The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) announced a case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) last Friday at a Medina County deer breeding facility in Medina County.
This marks the fifth such facility in the county to report the disease.
TPWD says a two-year-old male white-tailed deer tested positive for CWD during postmortem testing, conducted as part of the facility’s CWD surveillance requirements.
The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) initially analyzed the samples, with confirmation from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease affecting certain cervids, including deer, elk, and moose. It has a lengthy incubation period, often identified through routine surveillance testing rather than visible clinical signs.
“Proactive monitoring enables a quicker response to CWD detections, reducing the risk of further spread,” read a TPWD release. “TPWD emphasizes that deer breeders must report mortalities and submit CWD test samples within seven days of detection and collection, respectively.”
The disease, which progresses slowly, may not show visible signs for years. Infected deer eventually display behavioral and physical changes, such as weight loss, stumbling, tremors, loss of appetite, teeth grinding, abnormal head posture, drooping ears, excessive thirst, salivation, and urination.
CWD was first discovered in Texas in 2012 among free-ranging mule deer in the Hueco Mountains near the Texas- New Mexico border.
It has since been detected in both captive and free-ranging cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer, and elk.
For more information on CWD detections in Texas, surveillance and containment zones, movement restrictions, and best management practices for hunters and landowners, visit tpwd. texas.gov/huntwild/wild/diseases/cwd/ positive-cases/
