Wisconsin's gun deer hunt is less than one month away.
Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said the hunt is always a good opportunity to enlist the assistance of hunters in tracking Chronic Wasting Disease.
Chronic Wasting Disease, which eats away at the nervous system, is contagious among deer.
Amanda Kamps, Wildlife Health Conservation Specialist with the DNR, said more research is needed to determine the potential impact of CWD on humans. But for now, state health officials, federal officials, and the World Health Organization recommend not eating any meat from a deer infected with CWD.
Kamps said it's unclear how Chronic Wasting Disease first ended up in Wisconsin. The DNR began testing for it in the late 1990's, and recorded the first positive sample in 2002.
She said monitoring where CWD-infected deer are living helps the state manage the disease, and link hunters up with resources like carcass disposal.
So as hunters head out this fall, Kamps said the DNR hopes they'll submit samples from any deer they harvest.
"We definitely need the hunter participation and interest," she said.
Since April of last year, deer harvested in Iowa, Richland and Sauk Counties have provided the highest numbers of positive CWD samples. Closer to home, there have been three such samples recorded since April in Walworth County, two in Juneau County, and one positive sample was harvested in Jefferson County.
"Once (CWD) has been detected, and it's on the landscape, it's very difficult to get rid of completely," Kamps said.
She said the number of positive samples has been steadily rising in recent years, although the number of samples submitted has been climbing as well.
In 2009, 7,166 samples produced 179 confirmed CWD cases.
In 2017, 9,886 samples led to 603 positive results.
The number of positives climbed to 1,063 in 2018, after 17,194 deer samples were analyzed.
Kamps said the DNR can take the needed samples from a deer in the field or at one of its kiosks. For a map of where those facilities are located, click here.
Once DNR officials submit the samples to a lab, it takes about two weeks to get results.
