News Release

Today the Missouri Departments of Agriculture and Conservation announced that tests of 50 captive deer sampled in Linn County showed no signs of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Tests were conducted by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The Department of Conservation continues to test a sampling of free-ranging deer within a five-mile radius of the 800-acre tract where the initial CWD-positive white-tailed deer was located.

"The Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services and USDA have worked cooperatively in putting an aggressive and effective plan in place and quickly executing that plan," said State Veterinarian Dr. Taylor Woods. "The sampling and negative test results should reassure the public that the infection does not appear widespread."

State agencies continue an active and robust tracking plan through which deer near the site are monitored for the disease.

"We will continue to monitor free-ranging deer in the surrounding area," said Bob Ziehmer, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. "The continued cooperation of nearby landowners and support from the sportsmen in the area has been greatly appreciated."

CWD is transmitted by live animal-to-animal contact or soil-to-animal contact and has never been reported in humans or cattle. The disease was first recognized in 1967 in a captive mule deer in the Colorado Division of Wildlife research facility in Fort Collins, Colo.

For more information regarding CWD, contact the Missouri Department of Agriculture's Animal Health Division at (573) 751-3377.