Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a contagious, deadly brain disease of white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family, called cervids. The disease is caused by a misfolded protein and can be spread by direct contact between deer, when deer encounter the carcass of an infected deer, or when deer encounter the misfolded proteins shed in the environment (urine, feces, saliva) by an infected deer.
CWD is the greatest threat to Missouri’s deer population since the species almost disappeared from the state a century ago. Because CWD is 100% fatal to deer, if enough deer become infected, it could significantly affect Missouri’s deer population, hunting culture, and economy.
CWD was first discovered in Colorado in the 1960s and has since been detected in numerous states and several other countries. CWD was first detected in Missouri’s wild white-tailed deer herd in 2012. Since then, the disease has slowly spread within the state. Currently, a low percentage of Missouri’s deer population has CWD.
MDC is working with hunters, landowners, and conservation partners to identify where CWD exists in the state and to implement regulations and other management practices that slow the spread of CWD and keep the number of deer that are infected as low as possible. By slowing the spread of CWD, these efforts protect Missouri’s deer population from this significant threat.