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Sixty hunter-harvested deer and four elk in 10 more eastern Nebraska counties tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) during the 2024 hunting season, an increase of over 50% from 2023 that likely reflects a 42% rise in deer tested, according to tallies posted on Outdoor Nebraska.
Nebraska conducts CWD surveillance in four to seven regions each year, rotating to a different part of the state each season.
Disease detected in 73% of counties
CWD was first identified in Nebraska in 2000 in Kimball County. Since 1997, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) has tested more than 58,000 deer and 400 elk, with 1,347 deer and 23 elk testing positive for the fatal neurodegenerative disease. So far, CWD has been detected in free-ranging deer and elk in 68 of 93 counties (73%).
Thirty of 600 deer tested were positive for CWD in 2023. In 2024, NGPC tested 1,419 hunter-harvested deer samples at check stations in the Missouri, Elkhorn, Loup East, Wahoo, Blue Northwest, and Blue Southeast deer-management units.
So far, CWD has been detected in free-ranging deer and elk in 68 of 93 counties (73%).
The 60 deer and four elk that tested positive for CWD in 2024 were found in 10 previously CWD-negative counties: Antelope, Butler, Greeley, Jefferson, Madison, Merrick, Platte, Richardson, Seward, and York. Thus far, no population declines have been attributed to the disease.
CWD is a disease of cervids such as deer and elk caused by prions, infectious proteins that trigger abnormal folding in normal proteins, especially in the central nervous system. Infected animals shed CWD prions in body fluids, which can spread to other cervids through direct contact or the environment.
Although no CWD cases have been detected in people, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against eating infected animals and advises taking precautions when handling carcasses.
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Publish date : 2025-02-12 07:32:00
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