The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reported 162 new cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer from July 2023 to April of this year.
CWD is a completely fatal disease found in deer. More than 37,000 deer were sampled and tested.
According to the MDC, the disease has caused "significant deer population declines in other states and threatens Missouri’s deer population, hunting culture, and economy."
The department has reported 572 total cases since Missouri's first was confirmed in 2012.
More than 280,000 samples have been collected by the MDC since it began testing in 2002.