Province’s targeted zones for testing for CWD include Meadow Lake area

“We targeted those areas, namely zones 50 and 55 along the boreal fringe, in part because there is CWD presence there, but also because we have good population estimates for those wildlife management zones,” he said, as an example. “So by combining the two, we can see the effects of the disease on the populations in those areas, as well as get a better handle on prevalence in those areas at the same time.”

CWD is a fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of deer, elk, moose and caribou. There is no cure or prevention for the disease. Among the symptoms, affected animals can appear emaciated in the latter stages.

“Sometimes they are quite thirsty and head towards water, but for the majority of cases and animals that we see a positive, there are no outward signs the animal has CWD at the time… It is really quite difficult to tell until we test those tissues, whether or not it has CWD,” Espie said.

Eighty-four cases of CWD have already been identified in the province so far this year from 563 animals results, a 15 per cent prevalence level. A breakdown of the 84 count shows there were three positive moose, three positive elk, 68 positive mule deer and 10 white tailed deer.

So far in 2020, Espie said, about 1,500 heads have been submitted in the province as part of the ministry’s voluntary CWD surveillance program, and the testing continues.

Looking at recent years’ counts, in 2019 a total of 3,300 heads were submitted from the various species – elk, moose, deer, mule deer, and white-tailed deer, with the CWD prevalence level at about 16 per cent from test results. In comparison, in 2018 the province saw about 2,000 heads submitted. Across the board, the prevalence of CWD was around 17.5 per cent.

Espie said the testing process takes about four to six weeks on average for the results to be available to hunters.

“We have technicians that come around and pick those heads up from the different locations, and bring them to our lab facility where tissues are sampled, namely the brainstem, the tonsils, and the lymph nodes from the heads,” he said. “Then, they are prepared for analysis. We send those to Prairie Diagnostics [Services] in Saskatoon. They are analyzed there at the Veterinary College. The results are then given back to us and we post them up on our website. Hunters can access that, and determine whether or not their animal has tested positive or negative.”

While no human case of CWD has ever been identified, the province continues to recommend hunters avoid eating the meat until they receive their test results. Hunters are also asked not to distribute meat for human consumption for animals found to be CWD positive.

“We recommend they get [the animals] tested,” Espie reiterated. “There are no cases of CWD that we know of that has been transmitted to humans. However, to take precautions, we recommend testing the animals when possible.”

If the animal tests positive, he said, hunters should double bag it and have it sent to the landfill.

The testing is needed to determine the prevalence of the disease in the animal population, and across the province.

“Hunters are integral to this program, and helping us measure the disease, the prevalence and also the spread of it across the province in order to manage it. So we really need their participation in this, in order to get a good handle on the numbers, what the prevalence is, and exactly how far it is spread in the province, and in what zones,” Espie said.

Environment Minister Warren Kaeding said in a release “identifying the presence and spread of CWD in the province will help guide the development of disease management plans.”

More details on drop-off sites and how to submit samples for testing are available at www.saskatchewan.ca/CWD.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW

by Angela Brown

Province’s targeted zones for testing for CWD include Meadow Lake area

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