; any Game Fund dollars spent are reimbursed. The federal grant covers all testing, materials, supplies and some of the agency's personnel costs for sample collection.

Deer samples were collected from hunter-killed deer during the two-week rifle deer season, and elk samples were collected during the elk season. This marked the fourth year for testing hunter-killed elk and the third year for testing hunter-killed deer. In total, 162 elk have been tested and 6,259 deer have been tested.

"The test results are good news," Ross said. "Although CWD has not been found in Pennsylvania, we must continue to be vigilant in our CWD monitoring efforts. The surveillance information we are gathering is important for the early detection of CWD.

"We already are planning to continue random testing of hunter-killed deer and elk during the 2005-2006 seasons, and we are pleased that the Pennsylvania and U.S. departments of agriculture will continue to play an important role in this disease surveillance program."

Ross added that, since 1998, the Game Commission, in cooperation with the state Department of Agriculture, has tested more than 350 deer that have died of unknown illness or were exhibiting abnormal behavior. No evidence of CWD has been found in these samples. The Game Commission will continue to monitor for and collect samples from deer and elk that appear sick or behave abnormally.

However, Ross noted that the Game Commission and other members of Pennsylvania's CWD Task Force went on increased alert last week when it was announced that recent test results showed one captive white-tailed deer on each of two different farms in Oneida County, New York were infected with CWD.

The Game Commission, the Governor's Policy Office, state Department of Agriculture, state Department of Health, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have completed a response plan in the event CWD is found in or near Pennsylvania. The interagency task force focused on ways to prevent CWD from entering the Commonwealth and to ensure early detection should CWD enter the state, and has laid out a comprehensive response plan to contain and eradicate CWD should it be found within the state.

Representatives from the Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture listened to a conference-call news briefing held by New York officials from the departments of Agriculture and Markets, Environmental Conservation and Health on March 31. Two days later, on April 2, New York officials announced that they had identified a second positive case of CWD in another white-tailed deer from a second captive herd in Oneida County that is directly linked to the herd where the first CWD-infected white-tailed doe was found.

"We truly appreciate the openness with which New York officials are handling this most unfortunate situation," Ross said. "This has enabled the Game Commission and Pennsylvania's other CWD Task Force members to monitor the ongoing process of evaluating the New York cases, while at the same time determining what course of action is necessary for our state.

"While Oneida County is outside the 50-mile radius that would trigger activation of the Commonwealth's CWD response plan, it does require that we examine our plan and ensure that we are all informed with the most updated information about New York's situation."

Members of the task force have begun to hold meetings with their respective agency staffs to review agency regulations and policies on CWD to see if any areas need to be strengthened. Task Force members will be holding subcommittee and executive meetings of the CWD Task Force to review the Commonwealth's response plan.

As of January, Pennsylvania has 687 deer propagators, 24 elk propagators and 55 propagators with both deer and elk. Pennsylvania ranks as one of the top states in deer propagators.

First identified in Colorado in 1967, CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects members of the deer family (cervids), including white-tailed deer and elk. It is a progressive and always fatal disease, which scientists theorize is caused by an unknown agent capable of transforming normal brain proteins into an abnormal form. Once the abnormal form is created, it changes the shape of adjacent proteins and causes holes to form in brain tissue.

There currently is no practical way to test live animals for CWD, no cure for animals that contact the disease and no vaccine to prevent an animal from contracting the disease. Clinical signs include poor posture, lowered head and ears, uncoordinated movement, rough-hair coat, decreased appetite, weight loss, increased thirst, excessive drooling, and, ultimately, death.

There is no scientific evidence of CWD being transmitted to humans or to other non-cervid livestock under normal conditions.

Deer or elk harboring CWD may not show any signs of the disease for the first 18 months, and then death follows normally within a year of when symptoms begin.

Those states where CWD has been found in wild or captive deer or elk herds are: Colorado; Wyoming; Montana; Utah; New Mexico; New York; South Dakota; Nebraska; Kansas; Oklahoma; Minnesota; Wisconsin; and Illinois. In addition, CWD has been detected in wild or captive deer and elk in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Anyone who sees Pennsylvania deer or elk behaving oddly, that appear to be very sick, or that are dying for unknown reasons are urged to contact the nearest Game Commission Region Office. Individuals should not kill the animal.

"We are very serious about preventing CWD from entering Pennsylvania," said Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Management Assistant Director Bob Boyd, who has been overseeing the agency's wildlife disease issues. "Some scientific modeling suggests that, if nothing is done to contain an outbreak of the disease, CWD could cause a local deer population's demise within 20 to 25 years in states with high-density deer populations, such as Pennsylvania.

"We also are concerned about the potential environmental contamination that could be caused by CWD, as well as the serious economic impact that would result."

To learn more about CWD, visit the agency's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) and click on "Hunting & Trapping" and then select "Chronic Wasting Disease."

too_pointer · April 6, 2005