Louisiana
A disease that’s killing deer is the rise in Louisiana
Two years after it was first discovered in Louisiana, state wildlife officials have detected seven additional cases of Chronic Wasting Disease, a fatal illness that has afflicted deer in more than 30 states.
There have now been 19 confirmed Louisiana cases of the disease, officials said Friday. CWD affects the nervous systems and brains of deer, elk moose and reindeer and can lead to erratic behavior, drooling and emaciation.
It is not believed to be a threat to humans or domesticated animals.
Biologists from Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have been on alert for the disease after a case was discovered in Mississippi’s Issaquena County in 2018, just across the Mississippi River from Tensas Parish. Two years before that, the disease had been found in a deer in Arkansas.
With its first confirmed case in January 2022, Louisiana joined a growing club of more than 30 states that have detected the disease.
Once this disease is discovered, it is extremely hard to eradicate, said Krysten Schuler, a Cornell University researcher who studies wildlife diseases.
“The best way to stop it is not to get it in the first place,” Schuler said.
The disease is easily transmitted among deer, elk and moose, but slow acting, she added.
“When a deer gets infected, it usually takes a year or two to die,” Schuler said. “It’s more likely to be killed by something else” like a predator or a car.
For a few years after the disease enters a population, the primary impact will be slowing deer population growth, Schuler said. But if the disease progresses, it can have a much greater effect on deer numbers.
After the discovery of the disease in 2022, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries declared an emergency and designated a CWD “control area,” which includes all of Tensas Parish and parts of Madison, Franklin and Concordia parishes.
Hunters in the control area are prohibited from hunting over bait such as grain or salt and are forbidden to take whole deer carcasses out of the area. They are free to transport deboned meat or other parts of the carcass under certain conditions.
Officials also put out coolers for hunters to drop off samples of the deer they killed for testing.
Since July 2023, state officials have collected approximately samples, the majority of those from deer killed by hunters. Five samples had been confirmed positive as of Jan. 23, with more expected from samples collected before Jan. 31, which was the end of deer season in the northeast part of the state.
All of the positive cases have been in Tensas Parish.
Despite its prevalence, Chronic Wasting Disease is largely mysterious to researchers, Schuler said.
“It’s hard,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of tools.”
Chronic Wasting Disease is caused by a mutated protein known as a prion, she said, and is the first known prion-caused disease in free-ranging wildlife. Other prion diseases include scrapie, which infects sheep, and mad cow disease.
The prion can be shed in saliva, urine or feces, Schuler said. Using grain or salt to lure deer can help the disease spread, she said, likening it to a salad bar where diners just lowered their faces into the serving bowls and ate.
“The pile of bait is problematic,” she said.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
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