Environment DEC
From the February 2009 issue
DEC to Continue Chronic Wasting Disease Study in Oneida County
DEC's Region 6 office will conduct a winter surveillance study for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in portions of the towns of Westmoreland and Verona, Oneida County, during the early part of 2009, Regional Director Judy Drabicki announced recently. The study involves a targeted collection of adult deer in close proximity to the two sites where the disease was first confirmed in 2005.
The Study's Scope
Sampling will take place within a four-mile diameter circle from where CWD was first detected in captive deer at a farm in Westmoreland and another four-mile diameter circle from where CWD was first detected in wild deer in Verona. The total sampling area will be about 25 square miles. A maximum of 50 deer from each location will be used in the study. The animals will come from a combination of deer killed by hunters during the 2008 big game season, road-kill, and deer collected by DEC staff. Sampling will take place during a two-week period in February, pending suitable weather conditions, and only on lands where owner permission has been granted.
The deer population will be sampled in Westmoreland and Verona, where the disease was first detected in captive and wild populations.
CWD was first found in New York State in two captive Oneida County deer herds in early 2005. Out of 22 deer, 5 tested positive. DEC then confirmed the disease in two wild white-tailed deer through intensive sampling of 292 free ranging animals in April 2005. Regulations were enacted to control the spread of the disease and to determine the presence and prevalence of CWD in an established "containment area" which consists of 18 towns in Oneida County and 3 towns in Madison County.
No New Cases Since 2005
Although it was fully expected that additional CWD cases would be detected, no new cases have been discovered following intensive road-kill collection and mandatory hunter checks of about 6,300 samples from 2005 to 2008. This makes New York unique among the 11 states and 2 Canadian provinces with identified wild deer CWD infections. The best current science on CWD suggests that targeting deer collection around areas close to the original points of detection is the best way to see if the disease is still in an area.
Information developed through the targeted sampling and ongoing surveillance for the disease within the larger containment area will better help wildlife managers make future deer and hunting management decisions regarding CWD in the containment area.
CWD is a fatal transmissible disease that affects the brain and central nervous system of deer, elk and moose. There is no evidence that it is linked to disease in humans or domestic livestock. For more information on the disease in New York State, go to the Chronic Wasting Disease web page on DEC's website.
