Late last month, a white-tailed deer harvested in Frederick County, Virginia, tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), reports the Wildlife Management Institute. Taken by a hunter less than a mile from the border of West Virginia's CWD-positive Hampshire County, the two-year-old doe is Virginia's first documented case of CWD.

Although potentially deleterious to the state's deer management efforts, the discovery of the disease was not a surprise to officials at the Virginia Departments of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF). Given that the infected deer was harvested within six miles of locations in neighboring West Virginia where CWD-positive deer have previously been taken, most considered the news a realization of the inevitable. "This was not unexpected" said VDGIF Director Bob Duncan in a press release issued on January 20. "Our wildlife professionals have been preparing for this for some time."

After the discovery of CWD in Wisconsin in 2002, the VDGIF responded proactively by drafting a statewide CWD Response Plan designed to detect, define and control a future outbreak. In 2005, Virginia put the plan into partial effect when the disease was found near Slanesville, West Virginia, a mere 10 miles from the Virginia border. In accordance with the plan, the VDGIF is focusing on targeted surveillance of suspected animals as well as hunter-harvested deer from the Active Surveillance Area in Frederick and Shenandoah counties. Additionally, strict baiting/feeding and carcass-transportation restrictions have been initiated.

While it is too early to speculate or predict what impact CWD will have on Virginia's nearly 1 million deer (or its small resident elk population), CWD management likely will be a significant part of the VDGIF mission in the years to come. West Virginia recently reported that 16 CWD-positive deer were identified from the 1,091 hunter-harvested deer submitted at Hampshire County check stations in 2009. This is an increase from the five infected deer killed by hunters from the same county in 2008. Of those 16 positives taken last fall, 3 were found outside of the state's CWD containment area, suggesting that the disease may be spreading. Given that the containment area borders Virginia, it is likely that the Commonwealth's deer herd will be exposed to more of the disease in the future.

For current CWD news, updates and regulations, please visit the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance Web site?or the VDGIF Web site. (mcd)