Deer test positive for TSE

Four additional deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Hampshire County, West Virginia. CWD is a neurological disease found in deer and elk. It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Scrapie (in sheep and goats) and "mad cow disease" are other TSEs.

CWD was first recognized in 1967 in Colorado. It has subsequently been found in captive deer and elk herds in nine states and two Canadian provinces and in free-ranging deer and elk in 11 states and two provinces. The source of infection is often unknown.

News Release from West Virginia Division of Natural Resources