Chronic Wasting Disease

CWD prevalence rates in Nebraska are relatively low compared to some other states (more than 30 percent in some states). However, the prevalence rate among mule deer bucks over the past 2.5 years is approximately 30 percent in the Pine Ridge Deer Management Unit. Half of the state is at less than 5 percent prevalence in units where CWD has been identified.

Prevalence is the percentage of a population that tests positive for a disease relative to the number of animals tested within a sample area (typically a Deer Management Unit).

Surveillance occurs on a rotating basis across the state’s deer management units. In 2024, lymph node samples were collected from harvested deer to be tested for CWD during the firearm season in the following units:

• Missouri
• Elkhorn
• Loup East
• Wahoo
• Blue Northwest
• Blue Southeast

Submissions are voluntary from hunters, and Nebraska Game and Parks staff collect and pay for testing. Once a quota of approximately 230 to 300 per unit is met, collections are suspended in those respective units. 

Beyond sampling in the specified units, hunters can submit samples through their local veterinarian or to the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab or Wyoming State Veterinary Lab at the hunter’s expense. 

Testing continues throughout the year for suspect sick deer and elk.

Clinical signs of CWD alone are not conclusive, and there is currently no practical live animal test. Currently, the only conclusive diagnosis involves an examination of the brain, tonsils or lymph nodes performed after death. Research is being conducted to develop live-animal diagnostic tests for CWD.

• Do not shoot, handle or consume wildlife of any size that is acting abnormally or appears to be sick.
• Wear latex or rubber gloves while field-dressing or processing game.
• Minimize the use of a bone saw to cut through the brain or spine, and do not cut through edible portions of meat with a blade used to cut bone. Bone out the meat.
• Minimize contact with and do not consume brain or spinal cord tissues, eyes, spleen or lymph nodes.
• Always wash hands thoroughly after dressing and processing game meat.
• Disinfect butchering equipment with 50/50 solution of chlorine bleach and water. CWD prions can remain viable for months or even years in the soil.
• Field dress animals at the place of kill and double bag the head (brain), spinal column and other carcass parts and dispose of it at a licensed landfill.

Deer processing video series

Learn how to properly field dress and debone your harvest through a video series created by the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance.

Currently, there is no strong evidence that CWD poses a risk for humans; however, public health officials recommend that human exposure to the CWD infectious agent be avoided as they continue to evaluate any potential health risk.

People should remain cautious in how they handle, process, and consume deer. Hunters and commercial processors should avoid butchering or processing of deer that spreads spinal cord or brain tissue to meat or to the environment.

The Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization recommend avoiding consumption of meat from deer and elk that look sick or that test positive for CWD.

The Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory all will test deer for CWD. Hunters also can contact their local veterinarian for assistance.

Test results may take up to 6-8 weeks and times will vary depending on the volume of samples submitted. Hunters should keep this in mind if test results are desired before processing deer.

Watch our tutorial with Nebraska Game and Parks’s big game program manager for how to remove a deer’s lymph nodes to send in for testing.

If you remove the skull cap with antlers attached, the saw should be cleaned and disinfected with a 50/50 solution of chlorine bleach and water. This saw should not be used to cut through any edible portions of meat on the carcass.

If you keep the entire skull (for a European mount), you should insure all flesh and soft tissue, including brain matter, is removed. Wear rubber or latex gloves while doing this, and clean the skull by soaking it in a 50/50 solution of chlorine bleach and water.

If you wish to transport the entire skull or anything more than a cleaned skull cap into another state, contact your local state wildlife agency to determine if carcass transportation regulations apply to your area or state.

A number of states have adopted regulations affecting the transportation of hunter-harvested deer and elk. Since the suspected infective agent (prion) is concentrated in the brain, spinal cord and lymph glands, the most common regulation is the prohibition of the importation of whole carcasses harvested from CWD areas.

Generally, states that have adopted carcass transportation regulations do not allow importation of any brain or spinal column tissue, but allow processed/wrapped meat, quarters (with no spinal column or head), hides, clean antlers/skull plates with no meat or tissue attached, finished taxidermy.

Since regulations are continually evolving, it is recommended that you check the CWD regulations in your state before hunting. A summary of state-by-state carcass transportation regulations may be accessed through the clickable map: cwd-info.org.

While the exact method of CWD transmission is unknown, evidence shows CWD is transmitted from animal to animal through body fluids like feces, urine or saliva. Animals that are crowded or confined have a greater chance of encountering the body fluids of other animals and, therefore, a higher likelihood of becoming infected if CWD prions are present.

CWD poses serious problems for wildlife managers, and the implications for free-ranging deer and elk are significant. While some impacts of CWD on population dynamics of deer and elk are still being researched, studies show CWD has the potential to substantially reduce infected deer or elk populations by lowering adult survival rates and destabilizing long-term population dynamics.

Find additional information from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection on Chronic Wasting Disease:

• CWD resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Map of CWD in North America