Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Chronic Wasting Disease topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State veterinarian says Idaho has limited captive chronic wasting disease detections but will keep testing and management plans
Summary
Officials reported two recent CWD detections at captive facilities in Jefferson and Madison counties, described quarantine and management options that let producers move animals between commonly owned facilities, and noted the challenge of developing live tests.
Dr. Scott Lively updated the House Agriculture Affairs Committee on chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance in captive cervid facilities and recent detections in eastern Idaho.
Lively said Idaho's domestic cervid surveillance program had not identified captive CWD until two months prior to the briefing; since then the agency has confirmed two recent captive-facility cases, one in Jefferson County and one in Madison County. He told the committee the first Madison County facility’s animals arrived from an origin farm in Alberta that later reported a positive.
Why it matters: CWD is a prion disease that affects cervids, has long incubation times and no validated live-animal test. The disease affects commerce and is regulated by USDA program standards. Confirmed cases lead to lengthy quarantines and testing requirements that can limit producers' business options.
Program and management details
- Detections and quarantine: Lively said the two recently identified captive cases were discovered via required surveillance after the animals died of other causes and were tested. "Neither of the animals that died were exhibiting symptoms of chronic wasting disease. They died for other reasons and were tested and were identified after," he said.
- Quarantine length and options: He said quarantines are standardly 60 months and that a 2024 statute amendment allowed producers under common ownership to move quarantined animals between their facilities, giving producers additional business options during quarantine.
- Testing and research: The department is participating in and facilitating research into live-animal testing and genetic-resistance approaches; Lively noted there is no validated live test and that genetic approaches (selecting for codons associated with reduced susceptibility) appear to increase resistance but not confer complete immunity.
- Industry implications: Lively said affected domestic facilities are geographically distant from confirmed wild cases in Idaho, which may make those facilities useful partners in research aimed at developing a live test and improving surveillance.
Ending
Lively said the department will continue mandatory postmortem testing of captive cervids that die and will work with producers and USDA on management plans designed to limit spread while preserving business continuity where possible.
