KLACKING TOWNSHIP (WWJ) - Halloween might be over, but a frightening, 100% fatal disease that infects white-tailed deer, elk, and moose is very real -- and its been identified in Michigan for the first time this year, officials said.
State officials confirmed the sickness, which is officially known as chronic wasting disease (CWD), was discovered in a 4-year-old doe in poor condition in Ogemaw County.
The disease -- which isn't caused by bacteria or a virus, but rather misfolded proteins called prions -- targets the brain in infected animals and causes it to deteriorate in a distinctive spongy manner, leading to weight loss, unusual actions, loss of body functions, and death, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources states.
CWD is typically spread from animal-to-animal when they gather in large groups and can transmit indirectly when deer ingest prions in soil contaminated by infected bodily fluids or carcasses.
Prions are known to persist in the environment, remaining infectious for years
The disease is hard to track, officials explained, as symptoms are slow to appear.
On average, signs begin to show one and a half to three years after an animal was exposed to CWD. Infected deer may look perfectly healthy, but are contaminating the environment and other deer by shedding prions.
When symptoms appear, deer take on a "zombie-like" appearance. Signs of CWD include:
• Extreme weight loss
• Abnormal behavior such as:
-decreased interactions with other animals
-listlessness
-lowering of the head
-tremors
-repetitive walking in set patterns
-nervousness
• Excessive salivation
• Grinding of the teeth
• Increased drinking
• Increased urination
• Loss of fear of humans
• Appearance of confusion
The disease, which has been found in Michigan 251 times, always ends in death.
Stopping CWD is an impossible feat, the DNR said, so efforts remain focused on herd management and on tracking where infections are actively occurring in an effort to prevent larger number of animals from being exposed.
"When we find chronic wasting disease in a brand-new location, where previous intensive surveillance has not yet been done, it becomes extremely important for wildlife disease managers to understand where additional cases might be within that county," Chad Stewart, a deer specialist with the Department of Natural Resources, told Fox 2.
State officials are urging Michiganders gearing up for hunting season to get their kill tested.
In 2023, free CWD testing is available for deer harvested from the following counties that are part of focused head collection and testing efforts with additional testing opportunities will be available in Ogemaw County, Stewart said.
• Antrim
• Benzie
• Charlevoix
• Emmet
• Grand Traverse
• Hillsdale
• Isabella
• Kalkaska
• Lake Leelanau
• Manistee
• Missaukee
• Osceola
• Wexford
Hunters who harvested a deer in the above counties have the following options available for free CWD testing:
• DNR drop boxes and staffed sample submission sites
• Testing through a participating taxidermist
All heads tested for CWD will also be screened for bovine tuberculosis.
Free self-sample shipping kit testing
Free lymph node shipping kits that include free CWD testing are available for hunters who harvested deer from the below counties. Hunters should call the office prior to arriving to ensure someone will be available to assist.
Clinton
Rose Lake Wildlife Field Office
8903 Stoll Road
East Lansing, MI 48823
517-641-4092
Eaton
Eaton Conservation District
551 Courthouse Dr, Suite 3
Charlotte, MI 48813
517-543-1512 ext. 5
Gratiot
Gratiot Conservation District
301 Commerce Drive
Ithaca, MI 48847
989-875-3900 ext. 5
Ingham
Lansing DNR Customer Service Center
4166 Legacy Parkway
Lansing, MI 48911
517-284-4720
Ionia
Flat River Wildlife Field Office
6650 Long Lake Road
Belding, MI 48809
616-794-2658
Ionia
Ionia Conservation District
431 Swartz Ct, Suite 300
Ionia, MI 48846
616-527-2098 ext. 5
Ionia
Michigan State University Extension Office
101 W. Main St., 2nd Floor
Ionia, MI 48846
Jackson
Waterloo Wildlife Field Office
13578 Seymour Road
Grass Lake, MI 49240
517-522-4097
Kent
Kent Conservation District
3260 Eagle Park Drive NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-222-5846
Midland
Midland Conservation District
954 E. Isabella Rd.
Midland MI 48640
989-486-2325
Montcalm
Montcalm Conservation District
77 South State St. (M66)
Stanton, MI 48888
989-831-4212 ext. 5
Dickinson
Escanaba Wildlife Field Office
6833 Hwy 2, 41 and M-35
Gladstone, MI 49837
906-786-2351
Dickinson
Norway Wildlife Field Office
520 West US Hwy 2
Norway, MI 49870
906-563-9247
To report sick, dead, or dying wildlife, individuals can call the Wildlife Disease Laboratory at 517-336-5030 or fill out a DNR online form here.
