Good news: Chronic Wasting Disease is NOT approaching Winneshiek County

Posted: Wed, Jan 16, 2019 9:51 AM

The Iowa DNR reported late last week that Chronic Wasting Disease has been confirmed in 14 Iowa deer, including eight positive deer in Allamakee County and four in Clayton County.

However, DNR CWD Coordinator Terry Haindfield says the deer in Allamakee which tested positive were shot in the same area along the Mississippi River as previous CWD deer have been found.

Chronic Wasting Disease was first confirmed in Iowa near Harpers Ferry in Allamakee County in 2013. Haindfield tells decorahnews.com that the eight CWD deer which tested positive during the 2018 deer season were also in this area--what he describes as "the eastern half of Allamakee County, from Lansing to Harpers Ferry to Waterville." Haindfield says there are no signs that CWD is spreading west into Winneshiek County.

Chronic wasting disease was first confirmed in the Midwest in Wisconsin in 2001 about 75 miles from the Iowa state line. The Iowa DNR began monitoring for the disease in 2002 with an emphasis on counties nearest Wisconsin and Minnesota. The DNR has tested more than 74,000 deer since that time.