what are the symptoms to look for? and what species are prevalent to having CWD?? I really want to do more research on this the ODFW has attributted this to herd decreases but how do you tell with pacific blacktail ??? they are real hard to study..

I only know what the doctor told me, that I contracted it from getting the blood into a cut on my hand, since I had not been bitten by any ticks.

As to the other guide, he was simply going on what the doctors had told him as well.

Here in Northwestern PA we check constantly. We are told CWD hasnt reached us yet but in keeps ranging closer & closer. I dont wear gloves. Have thought about it but dont. I dont feel threatened because a deer infected with CWD just looks nasty. I am told, they sometimes foam from the mouth & thier fur is very matty. But those are in severe cases. I have also heard that deer infected with this disiese can look like a healthy deer for a month or so after getting CWD. So just becareful.

Tim

lots of good info thanks heres my buck with my son

great info ....we should get college biology credits for reading this post

CWD in Illinois has not shown up this year, but they are still testing many deer, it is all non-mandatory testing this year, you do it if you want to! But I have not heard of any deer being sick this year! It is a healthier herd this year! Since it is a disease that attcks the brain, and CANNOT be transmitted into the meat, I am not afraid of it all! I do where the gloves, but I am nto afraid of eating the meat!

I'm in one of the CWD zones in Wisconsin. This is our second season knowing about the disease. Last year lots of hunters did not hunt, or eat venison because of fear of the disease. This year things are closer to normal and our zone had one of its highest harvest rates in recent years (mostly due to the "earn a buck" rule where you must shoot a doe, then you get a tag to shoot a buck).
At our resistration station almost evey doe and some bucks had their heads lopped off to be sent in for testing. We should know in about a month or so the results. Since this is our second year it will be interesting to see how much the disease has spread.
I am not worried about contracting CWD. I butcher my own deer along with the deer of several friends. Other than some mild facial twitches I ffffeell ffffine.
Maybe Strut & Rut can shed some more light on this but from what has been stated by the University of Wisconsin, U of Iowa, and the Wisconsin DNR is that a human could actually eat the brain of an infected deer and not catch the disease (however they are reccommending to NOT eat the brain, spinal column, or bone marrow. Mmmmm bone marrow stew.). For those of you that don't live in a CWD area, don't give it a second thought. Just watch our state and see what's happening. If a bunch of Packer fans turn into flesh eating zombies remember you will have to shoot us in the head to kill us.

Hey thanks for that input let us know the results of the test's please Mr. Handles Hey a little sipping whiskey usually calms those face twitches right down... Heres teds deer go to ted nugent.com he has alot of hunting related stuff[8D]

When I referred to putting down sick animals, I mean any animal that has obvious symptoms of being "sick". The big problem with CWD is that by the time the animal is showing symptoms, the disease has been with the deer for probably more than 2 years. A sick animal can pass the disease onto other animals in the wild, creating epidemics---happened with turkeys and blackhead disease in multiple states years ago...

For research, you can just type CWD into a Google search. Go to Wisconsin's DNR site, they did have some good links. Go to the USF&G site, the USDA site, and there was a CWD panel formed about 2 years ago---it operates out of one of the western states, Colorado I believe...

As for the deer infected, I know it has been found in Elk, Mule Deer and Whitetails. I do not recall ever reading anything about Blacktails being infected. Contact your state DNR directly, they will know and should be able to point you in a direction for more info.

And as previously stated, there is no conclusive link that shows positive evidence that eating CWD contaminated meat will give a human vCJD. However---do you want to take that chance---I don't!! Just stay away from the nervous tissue and the bone marrow, follow normal sanitary precautions and most of us will be fine. For CWD infected areas, follow what your state DNR mandates...

In the latter stages of CWD. the animal will be thin and look rough. In the earlies stages there may not be much for sighns of the deasease. There has been no proven cases that eating the meat can spread the dease to humans. There is however no proof that it cannot be. I always wear gloves but mostly to make cleaning my hands and arms easier. I would not be afraid at all of eating the meat from a healthy looking deer. CWD has been found in most states but to a lesser degree in some than others. Much depends on how many deer the test. Some states don't want to find it so they don't test as many deer. There is quite a bit of info online about CWD. Do a search.