LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Three cases of Chronic-Wasting Disease have been detected in parts of Arkansas where they never have been before. Now the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is urging hunters to be on the lookout for this disease, which affects white-tailed deer and elk.
Chronic-Wasting Disease (CWD), also known as zombie deer disease, has been prevalent in portions of North Central and South Arkansas since 2016. But now for the first time, the disease is in Grant and Sevier counties, which is concerning to Arkansas Game and Fish.
In Grant County, one deer was taken southwest of Sheridan, and the other was killed by a hunter near Grapevine. Just 4 miles from the Oklahoma-Arkansas border in Sevier County at the De Queen Lake Wildlife Management Area, the third deer was harvested by a hunter.
The previous nearest-known case of CWB in Arkansas to these areas was 80 miles away.
“It’s difficult to tell where it came from, how it got there, if it came from another state, it’s just basically impossible to tell that,” says Keith Stephens, the commission’s chief of communications.
CWD has been in the United States since 1967, affecting deer, elk, moose, antelope, and caribou populations.
The disease is caused by abnormal prion proteins, which are found in the central and peripheral nervous systems. It can cause a damaging chain reaction, spreading to the brain, which can lead to neurodegeneration.
The disease takes nearly 2 years to present symptoms, but once they begin to show, those symptoms are easy to spot.
“They just don’t act normal. If they are just standing there, they typically stand like a tripod, their legs are spread apart real wide. They salivate, excessively,” explains Stephens.
He continues, “they drink excessively, they use the bathroom excessively, walk in circles.”
Stephens also says that these deer no longer have a fear of humans, and they do not run away if a person approaches one.
This disease is deadly for these creatures.
“Eventually it does kill the deer. They get very sick. They have some really erratic behavior, and as the name implies, they just basically waste away,” Stephens says.
There is one question experts are still trying to answer: can humans contract this disease?
“There’s been a lot of testing done around the country, and so far, we haven’t found the link,” states Stephens.
Though there has not been a case where a human has contracted CWD, the American Academy of Neurology reported that in 2022, there were two hunters who died after developing Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, a central nervous system disorder caused by misfolded prion proteins, after eating CWD-infected venison.
Stephens urges Arkansans to report deer with this disease to the Game and Fish Commission.
“We always tell people if their deer does test positive for CWD not to eat it. Let us know, and we’ll come get it.”
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has freezers in every county in the state where anyone can drop off their deer so it can be tested for CWD. The entire list of locations is here.
