24 New CWD Cases Confirmed

The Missouri Department of Conservation reports that it has confirmed 24 new cases of chronic wasting disease from nearly 27 thousand tissue samples collected from white-tailed deer and submitted for disease testing this season. Most of the tissue samples were taken from hunter-harvested deer. Of the new cases in our area, two were in Adair, five in Linn, and two in Macon counties..

CWD is a deadly disease in white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family. The purpose of the sampling and testing efforts is to find cases early so the Department can limit the spread of the disease. Conservation officials indicate that while any new cases of CWD are not good news, they are happy that no cases have been found in new counties this year. The 24 new cases bring the total number of CWD cases in the state to 140. MDC has tested about 130 thousand deer since the first cases were found in free-ranging deer in Missouri in 2012.