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 Chronic Wasting Disease - The disease and its management in Wisconsin
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What is CWD?

Chronic wasting disease is a brain disease of deer and elk, and it’s one of a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) that can infect sheep, cows and even humans. CWD was first detected in free-ranging deer and elk in areas of northeastern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming during the mid-1980s. At that time, wildlife officials believed the best way to manage the disease was to contain it. But today, the disease can be found in parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Canada and, most recently, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Characterized by long incubation periods, CWD takes years to develop. In fact, deer infected with this disease may appear healthy for most of their lives. As the disease becomes more progressive — as it always does — deer begin to waste away, literally. They develop a number of neurological problems that include staggering, shaking and excessive salivation, thirst and urination. The disease is always fatal. And, to date, there is no cure.

Most researchers agree that the agent responsible for causing CWD is an abnormal protein, called a prion. While there are two forms of prions, one form is more abnormal than the other one. It is this irregular form of the prion protein that’s associated with the disease. During the development of the disease, these prions bore holes in the brain, causing the death of many cells. This death then triggers the clinical symptoms of CWD. Screening for the abnormal form of the prion protein is how federal labs, including the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at UW-Madison, detect CWD infection.

 

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