Chronic wasting disease confirmed at deer farm in Kentucky

Chronic wasting disease, which is fatal to deer, elk and some other wildlife, has been confirmed in a dead deer at a farm in Breckinridge County, according to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

“The farm, a participant in the state deer program, has been issued a quarantine restricting movement into or out of the facility, including live deer or deer products,” the department said in a news release.

“The Office of State Veterinarian established a management (5-mile radius) and surveillance (15-mile radius) zone for herds near the affected deer farm. The Office of State Veterinarian is diligently reviewing recent movement records, and all deer farms in the management and surveillance zones are under restricted movement until further order of the State Veterinarian.”

The positive test result was confirmed Friday by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory, and a response plan set up in 2022 by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources has been activated, according to the release.

Breckinridge County borders the Ohio River between Louisville and Owensboro.

Kentucky’s first case of chronic wasting disease was confirmed in December in a deer harvested by a hunter in Ballard County, which is in far Western Kentucky.

The disease has spread to 32 states since it was first found in captive deer in Colorado in the late 1960s, according to the CDC website.

Though the CDC says there is “no strong evidence” that people can contract chronic wasting disease , the agency says it’s important that people not eat meat from infected animals since there is “concern that chronic wasting disease may pose a risk to people.”

The Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources advises against eating meat from any animal that seems sick or in poor condition.

Chronic wasting disease is a “prion disease” that happens when proteins already in the body “misfold,” according to the CDC. It spreads between animals through contact with bodily fluids and possibly even through soil, water and food sources, the CDC says.

There is no treatment or vaccine.

Symptoms of the illness can include drastic weight loss, stumbling, drooling, listlessness, excessive thirst and lack of fear of people.

People who find a concerning sick or dead deer can report it to the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources using an online tool.

Virus that can kill deer has been found in Eastern Kentucky