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Appendix H ------ CWD Fact Sheet
Mississippi Department of
Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Chronic Wasting Disease Facts
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a contagious neurological disease affecting deer, elk and
moose. It causes a characteristic spongy degeneration of the brains of infected animals
resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death.
CWD belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
(TSEs).
What wildlife species are affected by CWD?
Only five species of the deer family are known to be naturally susceptible to CWD: elk, mule
deer, white-tailed deer, reindeer, and moose.
Can humans get CWD?
Though many observers try to compare CWD with “mad cow disease”, the diseases are
distinctly different. Currently, there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk for humans;
however, public health officials recommend that human exposure to the CWD infectious
agent be avoided as they continue to evaluate any potential health risk.
What preventive measures should hunters take?
Public health and wildlife officials advise hunters to take the following precautions when
pursuing or handling deer and elk that may have been exposed to CWD:
- Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that is acting abnormally or appears to
be sick.
- Wear latex or rubber gloves when field dressing your deer.
- Bone out the meat from your animal. Don’t saw through bone, and avoid cutting
through the brain or spinal cord (backbone).
- Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.
- Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing is completed.
- Avoid consuming brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils 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.)
- Avoid consuming the meat from any animal that tests positive for the disease.
- If you have your deer commercially processed, request that your animal is processed
individually, without meat from other animals being added to meat from your animal.
Where and how did CWD originate?
The origin of CWD is unknown, and it may never be possible to definitively determine how
or when CWD arose. It was first recognized as a syndrome in captive mule deer held in
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