By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
A potential case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been discovered in a male white-tailed deer harvested east of Enderby – the first in the Okanagan – with the Province establishing an incident management team to prepare for next steps.
Initial testing by the provincial animal health laboratory detected prions (which are abnormal proteins) that may indicate CWD in the deer sample.
The sample has been submitted to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for further testing, as the CFIA is Canada’s authority for confirming CWD and results are expected by early December, the province said in a statement.
It added that the hunter who submitted the sample has been notified of the potential detection of CWD, and the public will be updated if the CFIA confirms the sample to be positive for CWD.
CWD is an infectious and fatal neurological disease – similar to “mad cow disease” in cattle – affecting species in the cervid family, such as deer, elk, moose and caribou.
Symptoms include weight loss, poor coordination, and behavioural changes, and the disease is transmitted through direct contact or environmental contamination from bodily fluids like saliva, urine, feces, and blood.
A key issue with CWD is the fact that the prions are highly durable and can remain infectious in the environment for years, potentially decades, even after the infected animal has died. They are resistant to many standard methods of disinfection, including heat (such as cooking), freezing, and common disinfectants.
There is no known cure or treatment for CWD, and there is no direct evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans. But, to prevent any potential risk of transmission or illness, Health Canada and the World Health Organization recommend that people not eat meat or other parts of an animal infected with CWD.
This is the first potential detection in the Okanagan and the first identified outside BC’s existing CWD management zone in the Kootenay region.
As part of BC’s Surveillance and Response Plan for CWD, the provincial wildlife veterinarian has assembled an incident management team made up of provincial and First Nation partners to prepare for potential next steps ahead of the CFIA’s test result.
The Province said it will “engage with hunters and partner organizations to share information and guide the next phase of the response.
“Hunters are essential partners in BC’s CWD surveillance efforts. Without hunter involvement, the scale of surveillance and management required to respond to CWD would not be possible,” it said.
The Province is urging the public to continue submitting samples from deer, elk and moose harvested in BC to help build understanding of where the disease is present.
The BC Wildlife Federation is asking hunters across the province and especially in the Okanagan to submit samples from any deer they harvest to a provincial drop-off location.
It notes that sample submissions are currently mandatory in management units in the Kootenays while in other parts of BC, submission is voluntary.
“It’s really important that hunters continue to hunt and to submit heads for testing, even outside the mandatory submission zone in the Kootenays,” said B.C. Wildlife Federation Executive Director Jesse Zeman. “The more data we collect, the better we can manage the situation.”
Consult the provincial government’s surveillance web page for sampling instructions and drop off locations.
The Province said it remains focused on ongoing surveillance and risk-reduction measures to limit transmission, reduce the spread of CWD to new areas and minimize impacts on wildlife.
BC has undertaken more than 20 years of ongoing surveillance and preventative measures around this disease, with targeted efforts in the highest-risk areas.
Recent actions include targeted removal and testing of urban deer in Cranbrook and Kimberley, mandatory testing for harvested deer, moose and elk in the Kootenay region, carcass transport restrictions, and ongoing monitoring with First Nations and local governments.
“Together with hunters’ participation, these measures help provide early detection, slow the spread of the disease and help safeguard healthy wildlife populations,” the Province said.
Chronic wasting disease was first detected in BC in 2024 in two deer sampled from the Kootenay region. To date, there have been six confirmed cases of CWD in BC.
All four positive cases of CWD identified in the 2024-25 season were white-tailed deer, also from the Kootenay region near Cranbrook, including two males and two females.
Three of the deer sampled and confirmed to have CWD in the 2024-25 season were harvested by licensed hunters; one was identified through targeted sampling of urban deer.
Canada has established populations of infected animals in wild and farmed cervids in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and recent detections in wild cervids in Manitoba and, more recently, BC. Cases have also been found on a red deer farm in Quebec.
Early in a CWD disease outbreak, it is unlikely to see animals exhibiting symptoms, as most infected animals will appear healthy. But should anyone observe an animal exhibiting concerning symptoms such as weight loss, poor coordination, stumbling and trembling, they are asked to report this to the RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277 or the BC Wildlife Health Program at [email protected] or 250-751-3219.
