Page 14 - MDWFP CWD Response Plan
P. 14
Appendix C ------ CWD Sampling Plan 2017-2018
CWD Sample Collection Procedures for 2017-18
The overarching goal of the MDWFP CWD monitoring program is to determine the
presence/absence of CWD statewide. Although CWD has not been detected in Mississippi,
the MDWFP’s goal will be to determine the prevalence and the geographic extent of the
disease if detected. If CWD is discovered soon after being introduced to a population, there
are options that can be utilized in an attempt to eradicate the disease. However, since
eradication may be impossible once CWD becomes established in a population, it is
imperative that a sound CWD management program be established to reduce the severity of
implications resulting from the disease. Disease prevention is always the best approach to
protect cervid populations.
CWD Management Plan Goals:
Continue surveillance throughout the state to ensure early detection.
If CWD is detected,
o Determine the prevalence and spatial distribution of CWD.
o Apply management actions to limit the spread of CWD.
o Determine the origin of any CWD positive cervid.
Provide accurate and relevant information on CWD to the public, agency staff, and
other stakeholders.
Continue to gather and evaluate information that would guide research on CWD and
its epidemiology to support future management efforts.
Sampling goals have been established for each county, rather than for each soil region. This
preemptive approach will allow us to provide CWD surveillance with statistical confidence at
a finer scale, increase the likelihood of early detection, and will result in a significant
increase in the number of samples collected.
Sampling Goals
County goals have been established in an attempt to stratify the sampling effort (Table 1).
The county goals are based on a priority matrix of relative risk assessment for each county
(Figure 1), which was patterned after Texas’s CWD response plan. The priority matrix
considers the following factors for each county: the number of recent (2012-2014) CWD
samples, the population index based on acres per yearling doe harvested on Deer
Management Assistant Program properties in 2014-2015, the number of high fences
permitted by the MDWFP and the Mississippi Board of Animal Health, and the number of
high-fenced facilities that have or had breeding pens. The data for each county were
converted to a Z‐score, and the scores for each category were then ranked as: extreme risk,
severe risk, high risk, elevated risk, moderate risk, and standard risk. Sampling effort will be
monitored throughout the season and sampling intensity modified as necessary.
14