Wisconsin deer farm quarantined as highly contagious and deadly chronic disease discovered in herd of 300 animals
- The infected doe came from another farm nearby
- Symptoms include weight loss, stumbling, lethargy, and death
- It is caused by a malignant protein called a prion that attacks the brain
Farmers in the Upper Midwest nervously wait to see if a highly contagious and always deadly brain disease has spread after an outbreak at a Wisconsin deer farm.
Chronic Wasting Disease was discovered in a three-year-old doe at Thundereer Trophy Whitetails in Washburn County, and the 150-acre farm has been quarantined while scientists test the other 300 animals.
The disease, which is closely related to BSE, which ravaged the British dairy industry in the 1980s, was discovered in a three-year-old doe brought over from nearby Rodenkirch Whitetails and Genetics on Oct. 4.
Since 2002, when the disease was first discovered in the state, culls have taken place at 22 farms, though no human cases of the disease have been recorded.
There are no vaccines or cures for the disease, which is caused by a protein called a prion that causes weight loss, stumbling, lethargy and death.
A three-year-old doe was found to have the disease after arriving at the 150-acre Washburn County farm
The prion that causes the disease can survive for months in the soil
Twenty-two farms have been forced to cull deer since the state’s first discovery in 2002
“CWD differs from more well-known bacterial or viral diseases,” warns the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on its website.
‘Prions are extremely resistant to disinfection and can remain in the soil for a long time, making containment a challenge.
Prions can accumulate in an infected deer for well over a year, and visible symptoms develop slowly. Therefore, infected deer can appear healthy before entering the later stages of the disease.’
At the time the doe was transferred, the disease had not been found on the farm or in Rodenkirch, although a case had been reported to suppliers in March.
The state has about 300 deer ranches or shooting sanctuaries.