Summer County Deer Did Not Have Chronic Wasting Disease in Kansas
In July, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) reported that nine deer had tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) during the 2011-12 testing period. The agency now reports that the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, after two different tests, did not detect CWD prions in the Sumner County deer, so initial testing in this case yielded a false-positive result. This reduces the total 2011-2012 positives to eight. Counties where CWD was detected during the 2011-2012 surveillance period include Wallace (one), Rawlins (one), Decatur (one), Norton (two), Trego (one), Ford (one), and Stafford (one).
The white-tailed deer in question was taken from Sumner County last winter. This result brings the total number of confirmed CWD cases in Kansas to 48 since testing began in 1996. In total, 2,446 animals were tested for CWD during the 2011-2012 surveillance period, Aug. 1, 2011, through July 31, 2012.
Annual testing is part of an ongoing effort by KDWPT to monitor the prevalence and spread of CWD. The fatal disease was first detected in the Kansas free-ranging deer herd in 2005 in Cheyenne County.
More information on CWD can be found on KDWPT’s website, ksoutdoors.com, or at the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance website, www.cwd-info.org.
