The Missouri Department of Conservation collected more than 19,000 samples from deer killed in Northeast, East central and central Missouri last weekend.
Hunters in 29 Missouri counties were required to bring harvested deer to department-run stations and have their lymph nodes sampled during the opening weekend of the November firearms season. The lymph nodes were collected and sent to a lab to be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Results are expected to take 4-6 weeks.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer across 29 counties in Missouri. It can be spread through deer to deer contact, or from contaminated sources in the environment. It slowly deteriorates the brain and nervous system. As of now, it hasn’t been proven harmful to humans.
Robert Hemmelgarn, a representative of the Missouri Department of Conservation, said the research and testing would be hard to do without hunter cooperation.
“We want to thank the hunters who cooperate with us,” said Hemmelgarn. “We want to thank them for helping to provide citizen science, and helping us get a better idea of the prevalence of this disease across the geography.”
Infected deer do not always appear sick, but one of the most obvious symptoms is little fear of people.
The Missouri Department of Conservation recorded the age and sex of each deer along with where it was killed. This may help the MDC identify areas where the disease exists.