Chronic Wasting Disease - Now Found in Moose

As reported this week in the news, Chronic Wasting Disease has now been found in moose.  An archer killed the moose in northern Colorado.  Testing two days later confirmed that the moose was suffering from Chronic Wasting Disease.

Colorado has screened 288 moose for chronic wasting disease in the past three years before getting a positive result but 175 of the 13,000 deer and elk tested in the last year came up positive for the disease.

Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal and transmissible brain ailment similar to mad cow disease.  It had previously been found only in wild deer and elk.  This neurological disease causes the animals infected with it to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior, drool, lose bodily functions and die.  Besides being found in wild deer and elk, the disease has been found in captive deer and elk in eight states and two Canadian provinces.

Chronic Wasting Disease is not known to transfer to humans through casual contact, but public health officials urge hunters to take the following precautions when handling deer, elk, or moose in areas known to have occurrences of the disease:
-wear rubber gloves when field dressing or processing animals
-bone out the meat from the animal
-minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues, and wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field-dressing
-wash your hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing is completed
-always avoid consuming brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils, pancreas and lymph nodes of harvested animals. Normal field dressing, coupled with boning out a carcass, will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all fatty tissue will remove remaining lymph nodes.
-do not consume meat from animals known to be infected with chronic wasting disease
-knives, saws and cutting table surfaces can be disinfected by soaking in a solution of 50 percent unscented household bleach and 50 percent water for an hour. Afterward, allow them to air dry.

Currently there is no known scientific evidence to indicate that Chronic Wasting Disease can affect humans, however, consumption of meat from an animal you know has been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease or any other disease is not recommended.

Currently Chronic Wasting Disease is found in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Illinois, New Mexico and in Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Infections have also been found in game farm deer in the same areas, and in Korea.  The disease presumably transferred to captive animals from wild elk taken from affected areas in the United States.  As a result, the trade of live elk and their antler velvet has been seriously economically affected.  The specific mechanism for disease transference between animals is not known.

If you see an animal that appears to be sick, you should contact your local conservation officer, wildlife officer, or game warden.  There is no cure or treatment for Chronic Wasting Disease, so a suspected animal will be disposed of and tested.

Resources:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/CWD/index.asp
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N30486384.htm
http://www.se.gov.sk.ca/fishwild/CWD%20Fall-Winter%202005%20Program.pdf
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/srd/fw/diseases/CWD/index.html
http://www.ofah.org/HuntingResources/index.cfm?ID=1
http://www.state.me.us/ifw/wildlife/cwdfactsheet.htm

Submitted by Lisa - Saturday, October 01, 2005 01:27:28

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