PAYSON, Utah, Nov. 30, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A deer near Payson in Utah County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, becoming the first case in the area, state wildlife officials said.
In all, 25 deer and one elk tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Utah between July 1 and Nov. 28. Of those infected animals, 18 were harvested by hunters, five were found dead, and three were reported as sick and euthanized by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
The majority of the positive cases were from northeastern Utah, and the positive deer in Payson is a first for the area, DWR officials said.
Three deer from Moab also tested positive, which DWR officials say is an ongoing hotspot for the disease.
Two deer from North Salt Lake also were among the positive cases, making the area another recent hotspot for the disease since the first positive test there last year.
Chronic wasting disease was first detected in mule deer in Utah in 2002 near Venal, DWR officials said in a news release. It’s a relatively rare transmissible disease that affects the nervous systems of deer, elk and moose.
The DWR monitors for the spread of chronic wasting disease in big game animals across Utah and conducts check stations each fall during the general-season rifle deer hunts to test harvested deer. The samples taken from deer during this year’s check stations were sent to the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Logan, and the DWR recently received the results.
“We can’t accurately compare each year’s positive cases to determine how fast the disease is spreading because we sample different areas of the state each year that have different prevalence; alternatively, we compare each unit from year to year,” said Ginger Stout, state wildlife veterinarian. “However, we are finding the disease in new areas, so unfortunately, it does appear to be spreading in Utah. We are continuing to do extensive monitoring and trying different hunting strategies to stay on top of the disease and its prevalence in the state.”
Chronic wasting disease is caused by a misfolded protein, called a prion, that aggregates in the brain and spinal cord, according to DWR. It’s caused by the same type of misfolded protein as “mad cow disease” in cows. Infected animals develop brain lesions, become emaciated, appear listless and have droopy ears. They may also salivate excessively and eventually die.
Infected animals may shed prions in their urine, feces and saliva. Transmission may occur directly through contact with an infected animal or indirectly through environmental contamination, as a dead carcass can contaminate the soil.
While the risk of transmission from animals to humans is considered extremely low, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend consuming meat from animals infected with chronic wasting disease.
Anyone who notices as sick animal is asked to contact the nears DWR office.
