Tissue Sample Confirmed Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in One Wild Ohio Deer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife has identified a positive test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a wild Ohio white-tailed deer in Wyandot County. The Division of Wildlife is gathering additional details about the adult male deer taken by a hunter on private property. Tissue samples were submitted for testing by a taxidermist and the positive test was identified after results were obtained on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk, and moose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans.

The Division of Wildlife will implement its CWD response plan, which includes enhanced surveillance within a 10-mile radius of the CWD positive deer location in Wyandot County. Mandatory deer disease sample collection will occur on all remaining Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area controlled hunts. Hunters who harvest a deer in Wyandot County during the remaining deer hunting season, which closes on Sunday, February 7, 2021, will be contacted to obtain disease samples by Division of Wildlife staff.

The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002, testing more than 25,000 deer without finding a CWD positive deer in the wild herd. CWD has previously been detected at captive deer breeding facilities in Ohio. Find more information about Ohio’s CWD surveillance at www.wildohio.gov.

CWD has been detected in 26 states and four Canadian provinces. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S. More information about this disease is available at www.cwd-info.org.

Hunters should take precautions when handling and processing any harvested deer. Hunters may have a harvested deer tested at the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for a small fee. Call (614) 728-6220 for more information.

The mission of the Division of Wildlife is to conserve and improve fish and wildlife resources and their habitats for sustainable use and appreciation by all. Visit wildohio.gov to find out more.

ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov.