The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Greene County’s deer population. Samples were provided by hunters and taxidermists over the past 10 months as part of the DNR’s annual surveillance effort and identified 36 deer with the fatal condition. CWD is a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) that attacks the brain of infected deer or elk, resulting in weight loss, abnormal behaviors and death. The Greene County sample was collected from a road-killed deer located about five miles south of Jefferson. The DNR is working to schedule meetings in Greene County to discuss CWD and explain how hunters can help limit its spread into the broader deer population. DNR Wildlife Biologist, Tyler Harms, says, “We will be updating our surveillance plan to include these new positive and will consider increasing the overall number of samples collected in the state. Early detection is key. Increasing harvest to catch any other positives will help us to manage for it more effectively.” To date, CWD has been identified in 12 Iowa counties. For more information, follow the link included below.
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https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Deer-Hunting/Deer-Health/Chronic-Wasting-Disease
