The Iowa DNR is hosting a virtual meeting on Chronic Wasting Disease tonight. State Deer Biologist, Jace Elliott, says it’s their annual update on the situation
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“Information about what Chronic Wasting Disease is, how it affects your and what we’re doing in Iowa to manage the disease,” he says. C-W-D is always fatal to deer, but Elliott says it has not made a big impact on deer numbers here. “In Iowa, I would say that it has likely not had a population level impact yet. And that’s because the disease has only been on the landscape that we know of for about a decade,” Eliott says.
He says that’s why the DNR has tried to educate people and slow the spread as much as possible. “We know that the disease does have a high potential to affect population dynamics and deer abundance down the road once prevalence builds to let’s say 50 percent or so, which is the case in some parts of the country. And in those areas, they are noticing population level impacts,” he says. CWD was first detected in Allamakee County in 2013 and is now in ten of Iowa’s 99 counties with 133 positive wild deer tests.
“We’re still at a very low prevalence relative to our neighboring states. But there are regions of the state that have slightly higher prevalence rates that are continuing to grow,” he says. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. Go to the DNR website to find out more.