A Portage County, Wisconsin, deer farm is under quarantine after a 3-year-old buck tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) reported on October 10.

The National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the test result. The farm will remain under quarantine while veterinarians and other staff from DATCP and the US Department of Agriculture conduct an epidemiologic investigation.

It is not the first case of CWD in Portage County, which is located in central Wisconsin, about 50 miles west of Green Bay. Both free-ranging and captive animals have previously tested positive in the county, which is surrounded by other CWD-positive counties.

Spreads through body fluids, contaminated environments

CWD is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cervids such as deer, elk, and moose. It is caused by infectious misfolded proteins called prions, which spread through body fluids and environmental contamination. 

CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE); other TSEs include scrapie in sheep, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("mad cow" disease) in cattle. While CWD is not known to affect people, health authorities recommend against eating the meat of infected or sick cervids and urge caution when handling their carcasses.

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