BOISE, Idaho — As hunters across the state gat their camo and orange ready for hunting season, Idaho Fish and Game is reminding them to be on the lookout for chronic wasting disease.
The neurological disease affects deer, elk and moose, and is contagious, incurable - and always fatal to those animals.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has led to documented population declines of wild deer in several other states.
"It's fatal, there's no cure or treatment," Stacey Dauwalter, wildlife health program coordinator for Idaho Fish and Game said. "Once one of our populations is infected, it stays infected, and we have to manage for the disease at that point."
CWD can stay in the environment for 16 years, so animals can get the disease even if a diseased animal isn't present.
Idaho Fish and Game first detected CWD in 2021 at game management area 14, north of Riggins and south of White Bird.
"Since 2021, we've detected CWD in 49 animals," Dauwalter said. "One elk, eight mule deer and 40 white tailed deer, mostly centered around the Slate Creek drainage in game management unit 14."
Once an animal is infected, it may take 18 to 24 months for it to die from CWD.
"They only show symptoms usually within the last three to six months of the disease," Dauwalter said. "So, an animal can seem and appear perfectly healthy, but they could be still carrying that prion."
Idaho Fish and Game says they rely on hunters for health surveillance - and that doesn't change for CWD. They're asking hunters across the state for help in providing samples from the deer, elk or moose harvests.
In game management areas 14 and 15 in north central Idaho, it's mandatory to provide a sample. The rest of the state is voluntary.
Hunters can take a lymph node sample themselves, request a sample kit, or take a harvested animal to a Fish and Game regional office or check station.
"We just ask that our hunters help us out, because we rely heavily on them so that we can find it in new areas - and hopefully find it quickly," Dauwalter said.
There have been no reported cases of chronic wasting disease affecting humans. But the Centers for Disease Control recommends that people don't eat meat from an animal with CWD.
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