Four Northeast Iowa Counties See Cases of CWD in Deer

The Iowa DNR is reporting the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been found in deer in four northeast Iowa counties as well as one county in the north central section of the state.

Following testing during the recent season, DNR state deer biologist, Jace Elliott, says “Unfortunately, about 84 deer tested positive across the state this year. Now keep in mind, that’s out of about 5000 deer that were sampled statewide this year alone. So our prevalence is still relatively low statewide, although there are areas in the state where it’s much higher.”

CWD cases have been heavier in south-central Iowa, particularly Wayne County. There have also been concentrations in the northeast corner in Winneshiek, Fayette, Allamakee and Clayton Counties.

Elliott says there were some new counties on the CWD list this year with Grundy, Plymouth, and Lucas counties all detected their first positive case of CWD this year.

CWD is a disease that impacts the animal’s brain and is always fatal to deer. The Iowa DNR has been tracking the disease since it was first discovered in Iowa in Allamakee County in 2013.