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Fairfax County confirms CWD detections, officials outline new testing and transport rules
Summary
County staff confirmed detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) on parkland and private land, said Fairfax County is now in DWR disease management area (DMA 2), and described testing, carcass transport limits, feeding bans and rehabilitation restrictions to slow spread.
Catherine Edwards, wildlife management specialist with the Fairfax County Police Department, told webinar attendees that chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in Fairfax County and that the county has been added to a DWR disease management area (DMA 2). She said the first CWD detection in the county occurred during the 2022–2023 hunting season and that recent testing for the 2025–2026 season confirmed additional positive cases in county‑harvested deer.
Edwards outlined DWR‑led regulatory actions to limit spread: designation of DMAs, liberalized hunting seasons, restrictions on carcass transport (whole carcasses and parts containing brain/spinal cord from Fairfax County may only be moved within DMA 1 and DMA 2), year‑round deer feeding prohibitions within the county, and prohibitions on fawn rehabilitation originating in DMA areas. She emphasized surveillance and testing procedures: lymph node samples are collected from harvested deer and submitted to the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and last season over 73% of deer harvested through the county program were tested for CWD.
Edwards urged hunters in affected areas to submit harvested deer for testing and to follow local CWD guidance. She also relayed CDC guidance that, to date, there have been no reported human cases of CWD but that hunters in affected areas should consider testing deer before consuming meat. The webinar provided DWR and Fairfax County contact numbers for reporting sick deer and for more information.
