‘Get your deer tested’: Chronic wasting disease identified near Hardin County

Chronic wasting disease has been confirmed in a pair of deer near Hardin County, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency reported this week, indicating the virus continues to edge closer toward Middle Tennessee.

One positive deer was confirmed in southern Hardin County and the other was north of Savannah, closer to the Decatur County border, the agency shared.

The contagious neurological disease affects deer, elk and moose.

The disease causes a characteristic spongy degeneration of the brain of infected animals, resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death.

Unique to North America, CWD has been identified in free-ranging deer, elk or moose in at least 27 states in the continental United States, as well as two provinces in Canada.

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Following the discovery, Hardin County and neighboring Decatur County are now classified as a high risk. 

In January, Wayne County was classified as a high-risk county for chronic wasting disease after a deer tested positive in Lauderdale County, Ala., less than 10 miles from the Wayne County’s Tennessee-Alabama border.

“When the deer season resumes for 2022-23, our message to deer hunters in Wayne County is the same as in other CWD affected counties,” said Stephanie Durno-Karns, assistant chief, game species program.  “Please get your deer tested, keep hunting and know the regulations.”

TWRA's goal is to keep CWD from spreading, keep the number of diseased deer to a minimum, and reduce disease rates where possible. 

Carcass exportation and wildlife feeding restrictions apply to all high-risk and positive counties.

The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission instituted deer carcass exportation and wildlife feeding restrictions to positive and high-risk counties to best manage CWD in the state.

“We want to try and prevent the disease in areas where it does not already exist,” Jeremy Dennison, the TWRA’S CWD field coordinator in West Tennessee.

“That is our number one goal," Dennison said. "Number two, we want to try to reduce prevalence where possible. To meet those goals, TWRA relies on a number of partnerships, but we realize our greatest allies are hunters and landowners. Hunter provides us with a lot of samples and that provides us a lot of information.”

Supplemental feeding of wildlife is banned in high-risk and positive counties, therefore placement of grains, salt products, and other consumable products for wildlife is prohibited.

The ban does not apply to feed placed within 100 feet of a residence, feed placed in a manner not accessible to deer or feed and minerals as the result of normal agricultural practices.

Food plots are still legal in affected counties.

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"I would encourage folks to avoid feeding and congregating animals anywhere in the state,"  Dennison said. "If that feeding can contribute to the spread of disease, if it should exist in that area, I would encourage folks to not feed in other parts of the state." 

These restrictions are currently in place within Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Shelby, Tipton, Wayne and Weakley.    

In 2019, the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission established a deer-hunting unit as part of the state’s continued response to chronic wasting disease, or CWD, to keep the disease from spreading in Tennessee’s wild game. The unit previously operated in Fayette, Hardeman and Madison counties where CWD-positive deer have been found.

Risk and prevention

The unit also carried out hunts in counties within 10 miles of known deer with CWD. This area includes Chester, Haywood, McNairy, Shelby and Tipton counties.

Chronic wasting disease belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or TSEs. Within this family of diseases, there are several other variants that affect domestic animals: scrapie, which has been identified in domestic sheep and goats for more than 200 years.

At this time, there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk for humans, but public health officials recommend that human exposure to the CWD infectious agent be avoided as they continue to evaluate any potential health risk, according to a review from the World Health Organization.

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Cattle and domestic livestock currently appear to be resistant to natural infection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say additional studies are underway to identify if any related diseases could be occurring at a higher rate in people who are at increased risk for contact with potentially CWD-infected deer or elk meat.

"You can still safely hunt, harvest and eat deer from a CWD-affect area,” Durno-Karns said.

“You need to use gloves when you gut your deer and make sure you get your animal tested for CWD. Testing is free and readily available. You can definitely keep hunting, and it is safe to do so.”

The CDC advises that you should not consume meat from animals who have tested positive for the disease.

“We are being proactive in that we have a robust surveillance system across the state so we are ahead of the curve in finding out where the disease is,” Durno-Karns said.

Reach Mike Christen at mchristen@c-dh.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeChristenCDH and Instagram at @michaelmarco. Please consider supporting his work and that of other Daily Herald journalists by subscribing to the publication.