This isn't good
NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & MARKETS
>
> NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
>
> FOR RELEASE: Immediately,
> Thursday March 31, 2005
>
> CONTACTS:
>
> Jessica Chittenden, Ag & Mkts - 518-457-3136
>
> Michael Fraser, DEC - 518-402-8000
>
>
>
> ** NOTE TO REPORTERS **
>
> Officials from the State Departments of Agriculture and Markets,
> Environmental Conservation and Health will conduct an 11:30 am
> conference call to provide further information and answer questions from
> the media regarding this issue. To participate in the conference,
> please call 888-456-0279. The password is CWD.
>
> POSITIVE CASE OF CWD FOUND IN ONEIDA COUNTY DEER
> Mandatory Testing Protocols Find CWD in a Captive White-Tailed Doe
>
> The first positive case of chronic wasting disease (CWD)
> in New York State has been confirmed in a white-tailed doe from a
> captive herd in Oneida County. CWD is a transmissible disease that
> affects the brain and central nervous system of deer and elk.
>
> There is no evidence that CWD is linked to disease in
> humans or domestic livestock other than deer and elk.
>
> The animal that tested positive for CWD was a six-year old
> white-tailed doe that was slaughtered from a captive herd in Oneida
> County as part of the State's mandatory CWD surveillance and testing
> protocols. Preliminary tests performed at the New York State Veterinary
> Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell University determined the presumptive
> positive, which was confirmed late yesterday by the National Veterinary
> Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
>
> The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
> has officially quarantined the index herd in which the positive deer was
> found, and will depopulate and test all deer on the premises. Other
> herds associated with the index herd have also been quarantined and an
> investigation has been initiated to find and test any susceptible deer
> that came into contact with the index herd and to assess the health and
> environmental risks associated with such establishments. The Department
> of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will conduct intensive monitoring of
> the wild deer population surrounding the index herd to ensure CWD has
> not spread to wild deer.
>
>
> (MORE)
> -2-
>
> CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of
> deer and elk. Scientific and epidemiological research into CWD is
> ongoing. To date, research shows that the disease is typified by
> chronic weight loss, is always fatal, and is transmissible between
> susceptible species. CWD has only been found in members of the deer
> family in North America, which include white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk
> and moose.
>
> CWD has been detected in both wild and captive deer and
> elk populations in isolated regions of North America. To date, CWD has
> been found in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska,
> New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming in the
> United States, and in Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada.
>
> Establishing the known CWD health status of captive and
> wild cervid populations is a critical component for controlling CWD. In
> New York, the responsibility for controlling CWD is shared between the
> State Department of Agriculture and Markets, DEC, and the U.S.
> Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection
> Service (APHIS). New York's cooperative, active surveillance program
> serves as a model for the nation in CWD control.
>
> The State Department of Agriculture and Markets monitors
> the health and movement of all captive deer and elk for the presence of
> common livestock diseases, including CWD. In July 2004, the Department
> initiated the CWD Enhanced Surveillance and Monitoring Program, which
> requires captive deer and elk herd owners to take various actions,
> including routine sampling and testing, animal identification and an
> annual herd inventory. Since the inception of testing for CWD in 2000,
> 681 captive deer and elk have been tested and found negative for CWD.
>
> DEC issues licenses to individuals who possess, import or
> sell white-tailed deer. DEC also routinely tests New York's wild deer
> population. Following the discovery of CWD in Wisconsin, DEC
> implemented a statewide surveillance program in April 2002 to test wild
> white-tailed deer for the presence of CWD. Samples are collected and
> sent to an approved USDA laboratory for analysis. To date, DEC has
> taken samples from 3,457 wild white-tailed deer, including 40 from the
> county where the positive deer was found. All samples from wild
> white-tailed deer have tested to date have been negative for CWD.
>
> DEC will also implement precautionary regulations limiting
> transportation and possession of whole carcasses and some parts of wild
> deer taken near the location of the captive herd. These regulations
> will be similar to those currently in place for importation of carcasses
> and parts of deer into New York.
>
> DEC has also implemented regulations restricting various
> activities to help control CWD within the State, including restrictions
> on the importation of live deer and elk, deer feeding, importation and
> possession of certain deer parts and carcasses, and transportation of
> deer and elk carcasses through New York State.
>
> (MORE)
> -3-
>
> USDA APHIS supports individual State programs by providing
> funding for CWD prevention and surveillance. USDA APHIS reimburses
> states conducting CWD testing on their wild and captive cervid
> population and also provides indemnification dollars for captive herds
> that must be destroyed due to the presence of CWD.
>
> New York State has 433 establishments raising 9,600 deer
> and elk in captivity. In the wild, DEC estimates there are
> approximately one million deer statewide.
>
> ###
>
>
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