Zombie deer disease detected in Virginia’s white-tailed deer population

All eyes are on Virginia’s deer population as zombie deer disease, a chronic wasting disease with no cure, has been detected with increasing frequency.

A deer afflicted with this condition will appear abnormally thin, appear sluggish and salivate excessively. The disease is contagious.

Virginia Tech professor and wildlife health expert Luis Escobar is leading a study to determine the risk of CWD transmission in Virginia.

“In North America, species known to be susceptible to natural infection include elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, black-tailed deer, moose, and the red deer, which is not native to the continent. All of these are mammals in the deer family, or cervids,” said Escobar. “In the U.S., chronic wasting has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 29 states. In Virginia, CWD has been detected in white-tailed deer in the north and southwest areas of the Commonwealth.”

CWD is caused by infectious proteins causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases, according to Escobar. Infected deer can transmit the pathogen by direct contact — for example, through saliva — or by contaminating the environment. As examples, infected feces or urine or an infected carcass can contaminate grass.

“Transmission can occur before symptoms appear, as early as six months after the infection,” he said. “The infection causes hyperexcitability, or increased activity, in the early stages. Advanced symptoms include severe loss of weight, excessive salivation, behavioral changes such as decreased activity and weakness followed by death.”

To date, CWD has not been found in pets or humans.

The study by Escobar is funded in part by a $30,000 gift from the Virginia Hound Heritage.

Virginia Tech professor of deer ecology and animal movement Brett Jesmer will join Escobar to investigate CWD transmission risk across Virginia. The goal of the project is to estimate the paths, direction and extent of future CWD spread in white-tailed deer.

Efforts to prevent spread of the disease include regular culling, which could impact deer abundance in the affected regions but seems to be effective.

“Some studies suggest a large potential threat to wildlife conservation due to deer mortality and effects on genetic diversity in populations affected by CWD,” Escobar said.