Sixty hunter-harvested deer and 4 elk in 10 extra jap Nebraska counties examined optimistic for power losing illness (CWD) through the 2024 looking season, a rise of over 50% from 2023 that doubtless displays a 42% rise in deer examined, in response to tallies posted on Outside Nebraska.
Nebraska conducts CWD surveillance in 4 to seven areas annually, rotating to a special a part of the state every season.
Illness detected in 73% of counties
CWD was first recognized in Nebraska in 2000 in Kimball County. Since 1997, the Nebraska Recreation and Parks Fee (NGPC) has examined greater than 58,000 deer and 400 elk, with 1,347 deer and 23 elk testing optimistic for the deadly neurodegenerative illness. To this point, CWD has been detected in free-ranging deer and elk in 68 of 93 counties (73%).
Thirty of 600 deer examined had been optimistic for CWD in 2023. In 2024, NGPC examined 1,419 hunter-harvested deer samples at test stations within the Missouri, Elkhorn, Loup East, Wahoo, Blue Northwest, and Blue Southeast deer-management items.
To this point, CWD has been detected in free-ranging deer and elk in 68 of 93 counties (73%).
The 60 deer and 4 elk that examined optimistic for CWD in 2024 had been present in 10 beforehand CWD-negative counties: Antelope, Butler, Greeley, Jefferson, Madison, Merrick, Platte, Richardson, Seward, and York. To this point, no inhabitants declines have been attributed to the illness.
CWD is a illness of cervids akin to deer and elk attributable to prions, infectious proteins that set off irregular folding in regular proteins, particularly within the central nervous system. Contaminated animals shed CWD prions in physique fluids, which might unfold to different cervids by way of direct contact or the atmosphere.
Though no CWD circumstances have been detected in individuals, the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention recommends in opposition to consuming contaminated animals and advises taking precautions when dealing with carcasses.
