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What is Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)?
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a serious neurologic disease affecting elk, white-tailed and mule deer. Although it has been associated with captive deer and elk in the past, CWD has more recently been found in free-ranging white-tailed deer in the Midwest. This disease has been a serious concern for a number of western and plains states for the last several years and has now been found in free-ranging white-tailed deer in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Although the methods of transmission are not completely known, evidence suggests that infected animals may transmit the disease by animal-to-animal contact or by environmental contamination. CWD is always fatal to the infected animal and there is only a limited diagnostic test available to detect CWD in live animals.
Human Health
While CWD is related to other well-known diseases, such as scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, public health officials have not found any evidence that CWD in deer or elk can be transmitted to humans.
Farm-raised Deer
Beginning Oct. 27, 2003, farmed-cervid owners will have the opportunity to import into Indiana cervidae that meet specific health requirements, under an importation permit issued by the office of the Indiana State Veterinarian.
The specific criteria for importation was adopted by members of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, during their July meeting, following a public hearing and comment period.
A summary of the key criteria for cervid importation can be viewed on line by clicking here. The full text of Indiana's importation laws may be found at 345 IAC 1-3.
For more information
If you have any questions regarding CWD or other deer diseases, you can contact the Indiana Board of Animal Health at 1-877-747-3038 (toll free) or the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife at (317) 232-4080.