The Missouri Department of Conservation has added 12 new counties to its list of those requiring hunters to bring in their deer to test for chronic wasting disease on the opening weekend of deer season.
CWD kills the deer it infects after misfolded proteins in the brain impair basic motor functions, like eating and moving. It spreads primarily by contact, so early identification of cases is crucial.
The increase in counties requiring mandatory testing does not indicate a major uptick in disease in the area. It is meant to catch initial CWD cases in a county, or in the surrounding 10 miles, so as to halt any further spread.
Jason Isabelle, science program coordinator for the MDC, said opening weekend sampling, especially in regions recently added to the mandatory testing zone, provides important data on the current state of CWD cases across Missouri.
“Mandatory sampling provides us with a lot of CWD test results in a short time frame,” he Isabelle said. “It allows us to collect typically about 20,000 samples in a two-day period to get a better understanding of where CWD exists on our landscape.”
Sri Sreevatsan, University of Missouri researcher, has engaged in studies evaluating a new technology to better detect the disease called real-time quaking induced conversion, or RT-QuIC. It is considered to be a more accurate version of the current sampling system used.
“This one will take just about the same amount of time as an immunohistochemistry test,” Streevatsan said. “But in terms of potential false positive or false negatives, this one has a lower probability of misclassification”
More accurate testing means a quicker response to CWD cases, and fewer hunters take home deer unsafe for consumption.
Opening weekend hunters must take their deer, or the head of the deer, to a sampling station in their county for a test taking no more than 10 minutes. Mid-Missouri counties added to the list this year include Moniteau, Morgan, Miller and Callaway.
