MISSOURI, USA — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) just released its 2023 report on the status of a 100% fatal disease spreading throughout the state's deer population.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been documented in numerous Missouri counties and over 30 states, MDC said. It is caused by a naturally occurring protein that damages a deer's nervous system and can lead to deer having a zombie-like emaciated appearance and acting erratically in the late stages of the disease. Before that, CWD-infected deer can appear otherwise healthy for about two years.
Of the more than 37,000 Missouri deer sampled in 2023, conservationists found 162 deer tested positive for CWD disease; less than 1% of tissue samples from hunter-harvested deer tested positive for the disease.
The disease was also found in multiple counties for the first time last year, including Chariton, Clark, Grundy, Jasper, Maries, Osage, Randolph, and Scotland counties.
The 2023 total is an increase from 2022, when conservationists received 117 positive CWD tests. Even though the state saw an increase, conservationists see the small growth as proof that MDC's disease management efforts are working.
"[The total] is a testament to our ability to find the disease early in new areas and apply management actions to slow its spread," said DC Wildlife Health Program Supervisor Deb Hudman. “By the time CWD infection rates get high in a deer population, there is little that can be done to slow its spread. The time to act is now."
Hudman said other states across the country have seen much higher numbers of CWD cases in their deer, some with over half of their hunter-harvested adult bucks testing positive.
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