Spread Of 'Zombie Deer Disease' Shuts Down PA Hunting Preserve

PENNSYLVANIA — Chronic Wasting Disease, also known as "Zombie Deer Disease," is on the rise in Pennsylvania, and has shut down a Warren County hunting preserve for five years.

State officials said that a white-tailed deer on a Warren County hunting preserve recently tested positive for the disease. The remaining deer were euthanized and all tested negative for the disease. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has quarantined the preserve for five years.

Contact tracing to determine any further exposure is in progress and may lead to additional quarantines, officials said.

Chronic Wasting Disease is a highly contagious disease that develops very slowly in the lymph nodes, spinal tissue and brains of deer and similar animals.

While there is no evidence that it can be spread to humans and there have been no reported cases of infections in people, some animal studies suggest chronic wasting disease poses a risk to certain types of non-human primates, like monkeys, that eat meat from CWD-infected animals or come in contact with brain or body fluids from infected deer or elk, according to the Centers for Disease Control. These studies raise concerns that there may also be a risk to people.

As of May, Pennsylvania has reported 722 positive cases of the disease, which was first detected in the state in 2012.

Chronic Wasting Disease is in the family of diseases called "prion diseases" or "transmissible spongiform encephalopathies." According to the CDC, other diseases in that family include "mad cow" disease.

"The infection is believed to be caused by abnormal proteins called prions, which are thought to cause damage to other normal prion proteins that can be found in tissues throughout the body but most often in the brain and spinal cord, leading to brain damage and development of prion diseases," the CDC explains.

As a result of the disease's presence, the Pennsylvania Game Commission established Disease Management Areas to mitigate the risks from human-assisted spread of the disease. Human-assisted spread of chronic wasting disease occurs by moving infected deer or elk or their parts into unaffected areas.

“Pennsylvania has taken CWD very seriously, taking aggressive steps to contain the disease, using a scientific, fact-based approach,” State Veterinarian Dr. Kevin Brightbill said. “We will continue to investigate and implement rigorous controls on any business whose deer may have been exposed, and we are working with New York state regulatory partners to mitigate the threat.”

The new detection will also result in the establishment of a new Disease Management Area.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is working to delineate the new Disease Management Area’s boundary, which will be finalized and announced in the coming weeks, officials said.

Hunters who harvest deer in Disease Management Areas may not transport those deer outside of the area without first removing the high-risk deer parts. High-risk parts include the head, lymph nodes, spleen and spinal column.

See a map of Pennsylvania farms that have had CWD-positive deer.