Chronic wasting disease spreads to more Illinois counties

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced the presence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in free ranging-deer populations has spread to more Illinois counties.

CWD is a terminal disease that impacts the brains of white-tailed deer. The IDNR said now, its been detected in Putnam, Marshall, Adams, and Peoria counties. Adams County is the first area that CWD has been found in that’s outside of the main endemic region.

At this time, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not linked CWD to human transmission. But, both organizations recommend against eating meat from deer that have tested positive for CWD. Hunters are also encouraged to avoid eating tissue that is known to harbor the disease, such as the brain, spinal cord and eyes.

In February of this year, CWD was detected and confirmed in Putnam, Marshall and Adams counties after routine surveillance of hunter-harvested deer. In Peoria County, a two-year-old deer showing signs of CWD was confirmed to have the disease after testing.

Samples from Adams County were tested again to ensure that the submitted tissue samples matched the source deer genetically.

Counties affected by CWD now include Adams, Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, McHenry, Ogle, Peoria, Putnam, Stephenson, Will and Winnebago.

IDNR said their management efforts have kept the prevalence of CWD low in the state for almost an entire generation of hunters.

“Illinois is a national leader in managing and slowing the spread of CWD, and over the past two decades IDNR’s program has served as a model for other states,” IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie said. 

IDNR said they will offer public meetings to discuss CWD management strategies and answer questions about the disease later this year. Meeting dates and locations will be released at a later date.

To learn more about CWD, visit the IDNR’s website.