
Wisconsin officials have announced the first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Manitowoc County, according to the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the infected 1-year-old buck was harvested November 23 on private land less than 10 miles from borders with Calumet and Sheboygan counties in the far eastern part of the state.
The new case has prompted a baiting and feeding ban in Manitowoc, which already had local baiting and feeding restrictions, and resets baiting and feeding dates for Calumet County. It won't affect the ban in CWD-positive Sheboygan County, which expires later.
Caused by infectious misfolded proteins
A fatal neurodegenerative disease, CWD is caused by infectious misfolded proteins called prions, which spread among cervids such as deer, elk, and moose.
The disease isn't known to infect people, but some experts fear it could cause illness similar to another prion disease: bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("mad cow" disease). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against eating meat from infected animals.