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RICHMOND, Virginia. (CBS19 NEWS) – The Department of Sport Fishing and Inland Fisheries of Virginia has confirmed more than two dozen cases of chronic debilitating disease (chronic wasting) in white-tailed deer.
According to a press release, the DGIF reported that 26 deer from Frederick County and two from Shenandoah County were harvested in 2018.
Of these, 26 were harvested by hunters and showed no symptoms of the disease. Two of them showed signs before their deaths and members of the public reported them to the government agency.
According to the DGIF, more than 1,550 deer from Frederick, Clarke, Warren and Shenandoah counties or CWD were tested during the 2018 hunting season with the help of hunters, contractors, processors and producers. taxidermists.
According to the release, 66 CWD positive deer were confirmed in Frederick and Shenandoah counties, all of which were harvested west of Interstate 81.
The DGIF also collaborated with dozens of Virginia taxidermists to improve surveillance of MDC, which has proven effective in obtaining over 1,500 samples from across the Commonwealth.
MDC has been detected in 26 states and three Canadian provinces. It is a slow and progressive neurological disease in deer, elk and moose that will result in the death of the infected animal.
The symptoms do not appear for several years, but once they occur, they include astonishment, abnormal posture, lowered head, drooling, confusion and marked weight loss.
According to the DGIF, there is no evidence that the disease can be naturally transmitted to humans, livestock or domestic animals, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that hunters should test all deer captured in areas known to be positive for MDC disease.
For more information on CWD, click the link in the Related Links box.
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