Chronic Wasting Disease continues to be a growing serious problem for elk, deer and moose in Alberta.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
amccuaig@medicinehatnews.com
Chronic wasting disease affecting deer, elk and moose has been spreading across North America – largely unchecked – and continues to be moving through the province from its hotspot in southeastern Alberta.
Chronic wasting disease is a lesser known, but wider spread, prion disease than mad cow disease (BSE) which causes fatal neurodegenerative illnesses.
First found in the wild deer population near Oyen in 2005, the spread of CWD has only continued to increase in numbers since in Alberta. And CWD has not only spread geographically in Alberta but through cervids.
In 2012, a moose struck by a vehicle on Highway 41 near Hilda was found to have CWD as well as an elk taken at CFB Suffield in 2017.
There are fears it could move into the caribou population.
“It’s not a problem that will go away,” said Ron Clarkson, director of prion programs at the Alberta Prion Research Institute.
More than 900 deer along with five elk were found to be infected in 2020 as part of Alberta’s surveillance program in which hunters submit heads of hunted deer and elk.
Clarkson says the Prion Research Institute has been funding studies into the disease since 2005 when the provincial government established a need to look further into prion diseases in the wake of the BSE crisis.
But unlike mad cow, the solution to stemming the spread isn’t as simple not supplying feed contaminated with the remains of BSE infected cattle.
“We know (CWD) is transmitted through saliva, urine and feces,” said Clarkson. “And it gets into the soil.”
But while BSE has been known to lead to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans from consumption of contaminated beef products, less is known about whether the same can happen with CWD.
Clarkson said the Prion Institute is funding studies in Alberta to look into that issue.
“It’s a long-term study,” says Clarkson, “looking at whether CWD can be transmitted to non-human primates.”
And because of the uncertainty, Clarkson says hunters should take a precautionary approach and ensure they receive results from deer submitted to CWD surveillance program before consuming the meat.
However, the risks of spreading CWD is beginning to see some repercussions for agricultural products. Specifically hay, which Norway has now placed a ban on imports of from areas with a high prevalence of CWD.
Research into a solution has seen work done on a vaccine that could be administrated through salt licks in areas with a high prevalence of CWD, said Clarkson.
However, he added, “It’s not an easy problem to fix.”
Alberta Innovates is currently providing up to $1 million in funding for researchers for, “projects that will come up with solutions to CWD,” said Clarkson.
The Prion Research Institute is currently funded by the provincial government until 2022.
