3rd case of chronic wasting disease confirmed in the Kootenays

The province says another case of chronic wasting disease has been detected in a white-tiled deer in the Kootenay region.

According to a news release, the latest case was confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday from a sample from a deer harvested in October.

The latest case of the infectious and fatal disease that affects deer, elk, moose and caribou was found within two kilometres of another case found near Cranbrook in February.

This is the third case of the disease that has been found in deer populations in the Kootenays.

One was a male mule deer harvested by a hunter and the other was a female white-tailed deer killed in a road accident, the province said in a news release issued Thursday.

“All cases to date have been found within a chronic wasting disease management zone that includes 14 wildlife management units in the Kootenay region,” the province said.

“Measures are in place within this zone to continue to collect data to help mitigate the risk of disease spread.”

Although the disease is fatal to deer and similar species, there is no direct evidence that it can be transmitted to humans and there have been no reports of cases of disease in humans.

However, to avoid any risk of illness, Health Canada recommends that people don’t eat meat of an infected animal.

Shortly after the first initial cases, the province enacted a requirement for hunters to submit the head of the harvested deer within one week.

By mid-March, the province said it would be harvesting 25 deer for further testing.