The first confirmed positive case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) on the Menominee Reservation has been confirmed, a tribal official announced.
Gena Kakkak, the tribe’s chairwoman, said that on Nov. 19, a hunter harvested a buck in the southeast corner of the reservation, and the deer was later confirmed positive for CWD.
CWD is a contagious, fatal neurological disease that affects the nervous system of deer, elk, moose and caribou. It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion diseases. Prions are misshaped proteins that can spread the disease through direct animal-to-animal contact or in the environment through bodily substances or the carcass of infected deer.
Prions are extremely resilient and capable of remaining in the soil for years, potentially infecting several deer from a single source. Common signs of infected deer in the later stages of the disease are drastic weight loss, drooped head and ears, loss of coordination, excessive salivation and reduced fear of humans.
“The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (OHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization all recommend against consuming meat from deer that test positive for CWD,” Kakkak wrote in a letter to tribal members. “Infected deer typically appear healthy for many months after contracting the disease, so OHS encourages testing for the disease regardless of the physical condition of the harvested deer, especially in areas prevalent with CWD.”
To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans.
“As a reminder to tribal hunters, current tribal hunting regulations ban the baiting of deer on the reservation, which will remain in effect,” she said.
The tribe continues to encourage hunters to get their deer tested after harvest.
Deer can be brought to the east side of the College of Menominee Nation Culture Building from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or the deer head can be dropped off in the CWD sampling site box at the same location after hours.
The CWD sampling site box allows hunters to place their deer heads in a freezer for CWD sampling. The box is checked daily.
Questions can be directed to the Intergovernmental Affairs Office at 715-799-5114.
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