Chronic Wasting Disease cases on the rise

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With the number of cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) among Saskatchewan's deer and elk population on the rise, hunters are being asked to help Saskatchewan Environment in their monitoring process.

Eighteen new cases of CWD in elk and deer have been found near Swift Current in southern Saskatchewan. According to Saskatchewan Environment, occurrences of CWD have been monitored since 1997. Twelve cases were confirmed as of May 21, 2003.

Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal illness that affects the nervous system of elk, deer, white tailed deer and mules. The disease is believed to be caused by a protein called a prion, which causes other proteins in the brain to change shape. The changes in the brain are what cause the symptoms of the disease. They include unusual behaviour, depression, paralysis, lack of coordination, difficulty swallowing, increased thirst and urination, pneumonia and weight loss.

"As far as we know, it does not affect humans. I don't think the scientific community really knows where it originated, but it was first detected down in the United States in the 70s," said Robert Kerr, provincial veterinarian for Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization.

Kerr said that transmission of the disease among elk and deer is not completely understood.

"They do think that in the form of disease that happens in deer and elk, that it came be spread through the saliva and manure so sometimes it can be associated with very contaminated feed bunkers, or the mother can pass it on to the fetus," said Kerr. "We do know that there is no treatment and no vaccine available. It is always fatal in animals that develop it. There are a lot of questions around this disease that are still being worked out. There's a lot of research going on at the moment to really pin down a lot of this information."

Joe Warbeck, spokesperson for Saskatchewan Environment, said that the discovery of the new cases of CWD was found among 3,223 tested samples. The disease can be found by analyzing the brain of the deceased animal.

The province has identified herd reduction areas where the goal is to reduce the mule deer and white-tail deer populations around locations where animals have tested positive for CWD, and high priority areas where the department wants to determine if the disease is present and if so, to what extent is the local population infected.

Herd reduction areas include regions in and around Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park north of Swift Current, Manito Sand Hills south of Lloydminster along the border with Alberta, and Bronson Forest, located north of Lloydminster near Loon Lake.

High priority areas include regions near Hillmond, Paradise Hill, Mudie Lake and Onion Lake, all located just north of Lloydminster.

Saskatchewan Environment is providing incentives to hunters that can provide samples from these areas, Warbeck explained.

"In these areas, we're offering free licenses to Saskatchewan residents that want to go out and hunt. How that system works is, you come into any one of our offices and we give you two tags and two licenses for free but they are good for antlerless only and you turn those two samples in. You get an either sex tag, which is a buck tag, which is what hunters seem to want. We do the testing for hunters for free," said Warbeck.

Warbeck said that once an animal has tested positive, health authorities are alerted and the public will be advised. The hunter that provides the sample would then be notified and if he or she chooses, Saskatchewan Environment takes the animal to be destroyed by incineration.

Hunters handling the carcasses of deer or elk are advised by Saskatchewan Environment to wear rubber gloves, minimize handling of the brain or spinal tissues/fluids and wash their hands thoroughly after contact with the animal. Eating the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen or lymph nodes should also be avoided. When taking an animal to a meat processng facility, you should also request that your meat be processed separately from other wild meat to avoid possible contamination from infected animals. The department also cautions hunters not to handle or consume meat of animals that appear to be sick.

For more information on Chronic Wasting Disease call Joe Warbeck at Saskatchewan Environment at 787-2464 or 1-800-567-4224. Information is also available online at www.serm.gov.sk.ca.