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Chronic wasting disease detected in Georgia deer for the first time

A fatal neurological illness that affects deer known as chronic wasting disease has been detected in Georgia for the first time, state wildlife officials announced Thursday.

The Georgia case was detected in a 2½-year-old white-tailed deer harvested on private property in Lanier County, northeast of Valdosta. The animal was tested as part of routine surveillance, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said, and the positive test was confirmed by a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab.

CWD was first discovered in Colorado in the late 1960s and is known to infect deer, elk and moose.

The illness is caused by a type of protein known as a prion.

In healthy deer, prions are used by cells and then eliminated or recycled through their body. But in deer with CWD, diseased prions fold in abnormal shapes and accumulate throughout the animals' nervous system, including the brain—causing weight loss, an unsteady gait, diminished fear of people and eventually, death.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CWD is thought to spread through contact with the saliva, blood, urine or feces of an infected animal.

The CDC says it's not known whether the disease can infect people, but there have been no confirmed human cases of the illness. Still, the agency advises people to stay away from animals that appear sick or exhibit unusual behavior and recommends hunters test any deer before consuming it. If the deer tests positive, the CDC says you should not eat its meat.

The disease was already present in 35 states and three Canadian provinces, including the neighboring states of Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina.

In response to the case, the DNR said it was establishing a "CWD Management Area" with a five-mile radius extending out from the site where the deer was harvested. That area will include portions of Lanier and neighboring Berrien County.

The DNR said the management area will help determine how far the disease has spread and what proportion of deer within the perimeter are infected. The agency said it will conduct "cluster sampling" in the area to make that determination.

In a statement, DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon sought to reassure hunters, saying that "deer hunting will continue to thrive in Georgia, despite this current discovery."

"Working together with our hunters and all Georgians, we will manage CWD and maintain healthy deer herds," he added.

The discovery comes with deer already off limits to most hunters in the state. Right now and through Jan. 31, only archers can hunt deer in Georgia, and only in certain counties.

Still, the DNR said the public can help minimize the disease's spread by:

• Not moving live deer to new areas.
• Disposing of carcasses or carcass parts properly. The agency said any unused carcass parts should be left on the property where the deer was killed, sent to a landfill or buried. The DNR also said whole carcasses should not be brought to Georgia from out of state or taken out of the management area where they were harvested.
• Reporting deer that appear sick to their nearest DNR Wildlife Resources Division Game Management Office.