Wildlife Officials Respond To Chronic Wasting Disease In Mississippi

MAYERSVILLE, Miss. (AP) – The discovery of Mississippi’s first deer infected with chronic wasting disease has prompted wildlife officials to request people avoid feeding deer.

Monday’s Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries release says the 4-year-old buck was found dead and emaciated in late January near the Louisiana border. It tested positive for CWD on Jan. 29, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks banned feeding deer in several counties. LDWF has also asked several counties stop.

CWD is an infectious neurodegenerative disease similar to mad cow disease and is always fatal. Mississippi is the 25th state to confirm the disease’s presence. CWD is caused by mutated prions creating holes in brain tissue and spreads through infected deer or material contact. There is no practical method for decontaminating prion-infected areas yet.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)