More chronic wasting disease found in Minnesota deer

ST. PAUL — More deer in Minnesota are testing positive for chronic wasting disease this fall, including three more deer in the northern half of the state.

Data on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website shows that CWD sampling conducted on deer shot during this fall’s hunting seasons, and one deer found dead, revealed 23 confirmed new cases of the always-fatal disease, as of Thursday, Nov. 30. Of those, 15 were in southeastern Minnesota where CWD has been most prevalent in recent years and five were near the Twin Cities.

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Three CWD-positive deer were found in northern Minnesota, including one in Deer Management Area 679 around Grand Rapids, one in Area 604 around Brainerd and another in Area 661 near Crookston. All three areas had previous CWD-positive cases in past years.

All but one of the CWD-positive cases have been in areas where the disease had already been confirmed in wild deer. That one was in Area 342, in southeastern Minnesota, adjacent to previous CWD hotspots.

There are also 13 samples still pending a second confirmation test but considered “suspect,” which often turn out as CWD-positive.

DNR wildlife officials did not immediately return a request to comment on the current season's CWD results.

Since 2010 when testing began, Minnesota has found 245 cases of CWD in wild deer out of more than 11,500 deer tested. Ten of those positive results have been in northern Minnesota.

According to the U .S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CWD is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer and moose. It may take over a year before an infected animal develops obvious symptoms such as drastic weight loss, stumbling and listlessness. CWD can affect animals of all ages. Some infected animals may die without ever showing symptoms.

Of 23 new CWD cases in Minnesota this fall, one was confirmed in each of deer management areas 679, 604 and 661 in the north. The rest were in southeastern Minnesota and near the Twin Cities. Contributed / Minnesota DNR

The disease can spread in infected saliva, urine, feces and even soil and can remain deadly for years after being shed by an infected animal. There are no treatments or vaccines.

There have been no reported cases of CWD infection in people, but health experts warn against humans consuming meat from CWD-positive animals.

New CWD cases this fall by deer management area:

Total: 23