Old North News

Deer hunting season is still months away, but hunters and anyone who eats venison should be aware that chronic wasting disease has appeared in some of North Carolina’s deer population, a situation that’s likely to get worse.

A Yadkin County deer tested positive for the neurological disease, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission said. Although the disease has never made the jump to humans, those who deal with infected animals should take precautions.

"It can't be killed like a virus or bacteria because it is essentially just material,” deer biologist Moriah Boggess told NBC 12 News.

Moriah Boggess | LinkedIn

The infectious agent is called a prion, and when it gets inside a deer, it disrupts how other proteins in the body act, leading ultimately to holes in the brain that affect the animal’s neurological activity, Boggess explained.

When a deer has the disease, it sheds elements of it through bodily fluids and through direct contact with other deer. Thus, one confirmed case likely means other deer in the vicinity have the disease, too.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends precautions, and Boggess offered some that can be easily followed.

"A hunter or anyone should not consume an animal that has a prion disease, like chronic wasting disease,” Boggess told NBC 12 News.

The Wildlife Commission doesn’t want to dissuade hunters from culling the deer population this year. Since you can’t tell if a deer is infected by the physical appearance of the animal, hunters need to be careful when it comes to eating it.

"Simply the biggest action that we're asking hunters to take is that when you harvest a deer, allow the Commission to test that deer so that we can continue our surveillance and try to pinpoint where the disease is and how far spread this disease is in your population,” Boggess told NBC 12 News.